Santa Clara Meditation Column – The Key To Happiness
Someone sought out and asked a master,
“You can’t imagine how hard my life is. I am very unhappy because of stress. Please teach me the key to being happy.”
His teacher said, “I have to garden now. In the meantime, could you watch this bag for me?”
The teacher’s comments threw him off. But he held the bag quietly, wondering if his teacher was in a hurry.
It wasn’t very heavy at first. But as time went by, it began to feel heavier. His shoulder ached after about half an hour. But his teacher wasn’t even thinking about finishing the job.
In spite of it, he asked again.
“Well, how long do I have to hold this bag?”
The teacher responded with a look of incomprehension.
“Well, if it’s heavy, put it down. Have you been holding it until now?”
“Yes……?!”
At that moment, he had a huge realization.
If I wanted to be happy, I could have put down the heavy things I was holding on to.
‘To put it down is to be relieved of it. To be relieved of it, I’ll have to throw away all the load of my mind. If I just wipe away my mind, it’ll all be resolved.’
Finding the path to getting out of a desolate life, he was unbelievably happy that he had taken a step closer on the path towards a happy life.
