Meeting with Siddartha
When I went to meet with Siddartha he drove me to a remote spot outside the village for some peace and quiet. I explained that I am thinking about sponsoring these boys education, but that I need to know if that is a good thing to do. I do not know the culture, I do not know the realities, and I trust that he knows how best to assist these young people. Initially he is hesitant to “endorse” this plan, as these boys are “clever and will survive”, while there are other students in the orphanage “whos very lives are in jeopardy.” But as I explain my intentions, and the boys dreams, he answers me with this story:
There was once a man who stood before God and asked, “Why is there so much suffering? Why did you need to create heaven and hell? Why is earthly life so much like hell?” And God said, let me show you heaven, and let me show you hell.
As God showed the man hell there was a huge pot of soup in the center of miserable, suffering people. The soup pot held a very long handled spoon. The people sat around the pot in deep, deep pain and misery.
Then God showed the man heaven. Here was the same pot of soup with the same long handled spoon, but the people were dancing and singing and living merrily along.
The man was confused and said to God, “What is the difference? They both have the same pot of soup and long handled spoon, so why is one group so miserable and the other so happy?”
God said, “The people who are in hell continue to try and feed themselves with the long handled spoon, but struggle and cannot reach their own mouths. They are hungry and poor and full of disease. Those who are in heaven have simply learned to feed one another. By feeding each other, by giving to others first, everyone can experience heaven on earth. It is all a choice.”
Siddartha went on to explain that the soup is not just mortal food, but the food of the spirit and soul and heart and people. It is the soup of all things, and those of us who serve are those who live the happiest lives. He could see how much I want to help, and that my motivation is for the betterment of the boys. “In that kind of giving, mama, you cannot go wrong.”
There was once a man who stood before God and asked, “Why is there so much suffering? Why did you need to create heaven and hell? Why is earthly life so much like hell?” And God said, let me show you heaven, and let me show you hell.
As God showed the man hell there was a huge pot of soup in the center of miserable, suffering people. The soup pot held a very long handled spoon. The people sat around the pot in deep, deep pain and misery.
Then God showed the man heaven. Here was the same pot of soup with the same long handled spoon, but the people were dancing and singing and living merrily along.
The man was confused and said to God, “What is the difference? They both have the same pot of soup and long handled spoon, so why is one group so miserable and the other so happy?”
God said, “The people who are in hell continue to try and feed themselves with the long handled spoon, but struggle and cannot reach their own mouths. They are hungry and poor and full of disease. Those who are in heaven have simply learned to feed one another. By feeding each other, by giving to others first, everyone can experience heaven on earth. It is all a choice.”
Siddartha went on to explain that the soup is not just mortal food, but the food of the spirit and soul and heart and people. It is the soup of all things, and those of us who serve are those who live the happiest lives. He could see how much I want to help, and that my motivation is for the betterment of the boys. “In that kind of giving, mama, you cannot go wrong.”
posted by Kim at Monday, October 16, 2006
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