The Buddha and The Beggar Revisited

This is another interpretation of the well-known story of The Buddha and The Beggar.

This is a story about a homeless man and the Buddha. A homeless man tried to gather food, but a mouse kept stealing his food from him. One day the man caught the mouse that was stealing his food. He asked the mouse, “Why are you stealing food from me? I am a homeless man. You can steal from richer people than me and it will never have a negative effect on them.”

The mouse then told the homeless man, “It’s in your destiny that, no matter how much you beg, no matter how much you gather, you will always be limited in how much you can have.”

The homeless man was shocked and asked the mouse, “Why is that my destiny?”

The mouse said, “I don’t know. Why don’t you go ask the Buddha?”

So, the homeless man went on a journey to find the Buddha and ask his question. As he traveled, he stopped by a wealthy family’s house and asked if he could spend the night there.

They invite him in and then asked him, “Where are you going?”

The homeless man answered, “I have a question for the Buddha. Tomorrow I will continue my journey to him.”

The family said, “Can we give you a question for the Buddha? We have a daughter who can’t speak. We want to ask what do we have to do to make her speak?”

The homeless man thanked the family for their hospitality and told them, “Of course I will take your question to the Buddha.”

He continued his journey and came to a big range of mountains that he had to cross. He climbed up one mountain and he met a wizard. The wizard decided to use his staff of power to fly them both across the mountain range.

The wizard asked the homeless man, “Where are you going?”

The homeless man said, “I’m going to ask the Buddha a question about my destiny.”

The wizard asked, “Can I please give you a question to ask the Buddha? I’ve been trying to go to Heaven for a thousand years. My teachings tell me that I should be able to go to Heaven now. Can you please ask the Buddha what do I have to do to get to Heaven?”

“Yes, I will ask your question for you,” said the homeless man.

He continued his journey and met his last obstacle: a river he could not cross. He met a giant turtle who carried him on his back across the river.

As they were crossing the river, the turtle asked, “Where are you going?”

The homeless man said, “I’m going to see the Buddha, I am going to ask him a question about my destiny.”

The turtle said, “Can you please ask a question for me, too? I’ve been trying to become a flying dragon and for 500 years. According to my teachings, I should have become a flying dragon by now. I want to fly to my freedom. Can you please ask the Buddha what do I have to do to become a dragon?”

The beggar thanked the turtle for taking him across the river, and said, “Of course, I will ask your question for you.”

The homeless man finally met the Buddha. He stood in front of the Buddha and asked his questions:

“The deaf girl cannot speak. She will be mute for the rest of her life.  The family of the deaf girl want to know what do they have to do to help her speak?”

“The wizard has been searching for Heaven for a thousand years. He wants to know what he needs to do to get to Heaven.”

“The turtle has been trying to become a flying dragon for 500 years. He wants to know what he needs to do to become a dragon.”

“I want to know why is it my destiny to be a homeless man?”

The Buddha carefully considered the questions the homeless man brought before him.

To the family of the mute girl, he answered, “The girl will learn to a great listener.”

To the wizard, he answered, “When the wizard stops seeking Heaven, he will find that he is already there, for it lives within his soul.”

To the turtle, he replied, “The turtle will find freedom by embracing his true nature.”

To the homeless man, he said, “You will find your home and all the riches in the world live in the present moment and in your heart.”

And so it is, that when we embrace the essence of who we are, we realize and receive the inherent gifts given to us.

– ERKipp 08/26/17