Traditions are followed by just about everyone. However, there are times when we must understand why we do these traditions. This is a Buddhist parable which reflects on whether what we are doing is right or wrong. Just saying "we've always done this" is not an answer. We need to understand why we do things and then decide if it is what WE wish to do....
The Fast Eater
The day after their marriage, a newlywed couple was eating a meal together—and for no apparent reason, the husband was wolfing down his food like there was no tomorrow.
One day, his wife said to him, “My beloved husband, no one is going to steal your food. Why don’t you slow down and enjoy it?”
The husband snappily replied, “That’ts my secret. I can’t tell you.”
Upon hearing this, the wife became even more curious about her husband’s bizarre eating habits, and asked once again in an affectionate tone. Finally, the husband replied, “I eat like this because my family has eaten quickly for as long as we can trace back our history. I’tm just following our custom.”
Many people act like this man. Rather than considering whether what they’re doing is right or wrong, they simply say, “This is how our group has done things for as long back as we can remember, and that is why we do it now,” and they persist in these actions without modifying them, all the way until their death.
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