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 in their monastery from being pillaged, the townspeople covered it in clay and stones. Decades passed and the army had moved out, however, over the years, the people had forgotten the statue was in fact golden.
One day, a monk was meditating under the statue when a piece of clay broke off the hand. The monk peered closely and saw that it was gold underneath. He ran to the town yelling, “the Buddha is Golden! The Buddha is golden!” The villagers came running to discover the monk was telling the truth and they began ripping the clay off, chunk by chunk, to reveal the Buddha’s true, golden nature.
Your Golden Nature
Over the course of our lives, clay builds up from our social interactions, work, school, love, heartbreak, death, life, and numerous other events, ultimately covering up our true nature. You often hear of people who are led to their true calling after getting fired, an illness, a heartbreak, or some type of failure. This is in no way an accident. This is an example of how life can sometimes rip away the clay for us, without us at first seeing the big picture or the benefits that will stem from it. This force can start as a tiny alarm clock, where you may be unhappy at your current job, and if you’re not paying attention, it can escalate to a sledgehammer to the side of the head, like life throwing a layoff or an illness at you.
Our mission is to listen, listening to our mind, body, and soul to peel away the clay piece by piece to find our bliss, and our true golden nature that is talked about in Buddhist and Hindu scriptures, the Bible and many more religious texts. By rediscovering our original selves, we open up to life and begin to see the world with a newfound love and appreciation for the people and experiences in it.