a simple flower

There was this small tree in a corner of our garden…

We even had a swing hanging from one its branches at one time… I used to climb on its branches and it was really nice to sit up there.

This same flower that I saw recently reminds me of those days.

And also a story I read recently in the remarkable book Old Path White Clouds by a Vietnamese monk Thich Naht Hanh… (and may be made into a mega-movie by Shekar Kapoor)

It was time for Buddha to give his usual discourse to the disciples. But he just sat silently. Everyone started to wonder what was going on. The assembly started to get restless. The Buddha then simply held up a flower. Held it up, but said nothing.

The entire assembly was confused. They tried to think of some great profound meaning of it.

Only Mahakashyapa, one of the senior disciples, smiled.

Seeing his smile, the Buddha said, ‘My true Dharma is transmitted to Mahakashyapa”

Without trying to interpret any meaning, any significance, Mahakashyapa had simply and completely experienced the flower as it was.

As simple as that 🙂

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See also: Just by hearing “This is a rose” you say, “Beautiful!” mechanically. You have not felt the beauty; you have not sensed the beauty; you have not touched this flower. Just “Rose is beautiful” is in your mind; the moment you hear “rose”, the mind projects and says, “It is beautiful!”