Stories of the Buddha

There are two stories of the Buddha that I remember very well.  They made a deep impression on me...

      It was in the beginning of His ministry.  He was sitting in one of the parks, doing nothing, sitting quietly, and while he was doing so, a group of people clustered around Him, drawn by the news that He was the Enlightened One.  As is natural amongst people, there had already been criticism, rejection, derision of Him.  They considered Him, in short, an impostor.  Now as they gathered around the Buddha in the park, they began to voice their criticism, saying:
      "He is simply a person seeking fame and name with the masses,"
      "He sits silently there trying to impress others,"
      "One who is enlightened should give enlightenment and he is doing nothing," and so on.

      At first they spoke in whispers and then as Buddha continued to take no notice, they spoke more loudly and their criticism and rejection became stronger.  The volume of their voices increased and they began to openly abuse him. They abused and abused and abused until they grew tired, and finally having exhausted themselves, they turned to depart.  Just then the Buddha spoke for the first time:
      "Stop a while, and pay heed.  When a friend - a long lost friend, returns to your midst, you wish to give him presents.  But suppose your friend does not accept your gifts, to whom do they belong?  What happens to them?"
      The crowd laughed and said: "The presents are still ours and we keep them accordingly."
      "What you have said is correct," agreed the Buddha.  "And so it is with your presents.  The words you have used and the expressions you have displayed, I do not accept and I return them to you.  You have wasted your breath and energy and you will now carry them back with you."

      That story made a strong impression.  When the abuse, or the filth you could say, that can gush forth from a person is not accepted by the other, then that filth is reflected back to the abuser.  So Buddha's first teaching was, "Beware of what you say."


      **  **  **

      During the Buddha's wanderings with His band of disciples, He would beg for food from householders, and it is related what happened on one occasion when He approached a very wealthy farmer.  The farmer came from His house in response to the Buddha's call for food and looked at the sturdy figures of Buddha and His disciples.  He studied them for a time and then said: "You have come to beg food at my door, and it is true that I am a very wealthy farmer.  My barns are full with grain and my fields are fertile.  But do you suppose that the grain just falls from the heavens?  I have to labor, to toil for long hours with great difficulty in order to fill my barns, and you come here just spreading your hands and asking that they be filled.  Is the fruit of such labor to be thrown away like that?  Why don't you labor in the same way and so earn your livelihood?"
      The Buddha quietly answered: "Sir, what you say is so true.  No man can amass grain or wealth of any form without use of hands and brains.  You are perfectly justified in what you say.  But know now my story and how hard I labor.  Yes, you labor hard.  You plow your fields, sow your seeds, nurture your seedlings, and then harvest your crops, and the cycle is completed within the period of one year or less.  Then you store your crops and you become a rich farmer.  I, on the other hand, work even more than yourself, yet I am poor, because the fruits of my sowing are gathered after many, many incarnations.  My toiling is far more difficult and laborious than yours.  I sow the seed, and I have to wait;  I nurture the seed and it takes many incarnations for the seed to grow into a seedling and then to bear fruit.  Then, with great difficulty, I take the fruit and store it in my barns.  Your cycle of labor is completed within the year, whereas mine takes many generations and many incarnations."

      So the Buddha gave an inkling of how He looks after His children and how He gives enlightenment to them.  His words penetrated the heart of that farmer, and he and his whole family became the Buddha's followers.  As Meher Baba said: "Words that proceed from the source of Truth have real meaning, but when men speak these words as their own, the words become meaningless."

From the book, It So Happened..., stories from days with Meher Baba, compiled and edited by Bill LePage (Australia: Meher Baba Foundation Australia), pp. 85-87, The Buddha, narrated by Eruch Jessawala from a tape recording.