Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll probably find it

Jun 5

I was going through old books when I found this parable cited in Happiness at Work by Srikumar Rao. He uses it to describe how a shift in our thinking, in how we choose to see the world, can change everything.

I love the way he tells this story, and I hope you like it too. 😊

“The abbot of a once-famous Buddhist monastery that had fallen into decline was deeply troubled. Monks were lax in their practice, novices were leaving, and lay supporters were deserting to other centers. He traveled far to see a sage and recounted his tale of woe, saying how much he wanted to transform his monastery to the flourishing haven it had been in days of yore. The sage looked him in the eye and said, 'The reason your monastery has languished is that the Buddha is living among you in disguise, and you have not honored him.'
The abbot hurried back, his mind in turmoil. The Selfless One was at his monastery! Who could he be? Brother Hua? No, he was full of sloth. Brother Po? No, he was too dull. But then the Tathagata [the Buddha] was in disguise. What better disguise than sloth or dull-wittedness? He called his monks together and revealed the sage’s words. They too were taken aback and looked at each other with suspicion and awe. Which one of them was the Chosen One? The disguise was perfect. Not knowing who he was, they took to treating everyone with the respect due the Buddha. Their faces started shining with an inner radiance that attracted novices and then lay supporters. In no time at all, the monastery far surpassed its previous glory.”

We have a tendency to label people and file them into categories and boxes. It makes life simpler in some ways, but also poorer.

What if, instead, we remain open to the possibility that each person has something precious inside them? What if we treated each other accordingly? How much richer life could be.

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Note: I also highly recommend Are You Ready to Succeed: Unconventional Strategies for Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life by Srikumar Rao.