The Bottomless Bowl
By Kavita Maharaj - Ladysmith Chronicle - February 2, 2009
The following is a Buddhist story that well illustrates the unfulfilling nature of human desire:
An emperor was coming out of his palace for his morning walk when he met a beggar. He asked the beggar, “What do you want?”
The beggar laughed and said, “You are asking me as though you can fulfill my desire!”
The emperor was offended and said, “of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell me.”
And the beggar said, “Think twice before you promise anything.”
Now, unbeknownst to the emperor, the beggar was no ordinary man; he was the emperor’s past life master who had promised to come again in this life in an attempt to awaken the emperor.
Having forgotten this, the emperor insisted, “I will fulfill anything you ask. I am a very powerful emperor! What can you possibly desire that I cannot give to you?”
The beggar said, “It is a very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can you fill it with something?”
The emperor laughed, “of course!” He called one of his advisors and told him, “fill this man’s begging bowl with money.” The advisor went, got some money, and poured it into the bowl. But as he poured, the money disappeared. The advisor poured more and more, but the moment it was poured, it continued to disappear — and the begging bowl remained always empty.
The whole palace gathered. By and by, the rumour went through the whole capital, and a huge crowd gathered. The prestige of the emperor was at stake. He said to his advisors, “If the whole kingdom is lost, I am ready to lose it, but I cannot be defeated by this beggar.”
Diamonds and pearls and emeralds were poured; his treasuries were becoming empty. The begging bowl seemed to be bottomless. Everything that was put into it immediately disappeared. Finally it was the evening, and the people were standing there in utter silence. The king dropped at the feet of the beggar and admitted his defeat. He said, “Just tell me one thing. You are victorious, but before you leave, just fulfill my curiosity. What is the begging bowl made of?”
The beggar laughed and said, “It is made up of the human mind. There is no secret, it is simply made of human desire.”
This understanding transforms life. With desire, there is first a great excitement and anticipation. Something is going to happen, you’re on the verge of it. But then you fulfill it: you have the car, the yacht, the house, the love of your life and suddenly all is meaningless again.
The excitement was only in the “getting.” With the desire fulfilled the excitement is gone. Again the emptiness is there, ready to consume you. You then create another desire to escape the yawning abyss.
Moving from one desire to another, one remains a beggar. Your whole life proves it again and again. Every desire frustrates. When the goal is achieved, you need another desire. The day you understand this, is the day that self-fulfillment, and the inner journey of yoga, truly begins.
