A Tale of Two Brothers

A poem written in January 2014 for my Biblical Worldview class about two Buddhist monks.

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, 

There lived two brothers who practiced positions with their hands.

These brothers were very different from you and me.

They meditated and sat up as straight as can be.

Then one day the first brother read a holy letter.

It impacted him and turned him around for the better.

But the second brother, you see, is still as sad as can be.

He worships many gods, at least two hundred and three.

He fasts and he prays, but try as he might,

He isn’t able to become enlightened; no, it just isn’t right.

“What will happen once I die?” he pondered.

“Will I become one with the universe or forever wander?”

“I will find out the truth!” the second brother decided,

So he visited the place where the first brother now resided.

“Brother,” he asked. “What made you change?”

“Why that’s easy,” he responded, “Buddhism is deranged!”

“But WHAT made you change?” the other brother demanded.

 “God, the true god, is the ruler of everything.”

“To achieve enlightenment you don’t need a king!” 

“He is the deity that from all life sprang.”

 “Don’t you remember that it was the Big Bang?” 

He continued, “Buddha is the real example to follow!”

“Why do you believe that what makes you so hollow?” 

“Buddha was human, unlike your almighty god.”

“What good is Buddha if he could’ve been a fraud?

More likely than not, since he was just like us,

He was making it up like some guy who’s nuts!”

“But what about Jesus, the foretold Messiah?

He was a false prophet and a straight-up liar!”

“If he was a false prophet, which you think he may be,

How did he rise from the grave on the third day?

So tell me then: how is he only a man?”

The first brother was aglow sharing his faith,

And the other saw that of the path set in eighths,

There wasn’t room for relationship, which he greatly desired.

Christianity held the key he so wanted to acquire.

The first brother saw this realization cross his face

And quickly went on; no time to waste!

“God is love!” he exclaimed with glee.

“Why not join me on this great journey?”

The monk felt the truth hit him at last.

Why would he want to spend his life in fast?

Why meditate and follow a man who was fake

That missed out on God because of his mistake?

Why follow a path that would lead to death,

When he could finally take his first real breath?

The teachings of Buddha would never satisfy his need.

He embraced the first brother and began to weep.

From that day forward, they were as committed as can be,

Those two that are not so different from you and me.

So ends the story of the brothers who prayed

And that meditated and sat up straight all day.

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