dhammadrops

Saturday, July 7, 2012

How much Land does a Man need?

When I was in Form1, our literature class involved studying "Short stories by Leo Tolstoy". . . One story had a particularly huge impact on me, though as a 13 years old lad, I did not at that time understand its full meaning. Neither did I have any idea of the author's philosophies or spiritual beliefs. A full 40 years had passed, and I still recollect this story every so often and admire the moral lesson it tried so hard to impart to us. LEO Tolstoy, in his short story entitled 'How Much Land Does a Man Need?', tells the tale of Pahom, a poor peasant who overhears his wife and her sister arguing the merits of farm life versus city life. Pahom boasts to himself that if he had just enough land he would not even fear the Devil. The Devil, of course, hears this and decides to take advantage of Pahom’s greed. Soon land becomes available, and Pahom succeeds in buying some of it. At first he believes that he is happy and loves the life of living off the land. But it was not long before Pahom became dissatisfied with what he had. He wanted more....... . . . So, he buys more and more land, never being satisfied with what he has. Until one day, a travelling dealer tells Pahom about the region of the Bashkirs, where fertile land is available at low prices. The Bashkirs welcome him and agree to sell, for a thousand roubles, as much land as he can walk off in a day, as long as he returns to his starting point before sunset, or he will lose everything. . . Pahom walks very far out, and every time he wanted to stop and turn back, he saw that the land just ahead was rich and fertile. So he walked just that much further. Again and again, this scenario was repeated and, finally as he is heading back, realises that the sun is setting fast and that he may not reach the starting point in time, hence losing everything. He runs as fast as he can, but the running proves to be too much for his age and health. Just as he reaches the starting point, Pahom collapses and dies. . . So, how much land does a man need? Tolstoy answers: “Six feet from his feet to his head!” . . . . In his Confession (1879), Tolstoy describes how during his spiritual crisis he turned to religious thinkers in the hope of finding answers to his questions about the meaning of life. At this point, he found in the life and teaching of Buddha confirmation of his current state of mind. Like the Buddha, Tolstoy saw death, suffering, sickness and old age everywhere and felt that he could not simply forget about it or go through life ignoring it. He quotes: "It is impossible to live in the consciousness that suffering, weakening, old age and death are inevitable; we must free ourselves from life, from all possibility of life." Tolstoy found in the Buddha's teaching positive models for moral behavior, ones that he found kindred. In Tolstoy's later attempts to produce edifying literature that was accessible to all, Tolstoy edited, translated, and composed a number of pieces about the Buddha and his teachings. He found in the Buddha's example and teachings an expression of principles that he held most dear: of selfless love and of non-violence.
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