Once Buddha along with his disciples reached outskirts of a small town and set up his camp. Next day morning he told Shwetakriti, one of his disciples to go to the town for Bhiksha. Shwetakriti was a young Bhikshu. He entered the town and knocked at the door of the first house on the street. It was about noon, the Sun was shining hot right on the top of the head. Shwetakriti thought, ‘How nice it would be to have a glass of chilled water under this scorching Sun!’ The door opened and a very beautiful lady came out. She looked at him and said, “Why don’t you come in! It is so hot; have a glass of water.” Shwetakriti was happy to go in. She offered him a seat, washed his feet and offered him a glass of water. He felt very relaxed and a thought flashed in his mind, ‘How nice it would be if I get to eat halwa-puri; it is already lunch time.’ The lady of the house looked at him and said, “It is a very hot day. Why don’t you have your lunch here! I will prepare halwa-puri in no time” Shwetakriti was very happy to hear that.
Soon after, she served him the lunch with utmost respect. As Shwetakriti was about to finish his lunch, another thought came to his mind, ‘I am so full, my eyelids are getting heavy; how nice it would be to relax and leave in the late afternoon when the Sun is not so hot.’ The lady was picking the utensils, she looked at him and said, “It is so hot outside; why don’t you take some rest and then leave in the late afternoon!” Shwetakriti was again surprised. That’s exactly what he was thinking. Anyways, he agreed and the lady made him comfortable in the bedroom.
Later in the afternoon as he got up to leave, the lady came to the room and said, “So, you are awake. I will bring the Bhiksha for you.” Shwetakriti looked at the lady and nodded. Suddenly her feminine presence struck him and he found himself desiring. The lady turned at the door, looked at him and smiled faintly before walking out. She came with the bhiksha and handed it over to Shwetakriti. He could not resist himself and asked, “I am so grateful to you for your hospitality. But one thing perplexes me; can I ask you something!” The lady nodded smilingly. He asked, “When I was standing at your door for bhiksha, a thought of having chilled water came to my mind and you invited me for it. Then while sitting inside I thought of having halwa-puri and you offered the same to me. Then I thought of resting for a while as it was too hot outside and you said so. How was it happening? A coincidence!”
The lady smiled, “No, it is simple. I read your thoughts.”
Shwetakriti was thunder-struck. He felt very small as while in the room his thoughts about the lady were not pure. He didn’t say anything and left.
In the evening, he narrated the entire episode to Buddha. Buddha smiled and told him to go again to the same lady for Bhiksha the next morning. Shwetakriti protested saying that he simply couldn’t go; how would he show his face to the lady! Buddha told him to meditate over it the whole night but in the morning he will have to go.
Finding no other option, Shwetakriti sat down in meditation. In the morning when he got up, his face carried a different glow. He walked confidently to the lady’s house and begged for bhiksha. Lady welcomed him with the same affection and gave him bhiksha.
The Sutra: Transparent thoughts awareness.
Shwetakriti meditated and developed this awareness inside him. The key he found was that if we know that the other person is able to read our thoughts, we can never think wrong. Being good is not a state in itself, rather it is the absence of bad. With TRANSPARENT THOUGHTS AWARENESS the bad starts dropping out from within us, leaving us purer and happier.
{I had read this story long time back in an old book. Above narration is my learning out of this story}
Cosmos
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