The Golden Buddha

Many centuries ago, a Thai monastery housed an immense and beautiful golden statue of Buddha. After news of an invasion by the Burmese army, the monks decided to protect the statue from theft and destruction. 

They covered the Golden Buddha with 8-12 inches of plastered clay, hoping the warriors would have no desire to steal a worthless sculpture. 

The monks’ efforts worked, but they were all killed  in the raid, leaving the secret of the statue to remain hidden for another two centuries

In 1957, the monastery was relocating to make room for the construction of a new motorway.  

The monks arranged for a crane to transport 

their “clay” Buddha. 

When the crane began to lift the statue, it was much heavier than anticipated and it slowly began to crack. 

During this process the monks came to realize that the layers of old, hardened clay were hiding a spectacular golden statue of infinite worth.

The statue is over 10 feet tall and weighs more than 2 1/2 tons.  

It is made of solid gold and is valued today at 

$200 MILLION dollars.

What makes this story so touching for me is because I think this describes us.

Covered with layers of clay from our experiences in life. Still there is gold underneath all the layers.

The Golden Buddha’s clay represents the continuous pileup of life’s burdens, which developed naturally over time—the weight that became normal , even comfortable  for us to bear.

The story speaks of the importance of shedding the hardening, darkening layers we acquire throughout our lives to reveal our true inner radiance.

It’s only after removing these layers that we realize the actual lightness of our centre.

At the root of the root and the core of the core, your spirit is gold. You were born that way. 

Think back to the light-hearted days of childhood: you knew nothing else but to live and love in vivid colour.  Somewhere inside, that sense of exuberance still exists. It’s up to you to find it. 

It calls for continuous soul scrubbing to remove the everyday build-up that is hiding your glow. 

We’re all hiding something. 

Often, it’s our best and most priceless asset.

Search for it. Unveil it. 

Trust yourself enough to let it shine forth. 

Trust that others will be thrilled to receive it. 

Once you spot that glimmer of gold, you’ll 

never want to hide under heavy clay again.

When we start to love and accept ourselves for who we are. When we start taking responsibility for our lives and consciously create our reality, that is like chiselling away the clay. 

All that gold inside of you is waiting to shine… 

It is time to uncover it NOW!

Love and Light... from my Heart to Yours