Siddhartha awoke with a start at the glimmering of dawn and simply knew — knew that he must set forth from his home; that he must leave his wife and his son and his friends; that he must abandon all his relationships and all the comforts of his royal life to rediscover the Great Truth that he somehow knew was his to one day share.

And so he gently woke his wife and made tea. And while sitting with her surrounded by the gathering light he explained his dilemma: that he knew he must go, and yet that also knew he did not want to leave his current life behind.

“There can be no one without the other”, his wife calmly said … and she gently touched his cheek with a smile, silently gathered his cloak and shoes, placed them softly at his feet, and quietly left the room.

And so Siddhartha departed in search of his Truth … and he was gone for many moons.

During his travels, he met many wise ones and he practiced many paths … He inundated himself with physical pleasures, and he denied himself every comfort; he surrounded himself with wealth, and he lived as a pauper; he laughed & frolicked with cohorts, and he sat silently in quiet solitude.

All these different methods had something to teach him, and yet none of them offered him his Truth.

And then one day, while resting calmly underneath a boddhi tree, after all those months of trying to find the answers, his Awakening found him …

At that moment, he opened his eyes and simply KNEW. He knew that human life in its most primal form consisted primarily of suffering … He knew that this suffering came not from life’s painful circumstances & difficult happenings, but rather from our yearning to be free from the same … He knew that we are all more so much more than “only human”; that we could transcend this primitive dynamic of hollow unhappiness; that real Peace & Joy were available to us all … And he knew that there existed a simple, practical method for attaining this State of Bliss; a Way of Living that shifted focus away from one’s self and towards one’s others.

It was The Way of courageous Kindness — It was The Way of pure Compassion — It was The Way of selfless Love.

It was at that moment that his perfect Soul had risen once more from within. He had become again the Buddha he had been at his birth … And so he rose and returned to his wife and son.

And as he got close to his homestead, his wife saw him approaching and headed out to him and greeted him warmly. And Siddhartha held her close and apologized for leaving; saying, “I have found my Truth, and realize now that I need never have left in the first place to find it, for it was within me all along and could have been rediscovered anywhere.”

And his wife stepped back and smiled at him, and said, “Yes … And yet you never would have known this had you not left. Now come inside and greet your son.”

And Siddhartha entered his home and approached his son. He so wanted to give him something precious; he so wanted to show him his newfound Love. And yet all he had was his begging bowl … And yet he knew that for Love, this was enough.

So he went down on one knee in front of his child, held out his bowl, and said, “This is my only possession … By giving you this bowl I am giving you The Way; a life of detached gratitude & selfless service. It is the only Treasure that I found on all my travels, and I would like you to have it too.”

……………………..

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whomever becomes humble like this small child is truly the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven … You know that the rulers of the Gentiles seek to control and dominate, and that the powerful among them act as tyrants. It will not be so with you; for whomever wishes to be truly great must act as a servant, and whoever wishes to be truly first must act as a slave.” ~ Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:2-4 + Matthew 20:25-27)

 

Filed under: Wisdoms from the Journey by Scaughdt