Graham’s Story
I recalled the life of Gautama the Buddha: how Buddha was born a prince and lived in luxury, but felt compelled to seek enlightenment when he attentively observed the common sufferings of humanity — sickness, old age, and death. I remembered that Buddha renounced the world at age twenty-nine and, after six years of spiritual discipline, experienced his enlightenment — nirvana — which literally means freedom from bondage or corruption. When I was in India, I’d had the privilege of visiting Bodh Gaya. After enjoying the beautiful serenity of the descendant of the Bodhi tree under which Buddha had received his enlightenment, I’d visited a number of the temples placed at that holy area by Buddhists from many nations. I recall being so happy that I broke into a dance while wandering from one temple to another and attracted a crowd. I had understood it was commonplace for devotees to dance in India and was surprised to find that a simple little dance could cause a lot of commotion and spectacle. In fact, contrary to what I had been told before going to India, I did not see anyone dancing informally about the countryside. It was interesting to be in India where most Hindus call Buddha an incarnation — a divine descent of consciousness — while all the Buddhists insist that Buddha was definitely not an incarnation. That was quite a pleasant perplexity. |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
13 of 25 |
 |
 |
 |
