Sweet Vinegar and Plain Water

Time flies and never returns. So, we should constantly remind ourselves that life is short and full of suffering, and since we've found the right path and are walking on it, we should never deviate from it.

The Buddha often explained life's truths in an easy-to-understand manner. But because many people still couldn't fully understand his teachings, he had told many stories to help people better learn the truths he taught

Once upon a time, in a faraway place, there was a village where many people lived in poverty. In the village, there was a granny who was very frugal, and all she'd hoped was to buy a bottle of sweet vinegar. One day, she received her wages. She thought: "I can now go to town to buy sweet vinegar."

So, the next day, she left before dawn. As she walked, it got hotter and hotter. By noon, she had arrived in town. She bought the vinegar and was very happy. On her way home, she passed a village and saw someone selling amalaka fruits, which she liked very much as well. So, she took out all the money she had left and bought an amalaka fruit.

Then, she sat under a tree to enjoy the fruit. It was very sweet and tasty. After that, she moved on. As she walked, she became very thirsty. Then, she saw a woman washing clothes by a pond. As she went closer, she saw the pond, but it was very deep. So, she asked the woman: "Could you please fetch some water with your bucket for me?"

The woman was very nice, so she did. As the granny drank the water, she found that it tasted very good. She thought: "I've heard that vinegar can be very tasty, but it still needs to be prepared first. The water in the pond tastes so good already. Maybe I should exchange the vinegar"

So, she told the woman about it. The woman found it very strange because not everyone could afford sweet vinegar and this granny didn't look well-off at all. Now that she had the vinegar, why would she want to trade it for water? The granny could see that the woman was puzzled. So, she said again: "I like the water better than the vinegar."

Hearing that, the woman said: "Okay, I'll change it for you." The granny was very happy and took the water home. When she got home, she told everyone: "I went to town to buy vinegar today. But on my way home, I found a pond where the water tasted even better than vinegar. Here, please have some."

“Everyone drank it, but it was stinky and tasted awful. The granny drank it and found it hard to swallow. How could that be possible? Then, she remembered the amalaka fruit she had. It tasted very sweet and fragrant, so when she drank the water from the pond, the water also tasted sweet. She looked at the water, and saw that it was actually dirty. She felt very remorseful.

This story teaches us that once we're determined to pursue life's truths, we must set out on the right path. However, if our mind is not firm enough, even though we've acquired the truths, before we're able to practice them, we might still be easily swayed by external conditions.

Take the granny for example. She had wanted to buy sweet vinegar. But when she finally bought it, before she had the chance to taste it, she ate the amalaka fruit, which was so sweet that when she drank the dirty water from the pond, she found it very sweet. By the time she realized her mistake, she had lost the vinegar.

The Buddha shares with us such simple stories that we can easily relate to in order to enlighten us, hoping that we can learn life's truths from the events we come across in our everyday life. This is how the Buddha guides us. So, we need to take in his teachings mindfully. And, when we've learned his teachings, we must practice them in our daily living.

Look at the granny in the story. All she wanted was a bottle of sweet vinegar. So, after she bought it, she should've hurried home to enjoy it. However, she exchanged it for the dirty water. All the effort she'd made to acquire the vinegar had gone to waste.  So, once we've set the correct goal, we must head toward it with diligence and single-mindedness. Please be mindful always.