I recently read the following story and would like to share it with you. It’s the story of the Golden Buddha which was published by Jack Canfield in the Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit.
Back in 1957 a group of monks from a monastery had to relocate a clay Buddha from their temple to a new location. The monastery was to be relocated to make room for the development of a highway through Bangkok. when the crane began to lift the giant idol, the weight of it was so tremendous that it began to crack. What’s more, rain began to fall. The head monk, who was concerned about damage to the sacred Buddha, decided to lower the statue back to the ground and cover it with a large canvas tarp to protect it from the rain.
Later that evening the head monk wen to check on the Buddha. He shined his flashlight under the tarp to see if the Buddha was staying dry. As the light reached the crack, he noticed a little gleam shining back and thought it strange. As he took a closer look at this gleam of light, he wondered if there might be something underneath the clay. He went to fetch a chisel and hammer from the monastery and began to chip away at the clay. As he knocked off shards of clay, the little gleam grew brighter and bigger. many hours of labor went by before the monk stood face to face with the extraordinary solid-gold Buddha.
Historians believe that several hundred years before the head monk’s discovery, the Burmese army was about to invade Thailand (then called Siam). The Siamese monks, realizing that their country would soon be attacked, covered their precious golden Buddha with an outer covering of clay in order to keep their treasure from being looted by the Burmese. Unfortunately, it appears that the Burmese slaughtered all the Siamese monks, and the well-kept secret of the golden Buddha remained intact until that fateful day in 1957.
The reason I love this story is because it describes human nature. When we are born we are pure and shine with light like the golden Buddha. As time moves on, we pick up ways to be in the world based on our experiences. Essentially, we start to cover up the light within us. Anger, resentment, sadness, fear, etc. are ways we cover up our true essence. Beliefs get formed and many years later, without careful introspection, we continue to live based on these beliefs even thought they may no longer serve us. Without realizing it you can continue to live this way for many years, sometimes a lifetime.
With courage and determination, you can peel away the layers of “clay” that are hiding your own true essence. You don’t need a chisel and hammer thankfully; all you need is more light. When reading this story, I could feel what the monk must have felt whe he “stood face to face with the extraordinary solid-gold Buddha.” Imagine the relief and the awesomeness of seeing something so magnificent. Imagine feeling this way about yourself once you uncover all that is hiding your true essence.
Positive Quote of the Day: “We can try many ways to get rid of the darkness, but none is as effective as simply increasing the light.” -Unknown