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There was a sculptor in a small village in Japan. He was very famous. People came from far and wide to have him make statues. He made statues of gods, statues of kings, statues of warriors.

But his most famous creation was a statue of the Laughing Buddha.

The statue was so beautiful that people would automatically smile when they saw it. He had a smile on his face as if he were saying: “Everything is fine. Don’t worry.”

One day the richest man in the city came and said to the sculptor: “Make me a statue just like that. I will pay double the money.”

The sculptor said: “I can’t make it just like that. Every statue is different.”

The rich man said: “Then make it even more beautiful. I will pay triple the money.”

The sculptor said: “I will try.”

The sculptor started working. He worked very hard, thought a lot, built and broke it many times. But the statue that was made was not the same as before. That smile did not appear on his face.

Months passed. The rich man came again and again, asking: “Is the statue ready?”

The sculptor said: “Not yet.”

One day the rich man said angrily: “You are putting me off. I am ready to pay double, triple the money, but you cannot make the statue. Am I so bad that I cannot make a good statue for me?”

The sculptor said: “You are not bad. But I cannot make that statue for you.”

The rich man asked: “Why?”

The sculptor said: “Because I made that statue for myself.”

The rich man laughed. “For myself? You are poor. What do you have? Will you make the statue for yourself?”

The sculptor said: “I am poor, but I am happy. When I was making that statue, I was thinking that sometimes laughter is the greatest wealth.”

The rich man went back. But he couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking: “Why is this sculptor happy? I have everything, I am not happy. He has nothing, he is happy.”

He got up at night and secretly went to the sculptor’s house. He looked out the window.

The sculptor was sitting in his small room. He had clay, tools, and a lamp. He was kneading the clay, shaping it, and humming something while laughing.

The rich man saw that the sculptor had the same smile on his face as the Buddha statue he had made.

He understood. This smile does not come from money. This smile comes from the heart. And it is very difficult to mold the smile of the heart into clay.

The next day the rich man came to the sculptor again. He said: “I don’t want a statue. I want what you have. That smile. That happiness. Tell me, how do you get it?”

The sculptor said: “This thing cannot be bought. This thing can be made.”

The rich man said: “How?”

The sculptor said: “Every morning, wake up and be grateful for one thing. For what you have. Then see.”

The rich man said: “But I have everything. What should I be grateful for?”

The sculptor said: “That’s your problem. You have everything, so you don’t value anything. Being grateful when you have nothing is easy. Being grateful when you have everything is difficult.”

The rich man started being grateful. The first day he felt strange. The second day it was a little easier. On the third day he felt a little warm in his heart.

A few days later he came to the sculptor again. For the first time, a genuine smile was on his face.

He said: “I understand. All my life I thought that happiness comes from taking. But happiness comes from giving. I took, took, took and was empty. Now I will give.”

The sculptor said: “Now you are a statue yourself.”

Moral lesson:

This story teaches us two great lessons:

1. Gratitude He who learns to be grateful, whether he has a little or a lot, remains happy. He who does not show gratitude, has nothing even if he has everything.

2. Buying happiness Happiness cannot be bought with money. It can be created with patience, gratitude, by looking at others, by understanding your own heart.

The rich man had everything, but he was not happy because he never expressed gratitude. When he learned to be grateful, he did not have more than before, but he felt peace.

Reference:

This story is from Japanese folklore and is known as “The Laughing Buddha” or “The Happy Sculptor”. The image of the Laughing Buddha is very popular in Japan and is considered a symbol of happiness, contentment and gratitude.

This story is also used in self-development and positive psychology, where gratitude is said to be the key to happiness.