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The Miracle of Metta

Claudia Weeraperuma

The Buddhist, Vol. 121

Farmer Lakshman owned a splendid stretch of land. Dark its soil and rich, land blessed by sun
and rain. His wife, two sons and farm machines gave him a hand. He got good money from the
peas, the greens and grain. One day disaster struck when Lakshmans neighbour fenced Half of
Lakshmans land and claimed it as his own. At once poor Lakshman hurried to the law,
incensed, Employed a lawyer so that justice would be shown. The mounting misery his wife
could no more stand And so she left; his sons went both to countries far. Alone he was with
worries, toiling at his land. He daily went to drown his troubles at the bar. One day he leaned
against the fence his neighbour built And looked with sadness at the lovely land hed lost. A
broken man, he was in debts up to the hilt: Hed fought nine years in courts colossal was the
cost. At dusk when gorgeous gods come down to our earth The sky above the land was all
ablaze with fire And Lakhsman cursed: ``Oh gods, my life has lost its worth, Be fair for once and
listen now to my desire: Tan my neighbours hide with misery untold! Spoil his crops brinjals
and limes, each tree in flower! Trample every ear of rice, spread blight, spread mould! On to him
send pestilences hour after hour! Pinch him, punch him, all poisons in your power ! While
Lakshman was complaining, raging in his mental jail, There came the neighbours dog, it ran
straight to the fence. The dog jumped up and down, it fondly wagged its tail, Danger and
unfriendliness, it did not sense.
Lakshman first ignored the darling of his foe Until the dog began to whimper and to plead; Its
tawny fur was gleaming in the evening glow; A kind caress of cuddle was its urgent need.
Lakshman promptly petted then his foes best friend, When suddenly the dog was raising up its
eyes, Their eyes did meet and Lakshman felt his heart extend. Its gentle eyes were boundless
like the skies. The man was wakened by this timeless land of love Where borders, wars and
worries were, all left behind. His heart became as weightless as a flying dove. He saw that
``mine and ``thine were mirages of mind. No more did Lakshman nurture insults of the past.
No more did Lakshman say: ``He stole the land from me. The dog did help him treat the man
next door at last Without a trace of enmity.

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