The Golden Buddha

[Guest guest]

Golden Buddha, The

by: Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Soul

In the fall of 1988 my wife Georgia and I were invited to give a

presentation of self-esteem and peak performance at a conference in

Hong Kong. Since we had never been to the Far East before, we decided

to extend our trip and visit Thailand.

When we arrived in Bangkok, we decided to take a tour of the city's

most famous Buddhist temples. Along with our interpreter and driver,

Georgia and I visited numerous Buddhist temples that day, but after a

while they all began to blur in our memories.

However, there was one temple that left an indelible impression in

our hearts and minds. It is called the Temple of the Golden Buddha.

The temple itself is very small, probably no larger than thirty feet

by thirty feet. But as we entered, we were stunned by the presence of

a ten-and-a- half-foot tall, solid-gold Buddha. It weighs over two-

and-a- half tons and is valued at approximately one hundred and

ninety-six million dollars! It was quite an awesome sight - the

kindly gentle, yet imposing solid-gold Buddha smiling down at us.

As we immersed ourselves in the normal sightseeing tasks(taking

pictures while oohing and ahhing over the statue), I walked over to a

glass case that contained a large piece of clay about eight inches

thick and twelve inches wide. Next to the glass case was a

typewritten page describing the history of this magnificent piece of

art.

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.

As we flew home on Cathay Pacific Airlines I began to think to

myself, " We are all like the clay Buddha covered with a shell of

hardness created out of fear, and yet underneath each of us is

a 'golden Buddha,' a 'golden Christ' or a 'golden essence,' which is

our real self. Somewhere along the way, between the ages of two and

nine, we begin to cover up our 'golden essence,' our natural self.

Much like the monk with the hammer and the chisel, our task now is to

discover our true essence once again. "

[Guest guest]

The Golden Buddha

This is a story about a Buddha statue.This statue of Buddha of clay reached almost three meters in height. During generations it had been considered sacred by the inhabitants of the place.

One day, due to the growth of the city, they decided to translate it to a more appropriate site. This delicate task was assigned to a recognized monk, who, after planning carefully, started his mission. His luck was so bad that, when moving the statue, this one slipped and fell, cracking in various parts.

Regretful, the monk and his team decided to spend the night meditating over the alternatives. They were long, dark and rainy hours. The monk, instead of despairing, focused in finding a way out. Suddenly, when observing the cracked sculpture, he realized that the light of his candle reflected through the cracks of the statue. He thought that they were drops of rain. He drew near the crack and observed that behind the clay there was something, but he was not sure what.

He consulted his colleagues and decided to take a risk that looked like a madness. He asked for a hammer and started to break the clay, discovering that below it was hidden the Buddha of solid gold of almost three meters of height. During centuries this beautiful treasure had been covered by ordinary clay. Historians found proofs that demonstrated that, at one time, the town was going to be attacked by bandits. The residents, to protect their treasure, covered it with clay to make it look common and ordinary. The town was attacked and sacked, but the Buddha was ignored by the bandits. Afterwards, the survivors thought that was better to continue hiding it behind the clay.

Over time, people started to think that the Golden Buddha was a legend or an invention of the old ones.Until, finally, all forgot the true treasure because they thought that something so beautiful could not be true.

Our treasures are our capacity to give, enjoy, give thanks, laugh, forgive, dream big, go over trivials and value in oneself and in others what is really important.

Risk to see your life through the clay and you will realize that you are a treasure of riches.

Rgds

a

.. -- http://mukulchaudhri.blogspot.com

[Guest guest]

a: I believe the bandits were actually soldiers who killed the monks at Nalanda Univcersity, and later on invaded Tibet. All of them were drown when they tried to return to India after failing to reach Tibet. Torrential rains flooded the valley they were crossing and none of them escape. Regards. Poh Tiong HoMukul Chaudhri <mukulchaudhri@...> wrote: The Golden Buddha This is a story about a Buddha statue.This statue of Buddha of clay reached almost three meters in height. During generations it had been considered sacred by the inhabitants of the place. One day, due to the growth of the city, they decided to translate it to a more appropriate site. This delicate task was assigned to a recognized monk, who,

after planning carefully, started his mission. His luck was so bad that, when moving the statue, this one slipped and fell, cracking in various parts. Regretful, the monk and his team decided to spend the night meditating over the alternatives. They were long, dark and rainy hours. The monk, instead of despairing, focused in finding a way out. Suddenly, when observing the cracked sculpture, he realized that the light of his candle reflected through

the cracks of the statue. He thought that they were drops of rain. He drew near the crack and observed that behind the clay there was something, but he was not sure what. He consulted his colleagues and decided to take a risk that looked like a madness. He asked for a hammer and

started to break the clay, discovering that below it was hidden the Buddha of solid gold of almost three meters of height. During centuries this beautiful treasure had been covered by ordinary clay. Historians found proofs that demonstrated that, at one time, the town was going to be attacked by bandits. The residents, to protect their treasure, covered it with clay to make it look common and ordinary. The town was attacked and sacked, but the Buddha was ignored by the bandits. Afterwards, the survivors thought that was better to continue hiding it behind the clay. Over time, people started to think that the Golden Buddha was a legend or an invention of the old ones.Until, finally, all forgot the true treasure because they thought that something so beautiful could not be true. Our treasures are our capacity to give, enjoy, give thanks, laugh, forgive, dream big, go over trivials and value in oneself and in others what is really important. Risk to see your life through the clay and you will realize that you are a treasure of riches. Rgds a . -- http://mukulchaudhri.blogspot.com

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