Unveiling the Golden Buddha: Finding the Hidden Gold Within

Have you heard about the story of the Golden Buddha?

In the mid-50s, a monastery was to be relocated to make room for a new highway. The monks arranged for a crane to come and move a 10-foot-tall clay Buddha to its new location. When the crane started to lift the statue, it was much heavier than expected and it began to crack. Wanting to protect the priceless shrine, the monks lowered it back down and decided to wait until the next day to bring more powerful equipment. To add insult to injury, the rain came in, so the monks lovingly covered the statue with tarps to keep the moisture away. In the dark of night, the head monk took his torch and went out to make sure the Buddha was adequately covered. When the light of the torch shone into the crack of the clay, he saw a glimmer... a reflection of something underneath that shroud of clay. He immediately started to carefully chisel away shards of clay to find that the glimmer grew brighter. Hours later, when all the clay had been removed... he was in the presence of a Buddha made of solid gold!

The story behind this "Clay Buddha" says that over three hundred years ago, the Burmese army planned an attack to invade Thailand. At the time, the country was known as Siam. The Siamese monks were in possession of the most amazing Buddha statue. The monks were determined to protect the shrine that meant so much to them. They knew that the Burmese would stop at nothing to steal the statue because of its tremendous monetary value. They covered the Golden Buddha with 12 inches of clay knowing that the warriors would totally ignore it and think it worthless. Sadly, the monks were slaughtered in the invasion and the secret of the Golden Buddha stayed hidden for two centuries. The Buddha itself, though, remained safe.

What's the point of the story?

For me, I see so many people each and every day, all covered with layers of clay from our experiences in life (some good, some bad). BUT there is gold underneath all the layers, we just have forgotten, like the Monks. In a world where there is so much negativity, stress, and worry, we can become lost in ourselves and the chaos around us. We forget to look inside, to remember the gold that shines within.

It is important to remember this, and if we need to reach out and seek help, do it! Chisel the clay away!