Nothing is Everything — Everything is Nothing
The tale of Buddha (or Siddhartha) is about the beautiful son of a Brahman priest who found that though he made everyone else happy, he was not happy himself. He studied to fulfill his intellectual needs, but his soul remained unsatisfied. So he decided to become an ascetic wandering beggar of the Samanas. Living in the woods, he tried to lose his memories, to escape from the Self, only to learn that it is the Self that he must discover. He quit the ascetic lifestyle and went to the city of Sansara where he soon became the lover of a beautiful courtesan, Kamala, and he succeeded as a businessman. Lulled by the life of luxury Siddhartha searched no more. Until one night he saw a nightmare.
In his dream a dead bird reminded him of all that was good and of value in himself. In reality he had a happy life with all comfort and love, still deep inside he was unsatisfied. Should we listen to a dream or a nightmare that shows an honest picture of our feelings we try to hide from ourselves? How can something illogical like a dream be truer than real life facts? It can happen like Siddharta learnt that the path of luxury and sensual pleasure was as foolish as that of ascetism. He left the city in dispair and wanted to commit suicide to find peace.
Eventualy he didn’t kill himself yet he found peace in that very desperate moment because he managed to hear a holy sound from inside: ‘Om’. He decided to live by the river and reach for inward perfection by a refreshing, dreamless sleep of enlightment. Imagine listening to the river for 12 years like Siddhartha! He learnt of the totality and simultaneity of all being — man and nature alike. When Siddhartha found out that Kamala had a son from him, he decided to take care of the boy. But the young Siddhartha resisted the father’s authority just like he had done years ago. This was a painful experience for him, through which he learnt how to live with things as they are.
Like the river water evaporates up to the clouds, and falls back again to make the river grow, he understood that no thing and no one can be lost.
Siddhartha achieved the Buddha-hood, but he couldn’t share his knowledge. All his life he was looking for teachers, only to learn that there is nothing to learn and there is nothing to teach. Wisdom is not communicable. The only thing can be done is to sink in our own confusion. We can’t have anything unless we let go of it and this applies to wisdom, as well.
Are you looking for a meaning? What do you know … for sure … anyway?
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