The Lotus

THE OLD MAN WHO COULD MAKE WITHERED TREES BLOOM AGAIN - Japan
Retold by Sydney Solis

Working with the Story

Once upon a time there was a little old man and a little old woman and they were very happy, except for one thing. They didn’t have any children. Oh well, they thought. We have no children but we do have this cute little dog here! He is our child! He is our beloved! His name was Shiro, because he was all white. Shiro means white in Japanese.

So the old man and the old woman always made sure to give a little bit of leftover food to their faithful friend, no matter what. They treated it with love and affection and great attention to its needs.

One day outside in the fields the dog led the old man to a great tree. The dog barked and barked and began pawing and digging at the foot of the tree. The old man thought the dog was beckoning to him and he began to dig too. What a surprise when he found many old coins in the hole! He dug deeper and there were even more coins! He was amazed!

He thanked his dog and went home a happy man.

A greedy neighbor had been watching everything. He thought, “If he can have that little dog lead him to riches, the little dog can lead ME to riches too!”

So the neighbor knocked on the door of the old man and old woman and asked to borrow his dog. The couple was surprised, especially since the neighbor always treated their dog harshly, kicking it and yelling at it whenever he saw it.

But the old man was too good to say anything and willingly loaned the man his dog.

The neighbor took the dog out to the tree and demanded, “Dig me up some money and coins like your master!” The dog squirmed and tried to get away, but the man was going to beat him. So the little dog dug and dug in the ground. The neighbor couldn’t wait to see the coins so he pushed the dog away and began greedily digging himself to find the treasure that was waiting for him.

But suddenly he hit something gooey and stinky and EEEWW! It was poop and black and sticky crud and YUCK! The neighbor was furious at the stench and black stickiness that was all over him. In his rage he killed the dog. He buried it under the tree and went home.

Time passed. The old man began to wonder what happened to his dog. He knocked on the neighbor’s door. “Please may I have my dog back now?”

“Aw! That horrible thing! It was disobedient. I killed it and buried it under the tree.”

The old man was devastated and it took him some time to compose himself before asking if he could please take part of the tree to make something in memory of his dog.

“Sure, go ahead. Do whatever you want.” The neighbor said and told him where the tree was.

So the old man carved a mortar out of the wood so that he and his wife would have a celebration in memory of their beloved little dog. When the mortar was finished, his wife made rice cakes out of it for the party. Just then an unseen force started to take control of that mortar and it out poured hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of rice cakes instantly! The old couple was amazed! They would never be hungry again!

The neighbor found out about this magic mortar and knocked on the door to borrow it.
The old man, being only filled with goodness, agreed to lend it out.

The neighbor said, “Mortar! Make me what’s mine! Give me mine!” And of course what the mortar poured out to his greedy heart was the same dark, stinky, sticky stuff that got all over him again. Enraged, he threw the mortar in the fire in the kitchen.

Time passed. The old man wondered when he’d get his mortar back, and knocked on his neighbor’s door to ask.

“Oh, that thing? I burned it! It was so awful!”
Again, the old man was devastated and asked to at least take some wood ashes home in memory of his dog and the mortar.

“Sure go ahead,” the neighbor said.

The old man scooped up some ashes in a little sack, then set home. Out in his back yard he held the ashes, and some escaped and flew over to a tree that had died. Instantly the tree bloomed! He was amazed! Some more ashes leaked out and his whole garden, even though it was fall, began to bloom again!

Neighbors came out and were amazed at this site! News spread fast at this miracle. A Dainio, someone like an Earl, heard about this and sent for the old man at once.

“I have many cherry trees that have withered. Can you please restore them to their prior radiance and beauty?”

The old man bowed, then climbed up the trees and sprinkled the ashes on the branches. Instantly the trees began to bloom again.

The Dainio was overjoyed, amazed, eternally excited and happy! He lavished money and gifts upon the old man and declared him Hana Saka Fijii - The Old Man Who Could Make Withered Trees Bloom Again. Heent him on his way with great honor and praise.

The neighbor heard all about this great fortune and so he scraped out the last bit of ashes from his fireplace and set out toward the Dainio. As he walked along the road he called out, “Here I am! Here is the old man who can make withered trees bloom again!”

The Dainio heard this and said, “Hey, it’s you again! But you don’t look like the old man! Are you his disciple or something?”

“No!” The greedy man declared. “I am the true Hana Saka Fijii. I am the one!”

“Well, I don’t have much to do today. So amuse me again,” the Daino said. “Make that last withered tree bloom please!”

They gathered around one more tree, The neighbor sprinkled some ashes on it. Nothing happened. He thought perhaps he hadn’t used enough so he sprinkled a lot more. But a wind swept up and the ashes blew right into the Dainio’s face. The Dainio was enraged.

“You are a fraud! Take this impostor and put him in the dungeon!”

So the greedy neighbor was thrown in the dungeon.

And the old man and the old woman lived happily ever after.

Copy right 2008 The Mythic Yoga Studio, Sydney Solis, Boulder, Colorado

WORKING WITH THE STORY

Asana - Tree Pose - Vrksasana. Work with this pose in depth with children. Feel their feet in the earth, rooted in the earth. The body as the trunk, the arms as the branches. Help them feel rooted in their bodies with breath.

Meditation - Instruct children to breathe into their bodies and visualize a tree. Focus on the feet and legs and visualize roots. The body as the trunk, the arms and shoulders and head branches. With every breath in say, "yes," to life and with every breath out sink deeper into the earth and feel rooted and supported.

Reflection - How are you like the old man? How have you reacted when somebody takes or destroys something of yours? How are you like the greedy neighbor? Do you wish you had something your neighbor has? How do you treat others around you? Animals?

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