This is an enlightening story about Buddha.
A man came to Buddha and said, ”I have come to hear what cannot be said.” Buddha closed his eyes. Seeing Buddha close his eyes, the man sat down and closed his eyes. Ananda, Buddha’s attendant, and a constant companion were sitting nearby.
He became alert that something was going on. He must have been napping – what to do, just sitting and sitting? He must have been yawning. He saw that something was going on. This man had said he came to listen to what cannot be said, and Buddha closed his eyes, became silent. This man too sat down and closed his eyes.
Ananda is looking on, he feels something is certainly transpiring, but no words are uttered from either side. He felt an invisible presence. And that man got up after half an hour. Tears were flowing from his eyes. He bowed down at Buddha’s feet, offered his greetings and said, ”Blessed am I. I was searching for just such a man who can say it without saying. And you have said it very beautifully. I leave fully satisfied.” He left Buddha blissed out, shedding tears.
No sooner had he left, Ananda asked, ”What was that? What happened? You neither said anything nor did he hear anything. And when he was leaving and he touched your feet you blessed him with such overwhelming totality, putting your hand on his head in a way that you rarely do. What happened? What kind of man was he?”
Buddha said, ”Ananda, you know when you were young when we were all young…” They were cousins, Buddha and Ananda, brought up in the same royal palace. They grew up together. ”You loved horses very much. You know well that there are horses who stall even when you beat them. You go on whipping them and they just don’t move, they are very stubborn. Then there are some horses who you whip a little and they move. And there are others who do not need whipping, just the crack of the whip, make the sound without striking and they start galloping. And there are still others – you know them well – for whom even the sound of the whip feels like an insult. Just the and they gallop. This man was one of the last kind. The shadow of the whip. I did not say anything to him. I just dived into nothingness, he got a glimpse of my shadow & awakened. Now, he got the answers to the questions he is looking for.
