HOW TO STOP THE MIND’S CHATTER? | A Buddhist And Zen Story |

once there was a large Buddhist Monastery where a group of disciples lived and practiced Buddhism under the guidance of their Master however the atmosphere in the monastery was not healthy instead of focusing on their meditation and spiritual growth the disciples spent a lot of time gossiping about each other among these disciples was one who stood out for his excessive talking he would gossip about others and share stories he heard while collecting food from the nearby houses he had a habit of boasting about himself claiming superiority over the others he would often remind them that he came from a wealthy family and could have lived a comfortable life but he chose to seek truth instead one day the master decided to test his dis Les he called them together and announced each of you must make a resolution for the next month something that will test your willpower and determination if you fail you can return to your old routin each disciple made their resolution but the one who considered himself Superior to all went to the master and said master I want a resolution that surpasses all others please give me something extraordinary the master smiled and replied can you really take up the resolution given by me the disciple said driven by his pride master I am capable of doing anything the master again smiled and said if that is so then fine remain silent for the next 1 month the disciple said with arrogance Master this is too easy challenge give me some tough challenge but the master insisted and said first prove yourself with this challenge the disciple B the master and became silent he found it much easier to remain silent the following day the disciple adhered to the resolution and remained silent initially it did not seem too difficult but as day passed the burden of Silence grew heavier by the second day he started feeling uncomfortable and by the third day he started to feel uneasy on the fourth day his urge to speak intensified especially as he observed other disciples chatting freely being naturally talkative he struggled to maintain silence as days passed the silence became suffocating and he grew siek of it unable to Bear it any longer he approached his master and wrote master I can't stay silent anymore it is driving me mad please let me break my resolution the master responded in a calm voice I did not impose this resolution on you so I can't ask you to break it it is your decision many of your fellow Ms have already broken their resolutions if you can't keep it you are free to break it but remember mastering your resolutions shows control over your mind and leads to wakening the disciple felt hurt by the Master's words and came back to his room he locked himself inside and started to spend most of his time in solitude despite the gossip and chattering around him he remained silent surprising everyone in the monastery after a few days he approached the master again and wrote master I am silent from outside but my mind keeps chattering inside I am struggling with inner thoughts of my mind the master advised him that as long as he stays in the monastery the wises of his fellow Ms would continue to disturb him therefore he should leave to some Solitude Place encouraged by by this advice the disciple left the monastery and went to the nearby Forest as a month passed by the disciples resolution period came to an end but surprisingly he did not return to the monastery this caused worry among the other disciples they worried that he might have fallen prey to a wild animals while wandering in the forest however the master remained optimistic he felt there was a deeper reason behind the disciples decision to stay away from the monastery 2 months passed but the disciple did not return the whole Monastery lost hope believing that he had been eaten by wild animals even after 3 months there was no news of him slowly and slowly they began to forget about him then one day suddenly the disciple returned to the monastery this caused a lot of surprise and joy to everyone in the monastery however he seemed different now there was a remarkable calmness and peace about him that had not been there before excitedly the other mon surrounded him and started questioning him they noticed that he no longer seemed as impatient or talkative as before his words flowed smoothly and and sweetly after chatting with the fellow Ms the disciple approached the master bow down to him and asked Master am I still silent is my resolution still on the master looked at him carefully and replied yes you are still silent your resolution is still on the other disciples were taken back and asked Master he's talking to you how can you say that his resolution of silence is still on the master calmly explained yes he speaking but from inside his mind is completely silent that's why I say his resolution is still on then the master turned to the disciple and inquired about his journey of the past 3 months the disciple began to share Master when I left the monastery I appeared silent but my mind was constantly thinking I hope that the deep forest would help to quiet my mind but my attempts only made it more Restless eventually I stopped trying to forcefully control my thoughts and started observing my mind without judgment slowly and slowly my mind began to calm down and the restlessness started to fade away I started to realize my past mistakes like gossiping about others considering myself Superior to others and talking unnecessary as I was observing my mind my mind was becoming free of impurities as I Del deep into my mind and carefully watched every thought that arose I noticed something significant happening the constant chatter in my mind started to quiet on bringing a sense of calmness and peace gradually my mind became empty and I lived in the present moment experiencing true silence and peace then suddenly I started to fear losing these moments but then I realized that fear itself was just a thought of mind and I am not mind I Am The Observer then looking at his master gratefully he said master all thanks to your guidance that I attained this peaceful State of Mind the master blessed him and then addressed all the other disciples and said you see I always told you that forcefully quetting the mind is not the answer but by becoming a witness to our thoughts we can naturally qu the Mind Over time and stop it's chattering if we see in our life we will find that we all crave peace of mind but often struggle to achieve it because we don't understand the nature of our own mind we try to control our thoughts forcefully not realizing that this only makes our mind more restless but when we start to watch our mind's activities it starts to calm down like if if a thief knows that someone is watching him then he cannot steal similarly when we start to watch our mind it stops wending here and there and stops shattering therefore instead of trying to control our thoughts we need to observe them 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