Changing vision

There was a wealthy man who was bothered by severe eye pain. He consulted many physicians and was being treated by several. He consumed many drugs and underwent numerous injections. However, the ache persisted with more vigor than before.

At last, a monk who was an expert in treating such illness, was called by the suffering man. The monk understood his problem and said that for some time he should gaze upon only green colors and not let his eyes fall on any other colors. It was a strange prescription, but he was desperate and decided to try it.

The wealthy man got together a group of painters and purchased barrels of green paint, directing that every object he was likely to see be painted green, just as the monk had prescribed.

When the monk came to visit him after a few days, the man’s servants approached with buckets of green paint and poured it on him, since his robe was red, lest their master see another color prompting his eye ache to return.

Experiencing this, the monk laughed and said, “If only you had purchased a pair of green spectacles, costing just a few dollars, you could have saved these walls, trees, pots and other articles. And you could have saved a large share of your fortune. It is foolish to shape the world, let us change our vision and shape ourselves first.”

Author Unknown

Source: The School of Practical Philosophy