The Golden Buddha and You

Over three centuries ago in what was then Siam the Buddhist Monks had a beautiful Buddha that stood over ten feet tall made of solid gold weighing over 2 tons. This statue was highly treasured and valuable to the monks in many ways far beyond monetary value. During a time of war it was discovered that the Burmese Army was planning an attack. The monks knew they would steal or destroy the Buddha so they completely covered it with 12 inches of clay mud to protect it.  Unfortunately, all the monks were killed during the invasion but their plan worked so well that the “clay” statue survived untouched for another two centuries.

 In the 1950’s a new monastery was being built and it was decided to move the 10 foot tall clay Buddha to the new location. It was much heavier than anticipated, when the crane came to lift it, it cracked revealing a glimpse of the hidden beauty and treasure that was there all along. The monks carefully chiseled away all the clay and mud to restore the statue to it’s original grandeur. Today it is enjoyed by millions of visitors at the Temple of the Golden Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand.

The story of the Golden Buddha is so like each of us.

I believe we are each beautiful treasures of priceless value and potential. During our lives we also are covered with mud, often in an attempt to protect us but it also diminishes our ability to shine as we truly are intended to. When you watch young children play you observe that it is our natural instinct to let it all hang out and fully enjoy ourselves and our lives. When we are young we are comfortable with our greatness and boldly in share all that we are. But as our identity is formed and our vision of the world develops much of this is tamped down by well meaning adults attempting to teach us to be polite, fit in, be safe from harm, and excel. Even the best intended messages can dim our bright and bold natures: Don’t touch that, don’t do that, be quiet, behave yourself, you better be careful, you are going to get hurt, be a good girl, don’t be selfish, that will never work, stop dreaming, get serious, don’t trust strangers, you are wrong, slow down, that’s stupid, the list is endless. These common well meaning messages each put a layer of mud over our gold. As you grow you may experience physical or emotional abuse, bullying, rejection, heartbreak and disappointment or serious health issues. We all have negative or horrific experiences in our lives, these too add a layer of mud to protect us and hide behind. We then add our own layers of mud as we encounter the pain of rejection and the disappointment of defeat or failure.

It seems to me the condition of the world can be very much like an attack of enemy forces. Like the monks our instincts tell us to hide the good stuff away to protect it. It may seem that this is wise, after all the monks saved their treasure. But we do not have two centuries to wait to be uncovered and enjoyed.

We long to be seen as we truly are. We crave the freedom and fearlessness to chisel away the clay and brightly shine as all of who we are. When we remain hidden it causes disconnect, restlessness, stress and depression. Unlike the Buddah we are alive underneath the mud and struggle to break free. We suffer when we are covered with clay, unable to fully express ourselves, pursue our deepest desires and fully intimately connect with each other.

This is the journey of our lives. To become aware of the valuable treasure within each of us. Then we can begin to chisel away at those layers that hold us back using the sharp edge of courage and the dissolving grace of self acceptance. As we begin to see ourselves as we truly are and resist the temptation to play it safe and small we discover a life that is more meaningful and richly rewarding. We can then step fully into the beauty and treasure that has always been there just under the surface and become all that we already are.