An Old Man

Jamal Ali

Though unsure of my actual age, my body takes pains to remind me everyday that I am an old man. I have no wife, children or family of any kind. My parents were born here in the village, and they raised me here my whole life. They have both long since died. Like my father before me, I am a builder of bridges. With the many rivers, gorges and mountains that surround the village, bridges are important for learned people to access the surrounding areas for pilgrimages. The bridges I help build are also integral to the economic life of the village, allowing for the maintenance of trade routes that experienced traders use routinely as well as for those like myself, who have recently begun to dabble in trade as secondary skill set.

I am a Buddhist because in the village we are all Buddhists, however, I am not particularly learned in the rituals, texts or doctrines of the tradition. Nevertheless, I have no other way of defining my identity except as Buddhist. I have very little in the way of charms, amulets or wheels. I am not a wealthy man. I practice meditation as often as possible but I am not enlightened. I may be old but I will continue to walk down the eightfold path, in pursuit of truly knowing the four noble truths. I find my Samadhi is lacking, I am easily distracted in my meditation and learning by the material world of the village and the concerns of my job as a builder.

This week I have been concerned by rumors of an impending hailstorm and the damage such a storm could wreak on the village and the bridges in the area that I have helped to build, not to mention my own small house and those of my fellow villagers. Many of the villagers have said that protection amulets are being sold in the Deer Park in Sarnarth. As I have said, I am not a rich man and such amulets are expensive. I believe what little money I have would be better spent on the construction materials that will needed to repair the village infrastructure, should the rumored hailstorm truly come to pass. I am also suspicious of these amulets and charms. What little knowledge I have of my faith, I got from my father and mother. I remember, however vaguely, as a child my father telling me that the Buddha did not approve of the use of such charms except in rare circumstances. If I recall my father’s teaching correctly, the Buddha saw the use of these talismans and charms as mere superstitions of earlier Brahmanic traditions, which he was antagonistic towards. For these reasons, I did not travel with my fellow villagers to attain any such charms.

There are other rumors floating around the camp as to the reasons for the impending storm. Some say it is a natural occurrence, others insist that one of the village ritualists may cause it because another villager committed some sort of an offense. I do not pretend to understand such matters, since they are beyond the scope of my knowledge. If though, this storm is being conjured by a ritualist I only hope that they would reconsider such an action, which in my humble opinion would cause much undue suffering for the village folk. In addition, I do not understand how it is possible or even desirable to enact such sorcery if my father’s teachings were correct and the Buddha himself opposed the sorcery of his time. It seems when the Buddha did engage in such magical practices, it was only to convey truths that he could not convey in more conventional methods.

In case this storm does come to pass, I am preparing by gathering all of my own building supplies and saving my gold in order to buy additional supplies if necessary. Though my primary concern is the building and repairing of bridges I understand that most villagers are concerned about the damage that could befall their homes and I am ready to assist in any way possible the builders who specialize in houses. With no family of my own, the other villagers are all I have and I will do whatever I can to help lessen their suffering and act in a compassionate manner as is required by my faith.