“The Wrong Train, The Right Lesson”
About a month ago, Mother was eager to visit Nuwara Eliya and my sister’s family. The day before the Dāne at the Asgiriya Temple organized by Yasasi, on October 26th, she hurried to the AGA office and obtained a railway warrant to travel by train to Nawalapitiya.
As soon as I heard, I went straight to the Weyangoda Railway Station and booked the tickets. Everything seemed perfectly arranged — the journey was set for October 25th at 6 a.m.
On October 24th, we went with Dinithi’s family to Anuradhapura to worship and returned that same day. The next morning, at the station, one of the timekeepers announced, “Badulla train is coming next.” Thinking it was ours, we boarded and sat in the reserved seats — 43 and 44.
Soon after, the railway guard came to check our tickets. He looked surprised.
“You’ve boarded the wrong train,” he said kindly. “There are four trains to Badulla on Saturday mornings. You must check your train number, not just the name.”
I explained that we didn’t know the numbers — we only recognized trains by their names: Mail Train, Udarata Manike, Yal Devi…
He smiled, shook his head slightly, and added, “Madam, your reserved luxury compartment has already passed Polgahawela.” Just then, another passenger arrived, claiming our seats.
Thankfully, the Tamil guard, a truly kind gentleman, thought for a moment and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll find you another seat.” He helped us settle down again.
As always, Mother scolded me for the mix-up — she even ate her breakfast alone, continuing her lecture. But I remained calm, following the practice of Mettā (loving-kindness).
Finally, we reached Nawalapitiya safely and went to my sister’s home — a little tired, but wiser.
That day we learned a simple yet valuable lesson: