Saturday, April 16, 2005

The Traffic Sutras

#3

I just missed getting caught by a traffic signal, and as the light changed from yellow to green, I noticed the countdown timer displaying the number 60. As I sped on my way home, I felt happy that I had saved a minute.
I told the Master this, and he asked me-
‘So what will you do with the saved minute?’

I said, ‘Oh, lots of things. I can read for an extra minute, I can watch TV for an extra minute, I can listen to music for an extra minute, I can even sleep for one minute more...’

The Master shook his head and asked, -
‘What would you have done if you had stopped at the signal instead?’
I said, ‘Nothing much, I suppose. Waited for the lights to change.’

The Master said-
‘A minute of doing nothing is 60 seconds of peace’

***

Some more sutras available in pdf format here.