17/01/2022
Buddha was about to return to his father's palace after twelve years of wandering the forests leading a spiritual life, eating what he found, begging and meditating.
When Buddha arrived at the palace, his father was terribly angry:
—I am an old man and these twelve years have been torture. You are my only son and I have tried to stay alive until you return.
Buddha laughed and then said:
“Father, The man who left the palace is no longer here. He died a long time ago. I am another person. Look at me!
Then his father got even angrier. The old man could not see who the Buddha was, nor what his son had become.
He remembered him with his identity as a prince, although that identity was no longer there. In fact, Buddha left the palace precisely to know himself. He didn't want to be distracted by what others expected of him. But his father was looking at him now as if no time had passed, with eyes from twelve years ago.
"Do you want to trick me?" -He said-. Do you think I don't know you? I know you better than anyone! I am your father!
Buddha replied: “Even so, father. Please understand. I'm part of you, but that doesn't mean you know me. Twelve years ago I didn't even know who I was. Now I know! Look at me in the eyes. Please, forget the past, place yourself in the here and now.
The father paused, his anger turning into pain.
"I've waited for you all these years and today you tell me that you're not the one you were, that you're not my son, that you've become enlightened... Enlightened..." he said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Answer me, at least, one last question: whatever you have learned in the world, would it not have been possible to learn it here, in the palace, by my side, among your people? Is the truth only found in the woods, away from your family, from the people who want the best for you?
Buddha replied:
“The truth is both here and there. But it would have been very difficult for me to discover it without moving from here, because I was lost in the identity of a prince, a son, a husband, a father, an example. It was not the palace that I left, nor you, nor the others, I just walked away from the prison that was my own identity.