As per the Buddha

After having read Buddha - The story of enlightenment a couple of times, the spiritual teachings of the 'Buddha' has inspired and given me strength everyday. This is an excerpt from a newsletter which talks about awareness. I got introduced to this 'concept' in 2002 when I attended a 10 day Vipassana course in Igatpuri ( India)

After years of intense spiritual seeking and observing austerities, Siddhartha was struck by a wondrous Insight, which transformed him into the ‘Buddha’.

The very next morning, one of the children who used to visit the forest to graze the cows observed that there was a noticeable change in his face; it radiated serenity and peace after a long time. His smile spoke it all - that he had found what he was long seeking for. When asked what it was all about, he merely put the children through a meditative process of eating a tangerine with complete attention to every detail.

At the end of it, when he asked how they felt, one of them replied, "Even though I have eaten it so many times before, it felt as though I was eating a tangerine for the first time!" Siddhartha smiled and replied, "that is what I have discovered since last night; the simple joy of eating a tangerine!" And this is why the world reveres him as ‘The Buddha’; as the one who discovered the simple but unfathomable joy of ‘living’.

The 'concept' is indeed very simple and yet so hard to practice. I can vividly recollect the times when I am truly in the moment i.e. in a state of awareness and those few seconds and minutes are definitely the best by far.

My thought of the week is to practice awareness till it becomes a way of life.

Pic courtesy: Owned copy