When the Buddha walked upon this earth, many were the questions that people addressed to him. Sometimes,these queries ranged on the side of the absurd; somewere unanswerable.
Why did God create the world? Were we ever one with Him? If so, how did we get separatedfrom Him? And so they went on.
These were the days of abstract, philosophical speculation. People discussed endlessly, little realizing that they had no bearing on reality. What is more, they brought these futile queries to the Buddha,be seeching him to give them answers to thesequestions.
The Buddha once narrated a story to these abstract thinkers in reply to their queries.
There was a man whose house caught fire in the middle of the night. All the neighbours rushed to his help.“Get out of the house,” they cried to him. “Let usquench the flames.”But the man replied, “I will not leave the house untilI get the answers to a few pressing questions. Whatcaused the fire? What is the intensity of the flames?What are the chemical constituents of the fire? UntilI find answers to all these queries, I will not leavethis house. The Buddha said to his interlocutors, “Your house ison fire, and you want to ask futile questions. What you must do is to quench the flames first?”
Each one of us is trapped in the flames of endless desires. Instead of seeking abstract solutions, we should seek liberation!
1 comment:
hi,
do u remember what you posted on 21 dec? it reads :
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past. You can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
warm wishes
chandra
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