Young Monk Jivan and the Buddha on the Road

As you may or may not know, I really enjoy telling stories. This is one of them.

The original idea is not mine - it is based on a joke story told by Allan Watts or Ram Dass or maybe even Terrence McKenna in one of their lectures. But since I couldn't find the original, I kinda had to flesh it out.

It is one of my favorites and I always think about it, especially when I feel that the burden of the world is getting too heavy.

In a land of ancient wisdom and deep spirituality, there lived a young monk named Jivan. Jivan had taken the saffron robe at a tender age, his heart aflame with the singular desire to uncover the profound mystery of enlightenment. His days were spent in the serene confines of a monastery, nestled amidst the rolling hills of a region revered for its sacred energy. Yet, for all the teachings he absorbed and the meditations he undertook, the essence of enlightenment eluded him like the fleeting shadow of a cloud across the sun.

Determined to seek what he could not find within the monastery's walls, Jivan embarked on a journey that would take him across the breadth of the land. He traversed bustling cities where scholars debated the nature of reality, visited secluded hermitages where saints whispered secrets of the universe, and entered the opulent courts of nobles who professed to know the path to ultimate liberation. Yet, despite his earnest inquiries and the multitude of answers he received, none resonated with the truth he sought. Each explanation was like a ray of light refracted through a prism—beautiful, yet fragmented.

Disheartened but not defeated, Jivan continued his quest, his journey leading him to a mountain valley renowned for its divine tranquility but also feared for its treacherous paths. It was here, amidst the rugged beauty of nature, that Jivan encountered a figure that would forever alter the course of his spiritual odyssey.

The figure was that of a peasant, seemingly of no particular significance, bent under the weight of a heavy burden of wood. The man's face was etched with the lines of hardship, yet his eyes sparkled with an inexplicable serenity. Driven by a force he could not understand, Jivan approached the peasant and posed the question that had become his constant companion: "I have searched far and wide, asked priests and nobles and saints, but no one can explain to me what enlightenment is. Can't you tell me?"

In response, the peasant, with a gentle smile that seemed to illuminate the valley, simply laid down his heavy load and stood in silence.

At that moment, a profound realization dawned upon Jivan. The act of laying down the burden was not merely a physical gesture but a profound metaphor for the release of all attachments, desires, and the very ego itself. Enlightenment, he understood, was not a concept to be grasped through words but an experience to be lived—a state of being where one is free from the weight of worldly burdens.

Overwhelmed by the simplicity and depth of the lesson, Jivan fell to his knees, tears of joy streaming down his face. Before him stood not a peasant, but the Buddha himself, revealed in the ordinariness of a disguise. With a heart bursting with gratitude, Jivan asked, "What should I do now?"

Without a word, the Buddha shouldered his burden once again and continued his ascent up the mountain road.

In that silent reply, Jivan found his answer. Enlightenment was not an end but a beginning—a path to be walked with compassion, humility, and the willingness to shoulder the burdens of existence, not just for oneself but for all beings.

With a heart lightened by understanding and a spirit filled with purpose, Jivan rose to his feet, his eyes following the Buddha's retreating figure. He knew then that his journey was not over; it had just begun. He too would walk the path, bearing the light of wisdom and the warmth of compassion into the world, just as the Buddha did, one step at a time, up the mountain road of life.

Love,
Felix