The Buddha came upon a suffering man standing next to a gate. The man was hitting himself in the forehead with a large hammer.

“Doesn’t that hurt, my friend?” asked the Buddha.

“Why yes. Yes, it hurts a great deal,” said the man with the hammer.

“Why do you persist in hitting yourself, then?” asked the Buddha.

“I considered stopping, once,” said the man. “But really, how much change can just one man make in the world?”

1. 
   Rana 2005 10 06 at 8:24:46 pm

   You do know the story about the child flinging starfish back into the sea, right? 

   “It matters to this one.”

    

   (o)

    

   (It’s been a hard week, hasn’t it.)

2. 
   dale 2005 10 06 at 8:34:02 pm

   I keep coming back here and laughing. (And picturing the man seizing the Buddha and pounding on his forehead instead, & saying “why don’t YOU try paying less attention to it, then!”)

3. 
   donna 2005 10 07 at 3:57:39 pm

   Heh. Real Buddhas can’t be grabbed and harmed. They will knock you flat on your ass first.