The Sound of a Crow

Monthly Inspiration from Grand Master Hsing Yun

Once, when a crow was flying to another part of the village he met a magpie on his way. The crow complained to the magpie, "That place is terrible and so are the people there. When they see me and hear my call, they criticize me and even curse me. So I am going away some-where else to live a new life." On hearing this, the magpie replied, "Oh crow, it is the same everywhere in this world. You should try to change the sound of your voice instead. Otherwise, no matter where you go, it will be the same!"

In today's world, students tend to change schools or their majors frequently, just as those in business change their line of work all the time. They detest their profession and grumble about their work. Some may even consider themselves diamonds in the rough and decide that the world has let them down because no one has discovered them. This is why many people move away, change jobs, or search for new friends.

The grass may appear greener on the other side, but in reality, it is not so. Therefore, we should not be vain and overly ambitious. The most important things we need to do to get established in life are to develop and strengthen ourselves, and to get along with others in a positive way, especially in how we speak. By speaking kindly and gently, we will be able to make lots of friends everywhere we go.

In our interactions with one another, we need to reach out to others and exchange our thoughts and views. Speech is the crucial tool for doing so. Those who are inarticulate tend to isolate themselves from others and find it difficult to enjoy harmonious relationships.

In Chinese, there is a metaphor that makes an analogy between those who always say the wrong thing at the wrong time and "a crow's mouth." We should realize that talking like this is the result of our own deficiency and, if someone criticizes us, we must look inside ourselves first before blaming others. We should ask ourselves if we are the "crow's mouth" in our families, among our friends, at the workplace, or even in the community. We should change the annoying sounds of our speech to music for the ears, and transform our harsh words into the warm sun in winter or the sweet scent of flowers that convey our kind and beautiful thoughts. As long as we can change the "sound of the crow," we will easily become a magpie or a phoenix instead.