A good story - Buddhadev (fwd)

[Guest guest]

WHEN TELLING LIES IS COMPASSION-AT-WORK

____________

 

By S. S. Negi, Free Press Journal

 

Over 2500 years ago, Gautama the Buddha and his disciple Ananda

embarked on a journey on foot to reach a certain town in the area

now known as Bihar state.

 

Having started early in the morning, both had covered quite a

distance by noon. And yet their intended destination was nowhere in

sight.Both men were in their fifties, though Ananda was older by

about five years to Buddha.

 

Ananda wanted to reach the destination before sunset, failing which

they would be forced to spend the night in the wilderness. That was

not to Ananda's liking.

 

With this thought disturbing his mind, he began to grow impatient

as they walked.But soon enough Ananda spotted an old man, a farmer

working in his field by the wayside. Ananda hailed him and asked

how far away their intended destination still was.

 

The farmer looked at him, smiled and said it was hardly two 'kos'

(slightly over three kms) away and no more.

 

At this Buddha looked at the farmer and so did the latter and both

laughed. Ananda was puzzled.

 

They took to the road again. When they had covered two kos the town

was still nowhere to be seen even on the horizon. Ananda's

impatience grew.

 

On seeing an old woman coming their way from the opposite direction

with a small bundle of firewood on her head, Ananda asked her the

same question.

 

She looked at him and his perspiring face. Then in a motherly and

affectionate manner she said: " Son, you're quite near, just two kos

away from the town. Carry on. " And then she looked at Buddha. Their

eyes met and both laughed. Ananda could not understand what was

going on. Yet he kept quiet and walked on.

 

After two kos, the town did not appear. So Ananda asked a third

person an itinerant merchant who came their way the same question.

Again, came the same answer and the same situation.

 

Once these two kos had been covered, Ananda could not spot any town

as far away as his eyes could see. Feeling extremely tired, he

threw the small bag he was carrying on the ground and sat down.He

looked at Buddha and said that he was not going to move any

further. These two kos seem to be endless, he said.

 

Then, taking courage, he said that he was going to break a tacit

agreement between them of never asking or discussing unncessary

questions.

 

He said he has to do this as he was puzzled why Buddha had laughed

and so did others when he had asked the old man, the old woman and

the itinerant merchant his questions.

 

He said: " What puzzles me still more is that all these three

persons were strangers to you and yet it looked as if all of your

were together in some way. "

 

Buddha replied: " You're right. Our profession is the same and

that's why we laughed. Our profession is to encourage people to

keep on walking on their chosen path when we say two kos and no

more. "

 

The Tathagat added that this is what he has been doing for years

now. The path to nirvana is long and ardous. If an aspirant is told

this then it may stop him right in the beginning from undertaking

this journey.

 

But by telling the aspirant that it is just two kos away at every

stage, he is kept moving on and on and progressing towards his

goal.It is only when an aspirant reaches his destination and looks

back that he starts feeling grateful to those who had helped him

reach his destination by telling lies.

 

They were not really lies but only their compassion at work for the

seeker's good.The Buddha added that he laughed with the old man,

the old woman and the itinerant merchant because he knew how far

away this town was. " I'd visited it some years ago.

 

I knew that twon was not two kos away. Yet I kept quiet because you

were impatient to know how distant it yet was. I knew that there

was no chance of our reaching it today. But still there was no harm

in your asking these people. "

 

Now you must understand a deep psychological principle at work with

these persons, said Buddha. All of them were compassionate beings

by nature. They were not lying to mislead you. They were simply

trying to encourage you to continue making progress towards your

destination.

 

This way, the old man helped you cover two kos, the old woan made

you walk another two kos; and the itinerant merchant encouraged you

to go yet another two kos. Had you met a couple of more such

persons, their encouragement would have pushed you to the town.

 

So saying, the Buddha smiled. He could see that Ananada was dead

tired. So he asked him to break the journey for the day. They spent

the night under a big tree. The Buddha knew that the town was still

not just two kos away but many times over.

 

(Source: Free Press Journal)

____________

 

More columns at http://www.indiaworld.co.in/news/features/index.html

 

Tell us what you think of this column!

Write to feedback

Copyright: IndiaWorld Communications Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai

 

===========================================================================