Parable of The BOX

There once was a Curious Man who stumbled upon a Forbidden Box. Legend has it, that the Box belonged to the very first Pharaoh who bargained with the Dark Forces. No one knows the terms of the bargain, but, when the Pharaoh died, every sin and crime he ever committed was hidden in the Box. Prior to death, he made his servants vow to never open it. Well, of course, the Curious Man lifted the lid, and suddenly all the world & wickedness came rushing out upon him. So overwhelming was his folly, that he stood paralyzed before the box. So much vileness spewed forth from the box, that the Curious Man could not bear to witness what he had done. So, he ran away.

For twenty years the once Curious Man hid this secret from his family and his people. With each passing year, the world grew darker and more depraved, as famine, disease, and warfare broke out between neighboring cultures. The Curious Man did everything in his power to convince himself that he was not the cause of this madness. There were times, however, when his conscience revolted with self-incrimination, and he could not deny his misdeed. During these times, he attempted to justify his error by unwittingly returning to the Box and debasing himself further by inhaling its wretchedness. As his GUILT grew, so did his obsession to ESCAPE.

The Box had become a symbol of his foolishness, and now the Foolish Man worshipped the object as if it were a deity, hoping that it would rationalize his original transgression. One day, however, he reached the point where he could no longer stand another minute of what he had done and SOUGHT TO END IT ALL. So, the Foolish Man traveled to the cliffs to leap to his freedom, the ultimate escape.

Waiting for him at the edge of the cliffs, sitting patiently beneath a Bodhi Tree was an OLD SAGE, who said to him: Finally, you have arrived! I was beginning to think you would never come...If you truly want to end it all- SIMPLY SHUT THE BOX. Once you do, however, you must tell The Other.

Before the Foolish Man could question, ‘What Other?’ - the Sage VANISHED!

The once Foolish Man returned to The Box and did precisely as he was instructed- the lid closed as easily as it was opened. Amazingly, once closed, everything fowl and woeful fell HARMLESSLY to the ground, like feathers.

The now Wise Man, again, returned to the cliffs to sit beneath the Bodhi Tree- only this time as a SAGE … awaiting The Other!

P.S. SITTING BENEATH THE BODHI TREE, the illusion becomes transparent- that Past Actions have NO POWER over the Present and The NOW is beckoning for the BEST IN US…from the Lookout Post.