The story of the old lady looking for a needle

The story of the old lady looking for a needle is a story that is both gentle and profound and will help you realize that what you lost and what you searched for are not the same. This story was told by Master Minh Niem in many of his lectures.

The story goes that, late one afternoon, people saw a thin, tired old woman bending over as if looking for something she had lost right in front of a hut in an alley.

Passersby asked:

- Did you drop something?

She replied:

- I lost my needle.

One person who seemed very enthusiastic continued:

- We will help you.

All the people there started looking for needles with her. After a while of not seeing the needle, everyone gradually lost patience and asked the old lady:

- The line is long and the needle is very small. Where exactly did you drop the needle? If we knew where it fell, we would find it very quickly.

She said:

- Inside my house.

Hearing that, someone got angry and shouted:

- Are you confused? If you dropped your needle in the house, why did you come here to look for it?

The old lady replied leisurely:

- Because there is light out here, but inside the house there is none.

Everyone burst out laughing again and began to disperse. The old woman called them back and said:

- Everyone, listen to me! My story of finding a needle is exactly what you are doing in real life. You always look for joy and peace outside without asking the important and first question: Where did you lose it? Your eyes see, your ears hear, and your hands always hold things outside your heart. That's why you always look for happiness outside your mind.

This story asks: "What are we searching so hard for in this life?"

The story of the old woman looking for a needle is not just a simple folk tale, but also a profound lesson about finding happiness and meaning in life. It reminds us that sometimes we look for something in places where it cannot be found, and neglect to look for it where we have lost it. This story also reflects a universal message about finding joy and peace within yourself, instead of looking for it from the outside. This is a valuable lesson, reminding each of us to self-reflect and reevaluate what we are looking for in life and how we are looking for it. The story also suggests that true happiness and peace come from understanding and accepting oneself, as well as from creating light in one's soul.