A Beautiful Story about the Buddha

It happened – the story is about Buddha , a beautiful story. Listen to it carefully, because you can miss it.

One day, at mealtime,the World Honoured One put on his robe, took his bowl and entered the great town of Sravastito beg for his food. After he had begged from door to door, he returned to his place. When he had taken his meal, he put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, arranged hisseat, and sat down.

One day, at mealtime, the World Honoured One put on his robe, took his bowl and entered the great town of Sravasti to beg for his food. After he had begged from door to door, he returned to his place. When he had taken his meal, he put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, arranged his seat, and sat down.

Go slowly, as if the film is moving very slowly. It is a Buddha film, and Buddha films move very slowly. Again, let me repeat it...
One day, at mealtime, the World Honoured One put on his robe, took his bowl and entered the great town of Sravasti to beg for his food. After he had begged from door to door, he returned to his place. When he had taken his meal, he put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, arranged his seat, and sat down.

Visualize Buddha doing all this and then sitting down on his seat.This shows the Buddha’s ordinary life and daily activities which were similar to those of others and hadnothing special about them. There is, however, something which is uncommon, but very fewknow it.

What is that? What is that uncommon unique quality? – because Buddha is doing ordinary things. Washing his feet, arranging his seat, sitting down, putting away his robe, putting away his bowl, going to bed, coming back – ordinary things everybody is doing.

At the time, one of Buddha’s disciples – a great disciple – Subhuti, who was in the assembly,rose from his seat, uncovered his right shoulder, knelt upon his right knee, respectfully joined the palms of his hands and said to the Buddha: ’It is very rare, O World Honoured One! It is very rare!’
Now, nothing rare seems to be there on the surface. Buddha coming, putting away his robe, putting away his bowl, arranging his seat, washing his feet, sitting on the seat – there seems to be nothing unusual. And this man, Subhuti....

Subhuti is one of the most insightful disciples of Buddha – allgreat beautiful stories about Buddha are concerned with Subhuti. This is one of those stories, very rare. At the time, the elder Subhuti, who was in the assembly, rose from his seat, uncovered his right shoulder, knelt upon his right knee, respectfully joined the palms of his hands and said to the Buddha:’It is very rare, O World Honoured One, it is very rare!’ Never seen before, it is unique.
The Tathagata’s daily activities were similar to those of other men but there was here one thing which was different, and those who sat face to face with him did not see it. That day, suddenly Subhuti uncovered it, praised it, and said: ’Very rare! Very rare!’

Alas! The Tathagata had been thirty years with his disciples and they still did not know anything about his common acts of daily life. As they did not know, they thought these acts were ordinary and let them pass unnoticed. They thought only that he was similar to others and were, therefore, suspicious of and did not believe what he said. Had Subhuti not seen clearly, no one would really know the Buddha. So say the scriptures.

If there was not a Subhuti, nobody would have seen what was happening inside. What was happening inside? Buddha remains the host. Not for a single moment does he lose his eternity,timelessness. Buddha remains meditative. Not for a single moment does he lose his HUA T’OU.

Buddha remains in his SAMADHI – even when he is washing his feet, he is washing so alertly, so aware, so consciously. Knowing well that ’These feet are not me.’ Knowing well that ’This bowl is not me.’ Knowing well that ’This robe is not me.’ Knowing well that ’This hunger is not me.’ Knowing well that ’All that is around me is not me. I am just a witness, a watcher of it all.’

Hence the grace of Buddha, hence this unworldly beauty of Buddha. He remains cool. This coolness is what meditation is. It has to be attained by being more alert of the host, by being more alert of the guest, by getting disidentified with the guest, by disconnecting yourself from the guest. Thoughts come and go, feelings come and go, dreams come and go, moods come and go, climates change. All that changes is not you.

Is there something that remains unchanging? That’s you. And that is God. And to know it, and to be it, and to be in it, is to attain to SAMADHI. DHYANA is the method, meditation is the method, SAMADHI is the goal. DHYANA is the technique to destroy this identification with the guest. And SAMADHI is dissolving into the host, abiding in the host, getting centered there.

Buddhism - Being Truly Human