Touch Of The Buddha

Dear One,

"Blood quenches the hatred of my heart" echoed a ghostly voice, "and your blood shall fulfill my desire". Fear was the constant companion of all the travelers who chose to take the mountainous path across Takshila. The deathly voice belonged to the most feared man in ancient Takshila - Angulimala.

A ravenous man with hideous looks; he roamed the jungles in search of human flesh for sacrifice. A cannibal with no mercy, ready to butcher anyone who crossed his way. He was a nasty ghoul in a man's garb. People feared and loathed him for his bloody atrocities, yet no one could muster enough courage to stand before him and take him down. Thus time passed and he became the master of the living dead.

With the dawn of the morning sun, one day, Angulimala saw a man of exceptional beauty walk the lonely  mountain path. His mind and heart was filled with blackness as he ran like a beast possessed towards the calm silhouette.

"Stop! right there before I chop you down to pieces" shouted Angulimala. He halted abruptly when he saw the serene face of the Buddha, smiling gently.

"I have stopped, but you are still running" said the Buddha calmly. The blood thirsty cannibal couldn't understand the soulful words of the blessed Buddha.

"I am the dreaded Angulimala and I want a sacrifice of your finger to appease the gods and myself."

The Buddha unperturbed, said gently, "My child, no sacrifice is greater than the sacrifice of your own self." "What do you mean?" demanded Angulimala. "Sacrifice your hatred and embrace the heart of compassion towards all beings" replied the Buddha tenderly. Sacrifice means to let go all delusions.

No one had ever spoken to him before with so much love and compassion. The world seem to be sucked away in a chasm of confusion and he stood still like an obedient child before a compassionate father. The magic of the Buddha had worked yet again. Nothing can stand in front of a compassionate soul.

Angulimala, in a way, is the deepest blackness of our hearts; and when we come face to face with the whiteness of  Buddhahood, all hatred and smallness dissolves in the light of compassion. Darkness is just the absence of light. Ignorance is just the absence of knowledge. Suffering is just the absence of mindful awareness.

What remains is the touch of the Master making you complete and new again.

Every saint has a past and every sinner a future.

Peace in yourself - Peace in the world.