Send this to the wisest, most mature person you know.
Ginkgo is a large shade tree native to China, having fan-shaped leaves and fleshy seeds with edible kernels. It's also known as the maidenhair tree. According to legend, Chinese and Tibetan monks recognised the value of this rare tree and began to cultivate it. Ginkgoes are revered throughout Asia, where the tree has come to symbolize longevity and enlightenment. These forest giants can live for more than 3000 years. This is a story set in ancient China about a wise ginkgo tree, who teaches us all a very valuable lesson.
ENJOY... AND LEARN!
Ginkgo
As winter arrived and the first snow fell, the water in the soil froze. It was cold. Every day I shivered as I struggled to stay alive. It must have been some miracle of the gods that I survived. The snow slowly melted away when spring came by, giving me a chance to grow. I took advantage of it and sprouted.
As the years went by, I grew and grew. With each passing season, I became stronger and it became easier to bear the winter. I grew taller with each year as it passed until I grew taller than any other tree in the forest. I was the chief of the jungle.
Then one day, a few Buddhist monks climbed up my hill and built this stupa around me. It was like standing in a castle. By then, I had grown tall enough to overlook the entire city. It felt like I was the emperor.
The years went by, and the city developed. China's actual emperor grew more powerful and more ambitious and began conquering foreign territories. As war raged in China, I overlooked the river valley in serenity.
I have thousands of years' worth of wisdom to share, but humans are incapable of understanding what I mean to say. Every ring in my trunk shows the knowledge of every year I have lived. I know secrets that people today are desperate to find. But wisdom isn't something to be shared, it is something to be found.
Your guide,
13 Chapters
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