See the Flower

Thank you Marci for sending this story to me. It was so special, I had to share it with others. Thank you Amanda for the beautiful flower picture from Arizona.




One day the Buddha held up a flower in front of an audience of 1,250 monks and nuns. He did not say anything for quite a long time. The audience was perfectly silent. Everyone seemed to be thinking hard, trying to see the meaning behind the Buddha's gesture.


Then, suddenly, the Buddha smiled... He smiled because someone in the audience smiled at him and at the flower...


To me the meaning is quite simple. When someone holds up a flower and shows it to you, he wants you to see it. If you keep thinking, you miss the flower. The person who was not thinking, who was just himself, was able to encounter the flower in depth, and he smiled. That is the problem of life. If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything...



From: Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh