It was a long time ago that three monks lived in the North Province of old China. No one knows their names because they never told anything about themselves. They never answered any questions. In China they were simply known as Three Laughing Monks.
All three of them were doing only one thing: enter a village, stand in the middle of the market and start laughing. They were laughing with all their existence. Gradually the attention of the people was drawn towards them and slowly a large crowd gathered around them. They used to laugh with so much concentration, engrossment and completeness so that by seeing this, the whole village used to laugh.
When that whole village was drowned in the sea of laughter, these monks used to move to another village. They were neither speaking nor preaching anything but simply just laughing, that is all. Wherever they used to go, they were creating such an atmosphere with their laughter that people forget their sorrow and pain and just start laughing.
Gradually the people of China started loving them very much and they became famous all over China by the name of -Three Laughing Monks.
The people of China were loving and respecting them very much. Except them no one has preached ever before and after that life should be just a laugh and nothing more.
They weren't laughing at anyone in particular. They were just laughing as if they understood the joke of God. They used to laugh over the universe that the universe is itself funny. And without using a single word, they were spreading so much joy throughout China as no one has spread before today.
When people asked their name, they just used to laugh but they never used to speak. Due to this they became popular in the name of -The Three Laughing Monks.
These three got old with time, roaming all over China and making people laugh. And one night while they were staying in a village, one of the three monks died.
The whole village shook. The whole village was expecting a lot because they thought that when one of them died, the other two would surely cry. It would be worth watching because no one had ever seen these people cry.
When the sun rise up in the morning, the whole village gathered, but as usual both the monks were laughing loudly standing near the corpse of the third monk. But the laughter was like they had never laughed like this before.
Some elders of the village tried to convince them that he was with you and you should not laugh at his death.
Then that day for the first time those monks spoke to the people and said that “We are laughing because this man has won. We always wondered who would die first. But this man defeated us by dying first. We are laughing at our defeat and his victory. And moreover, he stayed with us for many years, we laughed together, we enjoyed each other's presence. Then what better way to bid him farewell?”
Finally, when the dead body was laid on the pyre for the last rites, all the villagers realized that these two monks were not joking. It was a custom in China that when a person died, his old clothes were taken off and he was bathed and put on new clothes.
But here what happened was before dying, that monk had asked his companions not to change his clothes because, according to him he had never been impure.
And he said that, “There is so much laughter in my life that no impurity can be accumulated. I haven't collected any dust. Laughter is always supple and fresh. So don't change my clothes and also don't bathe me.”
When the third monk's body was set on fire, the villagers came to know that, that monk had hidden some old Chinese firecrackers in his clothes before dying which exploded after the fire and spread in colourful colours in the sky. Seeing this, once again the whole village started laughing out loud.
So, in this way even after the death of that monk, he made all the villagers laugh. And seeing this, the other two monks said, “Clever man, you are dead but you defeated us once again. The laughter created by you on the faces of the villagers was the last laugh.”
So, life is too short and make it sweet. Whatever happens let it happen. Don't be so serious in life. Learn to enjoy each and every moment of your life. Learn to handle both happiness and sorrow in a smart way. You cannot gain the past and you cannot rule the future but the only thing you have in your hand right now is your present. Live in the moment. Learn to smile at both the good and the bad. Thank you.