Pay It Forward

A Teaching Story

A man told his father:  
"Father, I can't stand my wife anymore. I want to kill her, but I’m afraid I’ll be caught. Can you help me?"  

The father replied:  
"Yes, but to avoid suspicion, you must care for her, be kind, patient, loving, and selfless. Here’s some poison—add a little to her food every day so she’ll die slowly."  

Days later, the son returned and said:  
"I don’t want her to die anymore! I’ve realized I love her. How can I stop the poison?"  

The father smiled and said:  
"Don’t worry; it was just rice powder. The real poison was inside you."  

Hatred poisons us, not others. Let’s make peace with ourselves, love selflessly, and treat others as we want to be treated. Forgiveness is the antidote we all need.