Learning the Way
There was once when the Buddha preached the Dharma to devas, kings and ministers. Among them was an apparently strong and brave Bikshu who wanted to practise with diligence. The Buddha therefore asked him to go to the valley behind a mountain where ghosts and spirits often appeared and find a tree underneath which he could learn to observe his breathing and meditate.
As soon as he had sat down, he found the silence around him and the occasional noise of the ghosts and spirits unbearably frightening, and shuddered with fear in this eerie atmosphere of suspense. As he could not relax and concentrate, he felt so disturbed that he wanted to quit his practice. Mumbling to himself, he said:" I am from a family of wealth and repute, and my aim in renouncing family life is to settle my mind. Now that I am here all by myself with no companion or even the sign of a passer-by, I think I should leave instead of staying here to be haunted by the ghosts!"
While he was absorbed in his worries, the Buddha had already sat down by his side under a big tree. He asked the Bikshu:" Are you afraid to be here on your own?"
The Bikshu answered after paying his respects:" I have never lived in the mountains before. Now that I am here alone, I really feel frightened."
At this point, a huge elephant of the wild came near and settle under another tree. It was thinking:" How happy it is to get away from the large crowd!"
The Buddha knew its thought, and asked the Bikshu:" Do you know why the elephant has come here?"
The Bikshu said:" I do not know."
The Buddha then told him:" This elephant is related to around five hundred other elephants, large and small. It has run away from them to enjoy a peaceful moment of rest here because it knows the benefit of being freed from the prison of intimate love. The elephant, though an animal, aspires to live in a place of peace and quiet. You are a renounced one who has pledged to find liberation, and yet you cannot be on your own. Remember that if you find companions who happen to be deluded, they can be a great hindrance to your cultivation. It is therefore sometimes better to cultivate alone."
Having heard this revelation by the Buddha, he finally understood and settled in peace to practise. The ghosts and spirits of the mountain who heard the Buddha's words vowed never again to disturb humans in cultivation.
[ To learn the Way, one must totally depart from the bonds of fear, love, hate, craving, anger, delusion and ignorance. The mere formality of leaving the croed to be on your own is not enough.]
