山上的寺院里有一头驴，每天都在磨房里辛苦拉磨，天长日久，驴渐渐厌倦了这种平淡的生活。牠每天都在寻思，要是能出去见见外面的世界，不用拉磨，那该有多好啊！

不久，机会终于来了，有个僧人带着驴下山去驮东西，牠兴奋不已。

来到山下，僧人把东西放在驴背上，然后牵着牠返回寺院。没想到，路上行人看到驴时，都虔诚地跪在两旁，对牠顶礼膜拜。一开始，驴大惑不解，不知道人们为何要对自己叩头跪拜，慌忙躲闪。可一路上都是如此，驴不禁飘飘然起来，原来人们如此崇拜我。

当牠再看见有人路过时，就会趾高气扬地站在马路中间，走起路来虎虎生风、腰干瞬间直了起来！回到寺院里，驴认为自己身分高贵，死活也不肯拉磨了，只愿意接受人们的跪拜。

僧人无奈，只好放牠下山。

驴刚下山，就远远看见一伙人敲锣打鼓迎面而来，心想，一定是人们前来欢迎我，于是大摇大摆地站在马路中间。那是一队迎亲的队伍，却被一头驴拦住了去路，人们愤怒不已，棍棒交加抽打牠……

驴仓皇逃回到寺里，奄奄一息，牠愤愤不平地告诉僧人：〝原来人心险恶啊，第一次下山时，人们对我顶礼膜拜，可是今天他们竟对我狠下毒手！〞

僧人叹息一声：〝果真是一头蠢驴！那天，人们跪拜的，是你背上驮的佛像，不是你啊！〞

人生最大的不幸，就是不认识自己。离开位子，自己甚么都不是。

每天我们都照镜子，但是我们在照的时候，可有问过自己一句话：〝你认识自己吗？〞

如果你拥有财富，别人崇拜的只是你的财富，不是你，但你会误会别人崇拜你；

如果你有权力，别人崇拜的只是你的权力，不是你，但你误会了别人崇拜你；

如果你拥有美貌，别人崇拜的只是你一时的美貌，不是你，但你误以为别人崇拜你。

当财富、权力、美貌过了保质期，你就会被抛弃……然别人崇拜的只是他们的需求，不是你！

因此，看清自己最重要！！！

能力很重要，可有一样东西比能力更重要，那就是人品。

人品，是人真正的最高学历，是人能力施展的基础，是当今社会稀缺而珍贵的品质标签。

——转自《家庭文摘》
 

The Story of a Donkey

Yi Ming

 
Once there was a donkey who lived in a temple on a mountain.  He had to work hard  in the mill every day.  Over time, he became so tired of his dull life that he started to dream about going out to see the world instead of working in the mill. How wonderful that would be!

Soon enough an opportunity came along- a monk wanted to use the donkey to carry something down from the mountain. The donkey was very excited.

The monk put something on the donkey’s back when they reached the bottom of the mountain. As they walked through the village, people on both sides of the street knelt down to the donkey.  The donkey did not know what to do, and he started to try to avoidthe people. But that did not stop them from worshipping.  Slowly, the donkey’s ego became inflated: 「Wow!  People really think I am someone important!」

Thus, he walked in the middle of the road and put on an arrogant air, with his head held high and a straight back.. Once the donkey returned to the temple,  he thought that he should live like nobility, and he refused to do any more hard work. So the monks had no other choice but to let him go.

When he got back down the mountain, the donkey saw a group of people beating  drums and gongs far away. He thought, 「People are coming to welcome me.」 He stood in the middle of the road and waited, but the people turned out to be in a wedding procession. When they saw a donkey blocking their way, they were very angry and beat him with sticks and clubs to make him move.
 
The donkey fled back to the temple in a hurry. Dying from the assault, the donkey told the monk indignantly, 「People are so unpredictable and dangerous.  Last time, they worshipped me, but today they wanted to kill me.」

The monk signed: "You are a dumb ass! People did not worship you last time; they knelt down to the Buddha statue on your back, not you!!"

The greatest misfortune is that people do not know who they are. Once they leave their positions, they are nothing.

Every day when we look in the mirror, we should ask ourselves, 「Do I know who I am?」

If you are rich, others admire only your wealth, not you.

If you have the power, others worship only your power, not you. Don’t misinterpret the admiration of others.
 
If you are beautiful, others will admire your beauty. They want to be with you to inflate their own egos.

When wealth, power, and beauty leave you, you become worthless, and you will be abandoned-- for others are only using you to fulfill their own needs.

So, it is important to know who you really are!

Ability is very important, but there may be something more important than ability, and that is character.

Character is a rare treasure in today’s society and it provides the basis to fully expand one’s abilities throughout one’s lifetime.