Buddha and the interpretation.

June 1, 2009

Dear Members,

I got an e-mail today thus forwarded by my friend Priyananda(Thavaraja) of Malaysia, who is a disciple of Bharadwaja Swamigal of Bhuvaneshwari Ashramam.

The email apparently was sent by some friend of his to him.Please read my comments beneath the email in green font.

Im cut-paste-copying the email for all of you to see it below:

Buddha, one day, was in deep thought about the worldly activities and the ways of instilling goodness in human beings. One of his disciples approached him and said humbly " Oh my teacher ! While you are so much concerned about the world and others, why don't you look in to the welfare and needs of your own disciples also."

Buddha : "OK.. Tell me how I can help you"

Disciple : "Master! My attire is worn out and is beyond the decency to wear the same. Can I get a new one, please?"

Buddha found the robe indeed was in a bad condition and needed replacement. He asked the store keeper to give the disciple a new robe to wear on. The disciple thanked Buddha and retired to his room. A while later, he went to his disciple's place and asked him "Is your new attire comfortable? Do you need anything more ?"

Disciple : "Thank you my Master. The attire is indeed very comfortable. I need nothing more"

Buddha : "Having got the new one, what did you do with your old attire?"

Disciple : "I am using it as my bed spread"

Buddha : "Then.. hope you have disposed off your old bed spread"

Disciple : " No.. no.. master. I am using my old bedspread as my window curtain"

Buddha : " What about your old Curtain?"

Disciple : "Being used to handle hot utensils in the kitchen"

Buddha : "Oh.. I see.. Can you tell me what did they do with the old cloth they used in Kitchen"

Disciple : "They are being used to wash the floor."

Buddha : " Then, the old rug being used to wash the floor...?"

Disciple: " Master, since they were torn off so much, we could not find any better use, but to use as a

twig in the oil lamp, which is right now lit in your study room...."

Buddha smiled in contentment and left for his room.

If not to this degree of utilization, can we at least attempt to find the best use of all our resources at home and in office?

We need to handle wisely, all the resources earth has bestowed us with â€¦.both natural and material so that they can be saved for the generations to come.

Hmm, appparently, this looks like some bio-conservationist's(or ecology freak's) favourite email.The story sounds funny and striking in a mundane way however, there is lot of spiritual significance in it.

While the parsimonious nature of Buddha's Sangha(Mutt order) can be seen here.The whole point of that conversation was not the exterior meaning but the interior meaning.

Maybe an advanced Buddhist can answer the meaning of the story.

But a devotee of Amba(if I can call myself so), like me, drinks from the same cup of divinity, as a Buddhist monk and thus Im venturing to deliver what struck me here:

1.Attire here refers to the "Puram"-The etheric shareeram of the sadhaka.(Here the Bhikshuka or the Bhikku as the Paali corruption of the sanskrit word goes)

2. "The attire" which was old was renewed by a Karmic cleansing by the Master(here Buddha) and is now used as his new "Puram".

3. The old Shareera is a bedrock to measure for the new shareera to not sin further and repent about past misdeeds during the sadhana process.

4. What happened to the bedrock which was measuring the past? It has been converted as a window to the world as a curtain between the Naabhi and the Adhara Chakras(Mooladhara and below in which Buddha is not interested!)

5. He then queries the disciple, "what then happened to that old curtain;fragile in constitution than this newer version?"The disciple answers used to catch the hot utensils(In other words, made to transcend by Sangha work, whereby the sexual energies beneath are slowly channelized under the Master by doing back breaking work('hot utensils') in the Mutt.There is no laziness and no perversion of mind by luxuries and an eternal striving indicated.

6. "Since, the 'old curtain' is now being used to carry 'hot utensils', what happened to the old rag in the kitchen?"--Here, "Kitchen" is the metaphor for creativity, for juices, for life creation and sustenance through the sexual process.What happened to that "rag"(called Lusty desire)? To the disciple answers--"It is being used to wash the floor".Here floor and wash is saanketha of surrender and service to one's Guru(here Buddha).

7.Then Buddha asks toungue-in-cheek, "What then became of that "old rag"?

The disciple replies,"Through service and humility, it has transcended to the light of knowledge(Gnana Jyothi)."

Thus, this is an eternal process between a Guru and a disciple which keeps going on and on and the Guru keeps giving new shareeras and shareeras and the disciple makes it ultimately to Gnana Jyothi for His evolvement.There is literally no end and this Guru-shaishya relationship is even billion times better than Radha-Krishna relationship, they say.

This is what was emphasized by Buddha and His worthy disciple replies aptly.

Now, maybe I can smile and go content at this understanding of mine, which I shared with you all.

Ofcourse, you are free to consider the literal meaning and save on buying wicks too for your homes, no harm!

Yours yogically,

Shreeram Balijepalli

Hreem Rajarajeshwari Paradevatha!

Purity, Powers, Parabrahmam...