|
the Red Goblin & the Green Goblin
Excerpt from
Narrated by the Supreme Master Ching Hai Singapore, originally in English, 1995.1.10
There is a story about two devils who live in a mountain. Actually they are not devils, they are kind of demighost, demigod or ghost perhaps, perhaps half angel and half goblin-like. And they live together, two. One is green and the other is red. Just like the green light and red light outside. Green is for peaceful, smooth going. Red is for war, stop, obstruction. But both of them live together happily ever after, (Master laughs) before, ever before, together in the mountain and with no problem, no anxiety, no desire, nothing. They live for long... many many hundred of years already. And often when they have nothing to do, they sat on top of the mountain and look down into the world below them, the world of humankind. And they saw all the business and the people, walking up and down and all that. And then they saw the world is always changing. So the green said to the red, "You see, we live here many hundreds of years already and our life never changes, everyday the same thing. But the world below, the world of human being, everyday change. How come?" And the red said, "Oh, yes, you're right, very interesting, their life is more interesting." But the green said, "How come, how come their life is so changing all the time?" And then the red thought for a while and say, "Oh, it must be because they always fight with each other. Because they build a building, beautiful and big and next day they fight and demolished it. And then they build another one and then have war and destroy again and that's why the world always have something to do. That's why the world is always changing. So now if our world here, the two of us, too peaceful, too boring, I think we have to start fighting with each other." That's what the red thinks. And the green said, "No! No fighting. We are good friends, we've been friends for many hundred of years. How can we fight each other?" But the red said, "If we don't fight, then we can't have any change. Our life will always going on like this and it's boring and we don't make any progress, so let's fight!" So the green said, "No, no, no, no! I can not do it. No, we are friends." But the red insist and said, "From today you are my enemy. That's it.", Declared war right there and then. So then he left. He didn't live with the green anymore. He moved to the other side of the mountain and sat there alone, prepare for war. And the green also stay there in that corner of the mountain, felt so lonely and miserable. He missed the other goblin. So he was feeling very miserable. And you know the goblin, the kind of demiangel, they have magical power. Apart from being able to fly, making things appear by themselves, seeing very far, hearing very far, they also have long nose which can stretch to no limit. So the green goblin sat there one day and feeling very bored and suddenly he notice in the world of humans below that something shining, flashing, shining all the time. So he was curious and he used his nose. (Laughter) He makes his nose long. He said, "Grow longer, grow longer, grow longer and then the nose kept growing long, long, long and then pierce into the world below where the shining and flashing is happening. The shining and flashing came from the clothes of the princess of that city and it happened that the servants were hanging her clothes outside to air them and her clothes have gold flakes and also some jewelry studded with diamond, rubies, and etc., etc.. So it's glittering in the sun. That's why it were shining and flashing. So now the servants say to each other, "Oh, her clothes is so beautiful, but so many. Now we don't have enough bamboo pole to hang. What to do?"
At that moment the nose of the goblin just arrived on time.
(Laughter) Did you hear this story before? (Audience: No) No! Oh! I'm
glad. (Everyone laughs.) So, and then the servants thought, "Oh, we have a
long bamboo enough to hang the rest of the clothes on it." So they put the
rest of the clothes of the princess on this green pole and then happily
went inside. Ah, to eat some chapati.
So now, the green goblin suddenly felt so heavy on his nose. So he was scared. He immediately pull his nose back to the normal size and there come all a bundle of glittering clothes at his feet. And he was thinking, "Ah, oh, it must be a lucky day." So he try it on and beautifully it looks. So he was proud marching around himself alone. And it happened that the red came over. He wanted to start a fight, to progress. But then the green said, "Look here! I have some new clothes, beautiful, and I save some for you, half of them for you." And the red was looking with contempt and said, "Look, I don't wear these kind of ridiculous things, only crazy people do, like you." He want to start a fight, so he talk every nonsense. But the green is always green, so he's very cool; so he don't pick on it. So he say, "Okay, okay, fine. If you don't wear them, it does no harm. Leave them there. It's all right." So the red don't know what else to do, so he went home. But actually he was very very jealous of the green and so he tried to get some clothes for himself. So now he also put his nose very long down into the palace and waiting for some clothes to be hung on. But it happen that the samurai, at that time there practicing sword together and when they saw such a long thing coming, they said to each other, "What's that? And the other said, "Ah, it must be the new invention of the enemy trying to attack us. Let's kill it first." "Oh, okay." Then "Pa" (Master imitates the sound of cutting) with the sword. And so suddenly the red feel such sharp pain and immediately he pull back his nose to the normal size. And then here it bleed and then he cry and cry so much. And then the green heard his crying and came over and say, "What happen, what happen?" And the red was so embarrassed and angry and can not say what the true was and so he said, "Leave me alone" "And you don't bother me." And so the green said, "No, I don't bother you, I try to help you. It's bleeding. Look here. I know the medicine. I put it on. It will stop right away and your nose will become beautiful like before. Otherwise, you will have a big scar, a big hole there and then it will be very ugly. I just want to take care of you." And so the red after all feel touched and said, "All right, all right." And then he cried his heart out, "Ah, it's really hurt. Please quickly, quickly help me. Make it better, quickly." And then from then on of course they make peace together because he had enough with fighting. He thought, fighting is no good. He learned the lesson of peace. From then on they wear nice clothes and drink tea together everyday, and no more war.
|
