Paulo Coelho | September 2011 Issue
Three travelers crossed the Himalayas together discussing the importance of practicing everything in their spiritual plan. They were so enthralled by their conversation that it was only much later in the night that they realized they only had one piece of bread between them. They decided not to argue over who deserved to eat the bread, as they knew they were greedy men, but to leave the decision to the gods. They prayed that at night a spirit would indicate to them which of the men should receive the nourishment.
“This was my dream,” said the first traveler when he awoke. “I was carried to places I have never been before and experienced the peace and harmony that I have searched for in vain during my life here on Earth. In the middle of this paradise, a prophet with a long beard said to me, ‘You are my preferred one. You always renounced everything. Because of this, to show my alliance to you, I would like you try a piece of bread.’”
“Very strange,” said the second traveler, “because in my dream I saw my passage into sainthood and my future as a master. When I looked back at all I went through, I remembered a great prophet who said, ‘You need to eat more than your two friends, because you will to liberate many people and you need your strength.’”
The third traveler then said, “At some time during the night, I awoke suddenly and ate the bread.”
The two other travelers were furious.
“Why didn’t you awaken us before you made such a personal decision?” they asked.
“How could I do that,” he responded, “when you were all so far away, meeting masters and having sacred visions? Yesterday we discussed the importance of putting into practice everything in our spiritual plans. In my case, God acted quickly and made me awaken out of hunger.”
A group of monks was out walking and was invited to eat. The owner of the house, honored by the presence of the monks, told his servants to prepare the finest of foods  for these guests. But one monk was fasting, and so when the food came, he took a single pea onto his plate and chewed it extremely slowly. He ate only this throughout the entire dinner. When he was on his way out, the head monk called to him and said, “Brother, when you are a guest in someone’s home, do not make your sanctity offensive. The next time you are fasting, don’t accept an invitation to dinner.”
Photo By: Courtney Carmody Via Flickr