The Story of the Golden Buddha
Centuries ago, a small village in rural Thailand was being invaded by a foreign army. To protect their sacred golden Buddha statue from being pillaged, the townspeople covered it in clay and stones. Decades passed, the army moved on, and over time, the people forgot the statue was golden underneath.
One day, a monk was meditating under the statue when a piece of clay cracked off the hand. He looked closer and saw gold beneath. The monk ran into the town yelling, “The Buddha is golden! The Buddha is golden!” The villagers came running, and together they began chipping away the clay, chunk by chunk, revealing what had been there all along: the Buddha’s true, golden nature.
Your Golden Nature
As we go through life, clay builds up layer by layer. It comes from parents, friends, school, jobs, relationships, and events in our lives. And over time, it starts to cover up who we are—who we really are.
We feel lost. Not like ourselves. Confused in life.
But then life nudges us forward. Sometimes, it rips the clay away for us. The universe will start with a small alarm clock, signaling that something needs to change—and if we don’t listen, it can become a sledgehammer to the side of the head.
But that’s not always a bad thing.
You hear stories all the time about people who find their calling after something goes wrong—getting fired, getting sick, going through a divorce. It’s not a coincidence. It doesn’t always feel like a gift in the moment, but the universe will find a way to shake our world and force us to look deeper.
Our job is to pay attention—to listen to what the mind, body, and soul are trying to tell us. To notice that sliver of gold beneath the clay, and start peeling it away, piece by piece, until we reconnect with our golden nature.
It’s a place of love, passion, and joy.
And when we uncover that part of ourselves, and learn to live from that space, we connect to life on a deeper level—and help others do the same.
Learning to uncover that golden nature is what allows us to make the world a better place.
This is the journey home.