“Tonga, look at that bird. He has been sitting on the same branch in the same place all morning.  He must be very pleased and content where he is.”

“Maybe not,” responded Tonga.  “Perhaps he is injured and can’t fly.”

“Hmmm,” replied Bizah.  "Perhaps he is waiting for his mate to return and find him there.”

“Could be. But what if the bird is just afraid to fly and try out its wings over new terrains?”

“Or maybe it just likes to sit in that particular type of tree,” mused Bizah.

“Tonga, it’s that time of year again when everyone goes a little mad, running around trying to get their homes in order, decorate them, invite people over for festivities, frantically look for the perfect gifts for their family and friends.  I just want to opt out of all of this craziness this year.  Humbug to Mid-winter festival.”

“I know it can get a bit much, Bizah,” Tonga replied. But what would winter be without it?

Bizah fell into silence.

Bizah shared a story with Tonga. There was a father who sent his daughter down to the river to get some water for tea.

As the father was waiting for the daughter to return, a neighbor ran in and said that someone had just been found dead in the river.

“Oh, no,” the man moaned. Then he broke into tears. Soon after, he became hysterical. “My one and only daughter, I have lost her. And it is all my fault. I was the one who sent her to the river to fetch water. Oh, what will I do now? How can I go on?”

Bizah asked the Master a question he had been carrying for some time: “Master, should we give or not give to beggars?”

“Leela,” the Master said, “How would you answer this?”

“I always give what I can to beggars. I can’t pass by one and not give if I still have a coin in my pocket.”

“Tonga,” the Master said, “How would you answer this question?”

“I never give to beggars. They need to find ways to help themselves. Giving to them only encourages reliance on others and laziness.”

Bizah, being a wonderful observer of people and of life, related a story to Tonga one day.

There were two very old men walking along a trail. One was walking one way, and the other the opposite way.  Both hobbled along tentatively, relying heavily on support from their canes.

One of the hobblers came to a fallen tree along his part of the path. He tried to step over it but looked like he was going to fall attempting to do so.