On the Minister's Mind
by Rev. Laine Morgan
December 8th is Bodhi Day. This day is set aside to mark something that happened 2500 years ago when Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha or the “awakened one.” The story of the Buddha is that Siddhartha, at the age of 29, left his princely life in a luxurious palace to figure out for himself the real meaning of life. He journeyed around the land seeking information through every means available, observing how others lived and found meaning, trying to do as they did. One day, he sat down under a Peepal tree and resolved to continue meditation until he achieved enlightenment or “bodhi”. After 49 days of sitting in meditation, he attained bodhi and the tree is now famously known as the Bodhi Tree.
After looking outside himself for meaning, Siddhartha was so frustrated, he simply turned within for deep introspection until he discovered the universal truth that the answers are always waiting inside our own consciousness. In meditation he could access spiritual wisdom and insights that are still shared today. On December 8th, we pause to remember this internal journey we are all called to take.
I don’t know what you were doing at age 29, but I can certainly relate to the idea of looking everywhere for purpose and meaning, not realizing the power of turning within to my Spirit. I spent years watching others around me, and on television, to see if I could emulate someone else’s purpose and meaning. Surely someone knew something! I searched high and low for wisdom that felt solid and real and truthful. I looked to the world of employment and relationships and finances and health regimes or diets and a million other places, growing ever disillusioned.
Maybe that searching high and low is a universal experience and I learned a lot, but it wasn’t until I found my own “bodhi tree” and sat down to look within and listen to Spirit, that I found a light I could follow. The writings of Ernest Holmes pointed the way, as did many other writers and teachers, but until I began to practice making that inner connection, it was all just theory. I had to access that inner light, my connection to God, to find the way to my highest self.
Thomas Keating wrote the truth – “The potential for human wholeness or enlightenment – or for salvation, transcendence, transformation, blessedness – is present in every human being.” Like Buddha, Keating is assuring us that the Light is within us, and it illuminates the path to wholeness and peace.
The answers you seek are not “out there” somewhere, they are waiting for you in your very own heart and soul. Your purpose in life is to live in joy, connected to others in unified light. Your realm of influence, or your “hula hoop”, will celebrate your very own Bodhi Day year after year.
The Buddha wasn’t special, he just did the inner work.