An emperor was coming out of his palace one morning for his walk when he met a beggar. He asked the beggar, "What do you want?" The homeless person laughed and said, "You are asking me as though you can fulfil my desire!"
The king was affronted. He said, "Of course I can fulfil your cravings. What is it? Just tell me."
The beggar said, "Think twice before you give your word for anything."
The beggar was no common beggar; he was the emperor's past life master. He had pledged in the previous life, "I will come and try to Enlighten you in your next life. This life you have missed but I will come yet again."
However, the king had forgotten completely -- who remembers past lives? Therefore, he insisted, "I will fulfil any desire you wish for. I am a very authoritative monarch, what can you possibly crave for 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 monarch said, "Of course!" He called one of his ministers and told him, "Fill this man's begging bowl with money." The minister went and got some money and poured it into the bowl, and it disappeared. He poured more and more, and the moment he would pour it, it would disappear. The begging bowl remained always unfilled.
The whole fortress gathered. By and by, the gossip went all the way through the whole capital, and a gigantic crowd gathered. The reputation of the emperor was at stake. He said to his ministers, "If the entire kingdom is lost, I am ready to lose it, but I cannot be overwhelmed by this homeless person."
Diamonds, pearls, and emeralds, rubies, gold, sliver and his treasuries were becoming empty. The begging bowl seemed to be infinite. Everything that was put into it --everything! -instantaneously disappeared, went out of existence.
Finally, it was the dusk, and the people were standing there in absolute stillness. The king dropped at the feet of the homeless person and admitted his defeat. He said, "Just tell me one thing. You are victorious - but before you leave, just fulfil my curiosity. What is the begging bowl made of?" The Emperor was afraid of Loss Face more than satisfying the Beggar.
The homeless person laughed and said, "It is made up of the human mind. There is no secret. It is simple made up of human desire." Desire to Succeed or Fear for failure!
This understanding transforms life, as it did of the Beggar, Gautam Buddha.
Go into ones desires -- What is the mechanism of it? First time you accomplish your desire; there is a great exhilaration, great ecstasy, great pleasure, great thrill, adventure. You feel a great kick; you get a high out of it. Something is going to happen; you are on the threshold of it. Then you have the car, you have the position, you have the house, you have the woman, you have the money, and suddenly all is hollow - empty again.
What happens? Your mind has made it vanish into thin air. The car is standing in the drive, but there is no excitement any more. The excitement was only in getting it. You became so drunk with the desire that you forgot your inner nothingness. Now the desire is fulfilled, the car in the drive, the woman in the home, the money in your bank account - again exhilaration disappears. Again, the emptiness is there, ready to eat you up with self-indulgence. Again, you have to create another desire to escape this cavernous abyss.
That is how one moves from one desire to another desire. That is how one remains a beggar; yep we all are in fact the beggars. Your whole life proves it again and again -- every desire aggravates. Moreover, when the ambition is achieved, you will need another desire. The day you understand that desire as such is going to fail, comes the turning point in your life.
The other journey is inwards. Move inwards, come back home. Oops, Charity Begins @ Home!
