Week 21 – The Golden Buddha

 This post recounts the the story of the GOLDEN BUDDHA,  adapted by Jack Canfield, author of CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL.

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 went 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.

What is the metaphor in this story?  Each of us is golden by nature at birth, we are each nature’s greatest miracle, we are connected to our bliss, and we are one with Christ.   Then we grow up a bit, go to school, learn about what boys’ do, what girls do, what white people do and what black people do.  Sometime between the ages of 6 and 10 we develop a casing (armor) around us, so we become the stone Buddha.  We grow up so more and something comes along to crack the casing – a divorce, a financial set back, an illness or injury.  This scares us and bugs us, and guess what a piece of the stone is knocked off.  In that moment, the stone (armor) is chipped away and we can see the gold inside.  From that point on, you will never be satisfied and you want to chip and pick away at the stone.  Because when you uncover the gold your brilliance will shine!

You, my friend, who has read my many weeks of blogs through the journey of the Master Keys, has indeed uncovered the Golden Buddha within.  Like you I have  learned that this is the heroes journey.  This is a journey of moving from an unsatisfied life to a satisfied life, a journey to brilliantly shine.  A journey to become more vibrant, alive and definitely much happier.

My entry is rather short this week and I am actually using some content I will be using this week end.  I will be presenting at a seminar.  This actually is a step in actualizing my personal pivotal need – recognition for creative expression.  This, too, is one of my SMART goals which oddly enough is highlighted in the “yellow square.”  I woke up one night this week realizing that the gold within me is shining.  I sense the outpouring of God’s Love and Mercy. 

Until next week, I send you thoughts of Love and Peace.

Kris