A leaf from Bodhi Tree

2 persons lived in a same block of flats.A young gentleman lived in unit 33 while an old man lived in unit 32.

The old man's life was full of frustrations and misfortunes always befell him like shadow following him. When he was young, he lost all his family members in a war. One of his legs was also lost due to the bombing. Despite these misfortunes, the old man always looked cheerful.

On the other hand, the young man always looked miserable and did not greet people. It seemed as if everyone in the world owed him something. He only talked to the old man.

One day, the young man poured out his grivances to the old man and told the old man about the misfortunes that he had experienced. The old man merely smiled, without uttering a word.

Finally the young man could not help asking the old man, "You have experienced so many hardships throughout your life, but why have you never expressed any sorrow?"

The old man was silent. He looked intently at the young man. After a while, he showed the young man a leaf fallen from a Bodhi Tree. and asked," Look here. What does this leaf resemble?"

The young man looked at the leaf for a long time without saying anything. The old man then said," Doesn't this leaf look like a heart?"

Hearing this, the young man said, "Oh yes, the shape of this leaf is like a heart."

"Look again, what are there on the leaf?"

The old man passed the leaf onto the young man's hand. The young man could clearly see many holes of different sizes on the leaf.

The old man then said, "This leaf has grown in the spring wind and sunlight. It has also been buffeted by winds and rains, bitten by insects as well as hit by stones, so it is riddled with gaping wounds, but it has not withered. This is because it is full of gratitude for the sunshine, soil, rain and dew that have nourished its life. It is full of love for its own life. In contrast to these conditions, those setbacks that i have experienced are totally insignificant."

The old man finally said, "This is the answer, in which you will find the history of human life, as well as thought-provoking philosophy."

The young man still keeps that leaf even now. Whenever he encounters any setback, he would take out the leaf and ponder quietly. The story and life force of the leaf always enable him to maintain optimism and seal for self-improvement - the "Sunshine Mentality"!