This is a story with two endings -- a happy and a sad one. Milo, a rock-mouse, lives with many other
mice on a small, rocky island. During the summer all the mice play outside, searching for food and
basking in the sunshine. But when winter approaches, a period of scarcity begins for the mice in their
small, dark, cold caves amid the rocks. One day, after a horrible storm, Milo finds a shining stone in a
crevice and carries it to his cave. Soon he discovers that the stone not only shines but also bestows
warmth. Immediately all the other mice want such stones for themselves. But the warning voice of old
Balthasar declares that these stones belong to the island; whenever the mice take something away from
the island, they should give something in return.
In the sad ending, the mice begin collecting as many stones as possible. Each wants the most beautiful,
the largest, and above all the greatest number for itself alone. Though Milo doesn't like this at all, the
mice in their rapacity will not listen. So the walls of the mountain become thinner and thinner until one
day they collapse and bury everything beneath them.
In the happy ending, Milo and his friends agree with Balthasar. They decide to give the island something
as beautiful as they have received. They search for pebbles and decorate them skillfully with flowers,
leaves, suns, and plants. Every time they take a wonderstone from the island, they close the hole with a
decorated stone. In their caves, now shining and warm, they spend winter evenings telling stories; thus
their winter days become as pleasant as the summertime. Each winter they celebrate a great feast in
Balthasar's cave, where they dance and sing, and then have a procession around the island-mountain
with their luminous wonderstones.
* * * *
This story can certainly be viewed from many angles, but couldn't it unveil a trace of spiritual wisdom?
The mice and the island-mountain form a union, their lives are interwoven. Whatever one does affects all
the others. The mountain helps the mice during a cold, dark winter, but the hearts as well as the bodies
of the mice should be warmed by the light its stones provide, because inside and outside cannot be
separated. This also applies to the mountain: it gives something of itself, but it cannot exist without
assistance. Wherever something is taken away or a hole is made, a repair must be undertaken. We are
used to relying on technology and mechanical remedies, but these are reactions to causes which we often
do not consider. The causes for the "holes" -- noticeable, among other things, as physical or
psychological pain, discord, or war -- are not taken into account. Yet their causes lie in our thinking and
acting, in our conception of values. These holes may be closed by temporary measures, but we risk
losing our balance when they become too large.
Buddhist teachings enumerate three poisons of the mind: hate, greed, and ignorance. Can't we recognize
these poisons at the root of so many calamities? As antidotes we might specify discernment, generosity,
and love: discernment for distinguishing good and evil; generosity for the application of compassion in
daily life; and love as the basic prerequisite for the preservation of harmony in our lives and thus also on
our planet and in the whole universe.
(
Elizabeth Prent; From Sunrise magazine, June/July 2005; copyright © 2005 Theosophical University Press)
The story of Milo and the Magical Stones [
Mats und die Wundersteine (in German) by Marcus Pfister, ISBN
3314007809; English translation by Marianne Martens, North-South Books, 1997, ISBN 1558586822.]
