June 2005 - The Rainmaker
(This is my version of an old Chinese folk tale. Enjoy!)
Once, long ago in China, there was a tribe of people who lived in a remote village at the foot of a great mountain. Life was simple there. They tilled the ground for food. They gathered in council to make decisions and to instruct their children with tales of what had gone before. They feasted and prayed on the days of celebration, and every day they paused at the shrines, which were placed in every home and throughout the village, to honor the ancestors and to receive the wisdom of the gods. Life was simple and the people were happy.
And then a drought came upon the land. For many months there was no rain and the harvest was in danger of being lost. For many months there was no rain and the streams were in danger of running dry. For many months there was no rain and the people were in danger of perishing. The Wise Ones, to whom the people turned, were frightened.
Everything that they knew to do had been done. Special prayers had been offered, but no rain came. The sacred images had been taken from the temples and carried around the stricken fields in a ritual of praise and supplication, but no rain came. They met in secret council and spoke to the spirits of the earth of their long relationship, but no rain came.
One day a young man, who had traveled to places the others had not seen, spoke to the Wise Ones. “I have heard it said that one exists who knows the secret of the rain. People in villages far from ours call him the Rainmaker. Perhaps the time has come to summon him to our aid.” The Wise Ones agreed and a message was sent to the Rainmaker.
When he arrived, the people greeted him with gratitude and awe, not because of his appearance, which was quite ordinary, but because of his renown as one who could bring the rain. “What will you need to work your magic?” they asked. “Nothing,” replied the Rainmaker, “Only a quiet place where I can be alone.” And so they provided him with a hut at the edge of the village.
The people waited for one day, but there was no rain. On the second day, they became watchful. They gathered and sent for the young man who had known of the Rainmaker. They asked him to hide himself near the hut to see if there were any signs of magic in the making. But when he returned, all he could say was that the Rainmaker was doing those things one has to do in life. But there was no rain.
Disappointed, the people returned to their homes, sure that the end was near.
And the Rainmaker quietly continued to do those things one has to do in life…
And on the third day, the rains came.
The Teaching: Rainmakers are those people around whom life seems to blossom, without their seeming to cause the blossoming. The Rainmaker did not cause the rain to fall, he allowed the rain to fall, and all were blessed and prospered.
jbm
Once, long ago in China, there was a tribe of people who lived in a remote village at the foot of a great mountain. Life was simple there. They tilled the ground for food. They gathered in council to make decisions and to instruct their children with tales of what had gone before. They feasted and prayed on the days of celebration, and every day they paused at the shrines, which were placed in every home and throughout the village, to honor the ancestors and to receive the wisdom of the gods. Life was simple and the people were happy.
And then a drought came upon the land. For many months there was no rain and the harvest was in danger of being lost. For many months there was no rain and the streams were in danger of running dry. For many months there was no rain and the people were in danger of perishing. The Wise Ones, to whom the people turned, were frightened.
Everything that they knew to do had been done. Special prayers had been offered, but no rain came. The sacred images had been taken from the temples and carried around the stricken fields in a ritual of praise and supplication, but no rain came. They met in secret council and spoke to the spirits of the earth of their long relationship, but no rain came.
One day a young man, who had traveled to places the others had not seen, spoke to the Wise Ones. “I have heard it said that one exists who knows the secret of the rain. People in villages far from ours call him the Rainmaker. Perhaps the time has come to summon him to our aid.” The Wise Ones agreed and a message was sent to the Rainmaker.
When he arrived, the people greeted him with gratitude and awe, not because of his appearance, which was quite ordinary, but because of his renown as one who could bring the rain. “What will you need to work your magic?” they asked. “Nothing,” replied the Rainmaker, “Only a quiet place where I can be alone.” And so they provided him with a hut at the edge of the village.
The people waited for one day, but there was no rain. On the second day, they became watchful. They gathered and sent for the young man who had known of the Rainmaker. They asked him to hide himself near the hut to see if there were any signs of magic in the making. But when he returned, all he could say was that the Rainmaker was doing those things one has to do in life. But there was no rain.
Disappointed, the people returned to their homes, sure that the end was near.
And the Rainmaker quietly continued to do those things one has to do in life…
And on the third day, the rains came.
The Teaching: Rainmakers are those people around whom life seems to blossom, without their seeming to cause the blossoming. The Rainmaker did not cause the rain to fall, he allowed the rain to fall, and all were blessed and prospered.
jbm
