Just A Thought ~ WITH THE HELP OF COUNTLESS OTHERS

"Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life."

~ Giorgos Seferis (1900 -1971), Greek Nobel Literature Prize Winner 1963 ~

Our story is not simply our story, but is made up of the stories of countless other people and things; there is very little about us that is really us. Most of us is not-us!

It is said that the first person the Buddha met after he set out from the place of his enlightenment to go to Benares, was a wandering ascetic named Upaka. This ascetic was so impressed by the appearance and demeanor of the Buddha that he said to him: "Your appearance, friend, is remarkable; you must surely have found something extraordinary. May I ask who is your teacher and what he teaches?" The Buddha replied: "I have no teacher. By myself I have become a Buddha." Upaka was not impressed and thought he was boasting ~ something not rare even in those times ~ and said, "It may be so", and walked away without waiting to hear anything more. Perhaps I would have done the same, especially because there are so many people claiming to be Buddhas these days.

It is doubtful that the Buddha really said that ~ the scriptures should not be considered infallible ~ because no-one does anything by themselves, but only with the help and support of countless others, all in accord with the Law of Cause-and-Effect. The Buddha may not have had a teacher to lead him to enlightenment, but many people did help him during his search, without whom, he would not ~ could not ~ have made it. Having a teacher is only one of the factors involved, and a teacher may help us only if we have other good supporting factors.

Actually, anyone or anything that even momentarily crosses our path or impinges on our senses influences us in some way, usually without us being aware of it. It is the pinnacle of arrogance and not just ignorance to imagine that we are complete in ourselves and accomplish anything alone.