b) The Most Beautiful Sound by Ajahn Brahm

An old man was visiting a city for the first time in his life. He had grown up in a village, and was now enjoying his first visit to his children’s modern homes.

One day in the city, the old man heard a sound that stung his ears. He had never heard such an awful noise in his quiet mountain village. He insisted on finding its cause. Following the grating sound back to its source, he found a small boy practicing on a violin.

‘SCREECH! SCRAPE!’ came the notes from the groaning violin. When his son explained that the instrument was a ‘violin’, the old man decided he never wanted to hear such a horrible thing again.

The next day, in another part of the city, the old man heard a sound that caressed his aged ears. He had never heard such an enchanting melody in his mountain valley. Following the delightful sound back to its source, he found a lady, a maestro – an accomplished musician, performing on a violin.

The old man realized, ”That terrible sound I heard yesterday was neither the fault of the violin, nor of the boy. It was just that the young man has yet to learn his instrument well.”

The old man thought, ”It is the same with religion. When we dislike someone of a different religion, it is wrong to say his religion is bad.

Perhaps it is because some people have not yet understood how to practice their religion.”

The third day, the old man heard another sound that was even more pleasant and soothing to his ears than of the maestro on her violin. It was the sound of a large orchestra playing a symphony! Every member of the orchestra was a maestro of his or her own instrument. Also, every member had learned how to play together in harmony with the other musicians.

“It should be the same with religion,” the old man dreamed. “Having learnt our own religion well, we should go further and learn to live with other religions in harmony together! The sound of people living in harmony would be the most beautiful sound in the world.”