A beggar had been sitting by the side of a road for over thirty years. One day a stranger walked by.
"Spare some change?" Mumbled the beggar, mechanically holding out his old baseball cap.
"I have nothing to give you," said the stranger. Then he asked: "What's that you are sitting on?" "Nothing," replied the beggar. "Just an old box. I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember." "Ever looked inside?" asked the stranger.
"No," said the beggar. "What's the point? There's nothing in there." "Have a look inside," insisted the stranger.
The beggar managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold.
This parable lays out the very essence of human suffering.
We are always looking externally for answers to our problems, for validation, for security or love, but everything you will ever need can be found within.
The solution to all suffering can be found inside our mind because our thoughts are the cause of all suffering.
In life, discomfort is inevitable, but suffering is a choice. There are two types of suffering.
One is fear, which derives from our thoughts of the future. What awful scenario might play out?
