From the Journey Home

During the course of my travels, I had become quite attached to the spiritual books I carried. I had gradually gather a small library in a cloth bag. Except for this heavy bag of books, my only possession was a begging bowl and a branch used as a walking stick. Many times I considered reducing the weight of this burden, but every time I looked through the books, trying to decide which ones to give away, I found I could not part with a single one. Because each was special to me and I worried I might never find it again, I lugged this bag of books wherever I went, often exhausted from the load.
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I waited on the street corner until the traffic light turned green, but when I reached down to lift my bag of books--it was gone. I was frantic. I searched the four directions, running here and there, asking everybody around, but to no avail. I had to come to grips with the reality that my books had been stolen. Standing on that corner, I lamented.

These precious books enlightened me with knowledge and inspiration. They were on irreplaceable treasure in my life. I received them from the benevolent hands of my teachers. My precious wealth has been ripped away.

Terribly sad, hopeless of their recovery, I walked away.

After taking a few steps, I became aware of how easy it had become to walk. The heavy burden that had troubled me for so long, the bag of books, was gone. Just as suddenly as I had felt despair, I felt liberated. Almost skipping, I reflected:

The nature of the mind is to interpret nonessentials essential. The mind creates artificial needs, believing it cannot live without them. In this way we carry a great burden of attachments throughout our life. Attachment is itself a great burden on our minds. We may never understand the extent of the burden till, like my books or the earwax, we're free of it. But if we find joy within, we can live a simple life, free of endless complications.

I had begun to develop an attachment to finding the right path and teacher by my own will. Paradoxically, I now understand that in order to truly find what I was seeking, I needed to be detached and sincere. Whatever obstacles I was to encounter along the way would serve, I hoped, to bring me to ultimate freedom.