This is a true story of the discovery of a Golden Buddha statue that had been hidden under layers of stucco for nearly 200 years. It is a wonderful metaphor for our own spiritual journey.
In 1955, in the village of Wat Traimit, Bankok, a large stucco statue of the Buddha was being moved to a new building. It had been relocated a few times in those two centuries, but for the last 20 years, it had been housed out of doors under a flimsy tin roof.
As the story goes, while moving the statue, ropes broke and the Buddha fell to the ground. The impact caused the outer layer of the statue to break, and in doing so, small areas of gold were revealed.
Work began to unveil the layers of stucco, and when the work was done, a 10 foot high, 18 karat gold statue of the Buddha emerged. It was believed the statue had been covered with the stucco in 1767 to hide it from Burmese invaders, and it’s true nature had long been forgotten.
The discovery of this precious Golden Buddha is very symbolic of our own spiritual journey. The image of the stucco Buddha shows an outward appearance of a beautiful, solid and strong being. In truth, however, the real beauty of this piece was hidden below these thick layers of protection. The outer layer was all a facade.
We all have within us an 18 karat gold nature. It goes by different names—Source, God, the Divinity within, Buddha-nature, inner Spirit, our true Self… consciousness. The names are simply pointers, a way of trying to describe that which is quite impossible to describe.
We also have around us, this protective facade of delusions, fears, false beliefs, conditioned patterns of behaviors and a false sense of self. It can appear very authentic, but it is not the real Truth.
Those of us on a spiritual journey or quest, have a sense of the existence of both the false self and the true Self. We may start by looking externally for the Truth because the thick layers of mud and stucco have prevented us from seeing what is so very close. Eventually, however, this Truth does start to reveal itself.
In some cases, great suffering or trauma can cause this rigid facade to break open. But, for the most part, this unveiling is a process done over many years. We patiently and diligently work at removing the layers of mud through self-reflection, healing and a deepening of spiritual awareness.
Eventually, small glimmers of gold start to shine from our inner Self, and we realize the Truth of who we are. We stop looking outside for the answers to all our spiritual questions and begin to remember everything we seek is within. In time, we begin to see more of our own truth…maybe not all of it, but some of it. We begin to experience more joy and contentment and as we reveal pieces of our own inner Golden Buddha!
I write this article as an inspiration for those who are on such a journey and perhaps have not yet found this glimmer of hope…this glimmer of Truth. Or perhaps you’ve caught a sneak peek of your own inner Golden Buddha, but you are so tired of working with all those layers of mud!
I want to say, just carry on…but rest when your body and soul ask you to! Don’t become overwhelmed or think you ‘have to get it all done’. Take time to be playful and doing things you love. Don’t underestimate how powerful ‘taking a break’ can be. For it is in these times of apparent rest and apparent ‘non-doing’, that some of the biggest pieces of stucco and mud can simply release on their own!