This story is an outcome of my work on Diamond Sutra. My intention was to say it from the other end. Instead of simplifying a complicated world, I tried to complicate a simple one.
The sand was everywhere. It reached to the horizon in every direction people have ever traveled. The people living there were very happy. They spent all day sliding on sand and building sand castles.
One day, a person wandering around discovered a pile of buckets in the dunes. No one knew where they came from. People quickly started using them to play with the sand. When they loaded the buckets, the sand inside looked different. But they knew it was the same sand. They had just scooped it there. But still, it looked different.
It’s hard to say what made the difference. The amount of sand in the buckets was limited, while the other sand was endless. Maybe that’s why the sand in the buckets looked so special.
Very soon, people began to covet the sand in the buckets. At first they tried to convince others to give it to them, but soon no one was willing to give it away for free. So they began to exchange it for various services. Sometimes they even stole it from each other. Finally, they fought open wars over these buckets of sand. They were no longer happy.
One of the people was called Sandy. She wanted to be the richest person in the village and have the most buckets. Then she would be able to get anything she wanted. This way, she would feel completely free and not be limited by a lack of buckets. But no matter how many buckets she had, there was always something she could not afford. She decided to leave, hoping that she would find more buckets of sand outside the village
She walked for a long time. No one from the village had ever walked that far. She became tired and angry. When she was about to give up, she noticed a person sliding on sand. There were also many sand castles everywhere. Some of them were new, some were older, and some castles were almost gone.
- Hi, I’m Sandy. What is your name?
- I don’t have a name.
- You look happy
- I am happy
- I wish I could be that happy
- You can
- I don’t think so. I don’t have enough buckets, so I can’t get everything I need. My life is hopeless.
- You don’t need any buckets. You can have as much sand as you want, whenever you want.
Sandy was confused. She didn’t know what to say.
- That sounds fantastic. But tell me, how many buckets do I need to get it?
- You don’t need any buckets. You already have it.
- Hmm – Sandy opened her mouth and closed it again.
The person with no name saw that Sandy saw nothing but buckets.
- You need to find the bucket called the “all-containing” bucket
- Where can I find it?
- To find the bucket that contains everything, you have to do only one thing, and that is the only way you can get it.
- And what is that?
- You have to forget about all the buckets. If you do that, the handle of the all-containing bucket itself will slide into your hand. It’s not easy, because you have to forget the all-containing bucket, too.
Sandy thought for a moment and then said angrily:
- I have never heard anything more ridiculous! I will not be able to do anything. I would rather just forget about you.
She turned around and went back to her village, where she lived a long life and died unhappy.
If you don’t like the way the story ends, it’s only up to you to make it different. Don’t look at me to change it. Don’t wait for anyone. You don’t need any buckets to do it. Just enjoy. Slide on the sand and build castles.
