One Hundred Springs
Once, an old aksakal was asked how many years he had lived on earth.
- I have lived in this world for a long time, - replied the dignified aksakal, - almost a thousand years.
- But that's impossible, you haven't even turned a hundred yet? - the young men, who had never heard a lie from the elder, were astonished.
- Yes, but I count life not by years, but by the springs whose mouths I have cleared for water. Water is the source of life for all living things, for plants, animals, and humans. One small spring can quench the thirst of hundreds, irrigate an entire field of grass, and feed livestock. In my lifetime, I have cleared and opened more than a hundred springs, so I say that I have lived almost a thousand years.
Rule
In ancient times, young friends turned to the local aksakal for advice on how to live properly. He replied:
- Correct understanding and thinking lead to wisdom.
Correct speech, actions, and way of life form morality.
And correct efforts, awareness, attention, memory, and concentration of thought allow one to tame the mind and make the right decision.
Based on the right decision, the right result is born.
Where to Hide?
Once, a young man came to a sage to confess a sin he had committed in his youth. He told the sage that this transgression did not give him peace, he felt ashamed before people, and therefore he had to hide in the forest or in mountain gorges. He had not found peace for several years and did not know how to live on and where to hide from the eyes of people. The sage, after a moment's thought, replied: "Even if you hide on the other side of the moon, you will not find peace. It is better to hide within your own heart."
The Secret of Invincibility
Once there lived an invincible warrior who loved to demonstrate his strength whenever he could. He challenged all the renowned heroes and masters of martial arts and always emerged victorious. One day he heard that a hermit, a great master of hand-to-hand combat, had settled near his village. The warrior set out to find the hermit to once again prove that there was no one stronger than him in the world.
The warrior reached the hermit's dwelling and froze in astonishment. He expected to meet a mighty fighter but saw a frail old man practicing ancient breathing techniques in front of his hut.
- Is it really you whom the people praise as a great warrior? Truly, the rumors have greatly exaggerated your strength. You cannot even move the stone block you are standing by, while I, if I wish, can lift it and carry it aside, - the warrior said disdainfully.
- Appearances can be deceiving, - the old man replied calmly. - You know who I am, but I know who you are and why you have come here. Every morning I descend into the gorge and bring back a stone block, which I then break with my head at the end of my morning exercises. Fortunately for you, I have not done that yet today, and you can demonstrate your skill. You want to challenge me to a duel, but I will not even fight with a person who cannot accomplish such a trivial task.
Provoked, the warrior approached the stone, struck it with all his might with his head, and fell down dead. The kind hermit healed the unfortunate warrior and then spent many years teaching him the rare art of conquering with the mind, not with strength...
Father, Son, Grandson
One hot day, a young man aged 30 sat in the yard of his house engaged in a folk craft. His father, seeing his son sitting in the sun without a head covering, felt sorry for him and told him to put on a kalpak. However, the son refused his offer. The father repeated this three times, but the son stubbornly declined his father's suggestion.
Then the father brought out his little grandson without a head covering and began to play with him. Seeing his little son, the young father loudly and sternly told his father to put a kalpak on the child's head. To which the aksakal replied:
- If my son can endure the heat, why can’t your son endure it, since the sun shines equally for everyone?
Much and One
Once, a young man asked the aksakal what a person should have a lot of. The aksakal replied:
- One must be healthy to live long.
One must have wisdom to live rightly.
One must have a lot of money to live beautifully.
But one woman is enough to live happily.