The story of three laughing monks
Once upon a time there lived three unnamed monks in ancient China. They were given the name of the three laughing monks because when asked about their names, they would not answer but laugh. The three monks used to travel together and do nothing but laugh. They used to enter a village or a town, stand at the centre of its main square and start laughing. Looking at them, slowly but surely people who lived or worked in the surroundings couldn’t resist and had to start laughing as well. Then others would also get the infection and eventually the whole village or town would laugh along. Then the monks would move to another place. The old monks believed that laughter was their only prayer and their teachings as they would not utter a word to the folks but laugh. All over China, they were loved and respected. They believed that there have not been any such spiritual teachers till today. According to them, one should always take life to be the greatest opportunity to laugh. So accordingly,