How the Buddha told Christmas: A Little Boys Curiosity One afternoon, in the middle of December, a curious young boy asked the Buddha, What is Christmas? Thus, the Buddha spoke, Christmas is a celebration of the birth; the birth of one who knows the Way. The young boy nodded politely and continued down the path. It was unusually warm for the season of advent and silver. For about a mile, he kicked a small stone in front of him as he walked. He returned home to his bright kitchen where his mother and the smell of cinnamon chased the dark outside and off his jacket. Still curious, the young boy asked his mother, Who is the one who knows the Way, mom? His mother replied, Give me your scarf; You dont need this. Jesus, Jesus knows the way, sweetie. The young boy nodded respectfully and ran off into the living room. He sat under the tree and thought. The pine was scattered by drops of color and blinking, organized combustion momentarily frozen in soft time then disappearing completely; an epicenter of peace and serenity. He spend a lot of time under the tree. The boy was still curious, so he turned around, and very quickly, toward the hall leading to his bedroom. He asked the statue of Jesus on his dresser, Jesus, what is the way? Christ nodded, The way is love. The boy replied to clarify, So Christmas is your birthday and you know the Way and love? His father was standing in the doorway and interrupted, You praying to Jesus, little guy? I was asking him about Christmas, Dad. He said in a tone that suggested happiness from confirmation. Ah. Christmas, his dad replied thoughtfully to his son, well, it is His birthday, but it is about more than that. The boy then asked, Is it about love, or the Way? His dad in pride responded, I always knew you were smart. Yes, it is about the spirit of love and peace for everyone. The next morning, the boy immediately upon waking remembered a dream from his sleep on the bus ride to school. He dreamt of snow rising to the sky instead of falling to the ground, accumulating clean white clouds over the town, rushing to disappear on the horizon. This image captured most of his thoughts, if not all. First thing after the bell, he asked his teacher, What is the spirit of love and peace for everyone? and how can I give it to everyone? Impressed by his honest ambition, the teacher explained: Keep doing good things, little things, things that people will remember; then they will do the same to others. Christmas helps continue this chain, the world becomes a temple of belonging and we feel we are one family. The boy understood what she meant. During recess, the boy heard two girls talking, fighting. One with curly hair said, I was the best this year. I didnt do one bad thing. Im gonna get everything from Santa. The other, dressed plain, said: My brother told me there is no Santa and we can be as bad as we want and still get presents. The curly-haired girl responded empathically, Santa is a spirit. He knows what we do and tells our parents how much to give us. I know he isnt real. The bell rang, and the boy went to his next class. Still curious, during a boring class about fractions, the boy wrote in his math notebook: Christmas is about family, our own family, and the family of everyone. Christmas is doing good things so good things can happen to everyone. Christmas is the spirit of love and peace for everyone. And it is Jesus birthday; he knows love and the Way. Buddha smiled. RP © 2007
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 10:42:27 +0000
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