佛教的故事:The Wind and the Moon

　　Friendship

　　Once upon a time， there were two very good friendswho lived together in the shade of a rock. Strange as itmay seem， one was a lion and one was a tiger. They hadmet when they were too young to know the differencebetween lions and tigers. So they did not think theirfriendship was at all unusual. Besides， it was a peacefulpart of the mountains， possibly due to the influence of agentle forest monk who lived nearby. He was a hermit，one who lives far away from other people.

　　For some unknown reason， one day the two friendsgot into a silly argument. The tiger said， Everyone knowsthe cold comes when the moon wanes from full to new!The lion said， Where did you hear such nonsense?Everyone knows the cold comes when the moon waxesfrom new to full!

　　The argument got stronger and stronger. Neithercould convince the other. They could not reach anyconclusion to resolve the growing dispute. They evenstarted calling each other names! Fearing for theirfriendship， they decided to go ask the learned forestmonk， who would surely know about such things.

　　Visiting the peaceful hermit， the lion and tiger bowedrespectfully and put their question to him. The friendlymonk thought for a while and then gave his answer. Itcan be cold in any phase of the moon， from new to fulland back to new again. It is the wind that brings the cold，whether from west or north or east. Therefore， in a way，you are both right! And neither of you is defeated by theother. The most important thing is to live without conflict，to remain united. Unity is best by all means.

　　The lion and tiger thanked the wise hermit. Theywere happy to still be friends.