Something Precious
By Arline Kaplan © 2000 (All Rights Reserved)
In Bangkok, there is a temple called Wat Traimit in which can be found a glistening
golden image of Buddha. It stands 10 feet high and weighs five and a half tons.
For a very long time, this solid gold, sitting Buddha had been hidden within
a larger, plaster Buddha figure. Thought to have been created at Sukhothai in
the 13th century, the Buddha was covered with plaster by devotees in the 18th
century to prevent theft by the invading Burmese. The precious treasure within
was not discovered until the less impressive exterior was shattered a few decades
ago after being dropped by a crane while it was being moved. Now its beauty
is shared with visitors from all over the world. And there is no guard looking
on or glass enclosure to protect it from the visitors.
When I saw it, I was struck with the parallel between what happened to the Buddha
and what happens to many of us. How often do most of us encase ourselves in
disguises as protection from what we believe may harm or hurt us. Maybe, we
felt emotionally or physically abandoned by our parents, so we stopped trusting
and became "independent." Maybe, we experienced a romantic relationship
so painful, we vowed to never fully open our hearts to another person. Maybe,
we are afraid of being subsumed by another person, so we distance ourselves
from them through anger or running away from the relationship. Maybe, we have
decided that people will never accept the "real us," so we become
the jokester who is always ready with a diversionary quip, the high achiever
who needs to be perfect or the problem solver with ready solutions for everyone
else’s situation. How sad to live our lives encased in plaster and for
no one to see the awesome precious being within. Maybe, it’s time to allow
that imprisoned splendor to shine through.