Weekend Story- The Second Arrow

The Buddha once asked a student.

“What happens when an arrow strikes you?”

The student replied, ” The arrow will pierce me, and it will hurt.”

The Buddha then asked, ” If a second arrow strikes you at the same place, what will happen?”

“It will hurt even more, master,” responded the student.

The Buddha smiled at the student and explained the significance of the questions. “In life, we can never control the first arrow. But the second arrow is something we can control. The second arrow is our reaction to the first arrow-the anger, resentment or fear. The pain we cause ourselves from the second arrow is more than the pain of the first arrow. The second arrow always comes with the power of choice. It is the second arrow that is the root of all our suffering”