There
once was a man who was talked into horseback riding but he did not
want to do it, so he hesitated. The owner of the horse told him,
"Don't worry. This horse is very, very well trained, very, very
gentle. He will take you over there, beyond the hills and he'll
bring you back by himself automatically. He knows his way back and
forth - no problem." So the nervous rider said, "Okay." But before
he rode away, the owner said to him, "There are only two things
you have to do: If you want the horse to go ahead, then say, "Thank
God." And if you want him to stop, say, "Hallelujah". So for about
an hour, they strolled along just fine, but suddenly they came to
a cliff. The horse had begun galloping very fast downhill and they
were almost to the cliff. The man became very panicky and then he
remembered. He said, "Hallelujah" and the horse just stopped right
there, right at the edge of the cliff. "Oh," the man sighed in relief,
"Thank God."
Spoken
by Supreme Master Ching Hai Geneva, switzerland
May 3, 1999 (Originally in English)
Illustrated by 11-year-old sister initiate Yifam Luo, Indiana,
U.S.A.