Today is Vesak Day – a very auspicious day in celebration of the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha. In remembrance of this great being, his compassion and enormous contribution to the human consciousness, I would like to share with my readers a real-life incident which happened to Lord Buddha’s life before he left his body. This happening was taken from Osho’s book – “The Buddha said”, gifted by a dear friend from USA.
When Buddha was dying, all his disciples gathered around him to listen to his final teaching to the world. Ananda, his chief disciple was crying and weeping. And Budhha said “Stop! What are you doing? Why are you crying and weeping?”
Ananda said, “You are leaving us. I was with you for 40 years. I walked with you, I slept with you, I ate with you, I listened to you – I was just like a shadow to you, and yet..…you were available and I could not become enlightened. Now I am crying that you are going, you are leaving. Without you, it seems impossible for me to become enlightened. Even with you, I could not become enlightened. I have missed such a great opportunity. Without you..now there is NO hope. That’s why I am crying, I am not crying because you are dying because I know you cannot die. I am crying because now for me there is no hope. Now, with your death, starts my dark night of the soul. For eons of time, millions of years, I will be stumbling in the darkness. Hence I am crying – not for you, but for myself.”