Legends

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Stories, legends, parables, and koans   Strawberries A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him. Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted! -A Zen Koan   The Inner Wolves One evening an old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.   He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.   One is Evil: It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.   The other is Good: It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."   The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"   The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."