The Story of the Bamboo Tree

There was once a giant bamboo tree that gave the owner of an estate a lot of pleasure and comfort. He loved sitting in front of it meditating in its cool shade. One day the owner approached the bamboo tree and asked whether it could cut some branches. The tree protested and said 'but then you won't find protection from the hot summer sun during your lunch break anymore' and the owner replied that he will use the branches for a roof of a house that he is building for his son. This made sense to the bamboo tree, after all, the leaves will now cover an entire family all day and they will grow back.

A couple of years later the owner approached the tree and ask whether he could cut it down to build a bridge for the villagers. The tree protested but the owner reminded it that it was in its prime and that within a year or two it would be vulnerable to fungi attacks. The bamboo tree realized that by being transformed into a bridge instead, its existence would have a lot more meaning that way so the tree agreed.

Life is about finding meaning in what happens. If you don't find meaning, ask and it shall be given to you. A spiritual path traveler is not really different from anyone else in the sense that stuff happens that could be classified as good or bad. The difference is that the Tao traveler will always feel connected no matter what.