The Buddha’s Hands

Dharma Glimpse by Izzy

Sometimes I feel the Buddha’s hands at work in my life.

A while ago now, I was sat at my laptop, as I am right now, scrolling through my emails, when I saw one from the RNLI. “Enter Our Million Pound House Draw! All profits go to the RNLI”. I went to press ENTER to delete but hovered over the key, my eyes drawn to the photos and description of the shiny house. It was in Yorkshire, with the Dales on the doorstep. There was an outdoor swimming pool, countless bedrooms and one of those big, open kitchens with an island in the middle. I shut the screen closed and went to run a bath. As I did, my mind leaping off into elaborate fantasies of what life would be like if I had this house. All the different options it would open up to me. How I could go and live there for a while and invite people, family or close friends. I have very little control over who I share the temple with. This house would be mine. I could invite who I want, when I want. In time I could turn it into my own Buddhist and yoga retreat centre or a community space. Or rent it out and have the income to sustain my life here in Malvern. Imagine, the freedom it would offer me, all the travelling I could do. As I sank into the bath I sank deeper and deeper into my fantasies. That’s it, I thought, I’m going to enter it. The words of my colleagues at work ringing in my ear “you’ve got to be in it to win it”. Other parts around saying, yes, we work really hard, we deserve to win a million pound house! When I went back to my room, I opened the laptop and went to enter the draw. The cheapest option, £10, the most I’ve ever spent on a raffle. I do it and head to bed for the night. I don’t think much of it then until a month or so later when I spot an email. “Congratulations! You are one of our gift card winners!”. I open the email to see I have won a £10 gift card.

In that moment, filled with the excitement of being “a winner” and the disappointment of winning the same value I paid to enter the draw, I see the Buddha in my mind’s eye. Their soft, round shoulders, the edges of their mouth gently curling up. They smile and say “you don’t need a house, you already have this temple to live in, but here is your £10 back.”

Sometimes I feel the Buddha’s hands at work in my life. Showing me I already have everything I could ever need, right here.

Namo Amida Bu