Ripples

This tale is adapted from the Japanese folktale, The Stonecutter. The main character, dissatisfied with his life and lack of power, seeks to be someone else. The story illustrates that desire only engenders more desire, and teaches us to embrace our original natures. The opening sung verse is from the song A Satisfied Mind by Joe Hayes and Jack Rhodes.

Brian wrote this story for a storytelling performance in 2012. Monkey and the Mangoes became the template for this collection of rhythmic stories.  

I came across this story in a collection of wisdom tales by Swami Satchidananda entitled Enlightening Tales. My good friend Bob Jenkins used to tell a version of this tale called The Man Who Wanted to Do Incredible Things. To me, the curly hair is a metaphor for the work of cultivation or spiritual practice

The Ripples story began with the musical chorus that serves as a bridge between the short stories. The inspiration came initially from my participation in the Service Space community that believes strongly in the chain reaction phenomenon known as the “ripple effect.” In 1999 I wrote a story on a similar theme called A Snail on the Sidewalk. I told the story a couple times and forgot all about it. One morning during a running workout session, I observed my dear friend Melissa Sudan picking up worms on the track so that runners wouldn’t step on them. Her compassionate actions reminded me of the earlier tale and evolved into the first section of Ripples.

This sweet, short story is adapted from the original found in the Recorded Sayings of Layman Pang. I changed the ending slightly to make it more accessible. 

Tales of Mulla Nasrudin are well-loved in the Sufi tradition. The story reminds us to stay grounded in practical concerns and points out the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

In 1977 Brian performed in a play called Black Tooth Mountain written and directed by Bob Jenkins. A version of this tale was used in the play to express an anti-war message.

Brian found this story in a collection called Stories to Solve. The stories in the book end with a question posed by the storyteller to the listeners, asking them to “solve” the stories by guessing the endings. Brian began telling this story to young people and asking them at the end what they thought filled up the room. Over the years Brian had many reasonable responses, so he decided to allow each listener to decide for herself. In the original story from Ethiopian entitled, The Cleverest Son, all three of the farmer’s children were male. Brian preferred to have a wise female be the one who fills up the farmer’s room.

This story about karma was told by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua using a wealth of colloqualisms and modern slang. It can be found in Volume 1 of his commentary on the Dharma Flower Sutra.

The tale of Prince Dighavu and the murder of his father King Dighiti is Jataka 371: Dighitikosala Jataka. It can also be found in the Vinaya. The tale teaches us that violence only leads to more violence and that revenge never solves problems. Brian borrowed the image of burying the sword from the well-known expression as a means of updating the tale for modern understanding.  

This is another tale from the collection mentioned above by Swami Satchidananda. We always search outside, but happiness is hidden in our hearts!

This tale from Central Africa encourages us to look beyond our own limited perspectives and see both sides of an issue.