Bottomless Bowl
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 king was offended. He said, “of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell me.”
And the beggar said, “Think twice before you promise anything.”
The beggar was no ordinary beggar; he was the emperor’s past life master. He had promised in the life, “I will come and try to wake you in your next life.
This life you have missed, but I will come again.” But the king had forgotten completely – who remembers past lives?
So he 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 very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can you fill it with something?”
The emperor said, “of course!” He called one of his advisors and told him, “fill this man’s begging bowl with money.”
The advisor went and got some money and poured it into the bowl, and it disappeared. And he poured more and more, and the moment he poured it, everything would disappear..and the begging bowl remained always empty.
The whole palace gathered. By and by, the rumor went thought 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 – everything! – Immediately disappeared, went out of existence. 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 up of human desire.”
This understanding transforms life. Go into one desire – what is the mechanism of it? First, there is a great excitement, great thrill, adventure; you feel a great kick. Something is going to happen, you are on the verge of it. And then you have the car, you have the yacht, you have the house, you have the love of you life, and suddenly all is meaningless again.
What happens? Your mind has dematerialized it. The car is standing in the driveway, but there is no excitement anymore. The excitement was only in getting it. You become so drunk with the desire that you forgot your inner nothingness. Now the desire is fulfilled, the car is in the driveway. Similarly, once you have the love of your life, and the money in your bank account again, the excitement disappears. Again the emptiness is there, ready to eat you up. Again you have to create another desire to escape this yawning abyss.
That’s how one moves from one desire to another desire. That’s how one remains a beggar. Your whole life proves it again and again – every desire frustrates. And when the goal is achieved, you will need another 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 king was offended. He said, “of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell me.”
And the beggar said, “Think twice before you promise anything.”
The beggar was no ordinary beggar; he was the emperor’s past life master. He had promised in the life, “I will come and try to wake you in your next life.
This life you have missed, but I will come again.” But the king had forgotten completely – who remembers past lives?
So he 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 very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can you fill it with something?”
The emperor said, “of course!” He called one of his advisors and told him, “fill this man’s begging bowl with money.”
The advisor went and got some money and poured it into the bowl, and it disappeared. And he poured more and more, and the moment he poured it, everything would disappear..and the begging bowl remained always empty.
The whole palace gathered. By and by, the rumor went thought 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 – everything! – Immediately disappeared, went out of existence. 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 up of human desire.”
This understanding transforms life. Go into one desire – what is the mechanism of it? First, there is a great excitement, great thrill, adventure; you feel a great kick. Something is going to happen, you are on the verge of it. And then you have the car, you have the yacht, you have the house, you have the love of you life, and suddenly all is meaningless again.
What happens? Your mind has dematerialized it. The car is standing in the driveway, but there is no excitement anymore. The excitement was only in getting it. You become so drunk with the desire that you forgot your inner nothingness. Now the desire is fulfilled, the car is in the driveway. Similarly, once you have the love of your life, and the money in your bank account again, the excitement disappears. Again the emptiness is there, ready to eat you up. Again you have to create another desire to escape this yawning abyss.
That’s how one moves from one desire to another desire. That’s how one remains a beggar. Your whole life proves it again and again – every desire frustrates. And when the goal is achieved, you will need another desire.