“Oh Wise One”, one disciple of the Gautama Buddha once asked, “You preach about dhamma and Nibbana all over Bharatvarsha. And before you, there were many Buddhas who blessed this land. They taught the same eight-fold path for millennia to come. And except for us, the Vedics claim uncountable immortal sages living alongside us have preached dharma and moksha with many paths to liberation! They claim a Creator, and that he took avatars on this holy land! Jains talk about their great Tirthankars, along with, the current one-Mahavira, the great teacher teaching yet another doctrine to moksha.”

“Even if some were wrong, our great sages have sought a way out of suffering for as long as civilization existed. Yet why, do so many people continue to suffer in this material world full of thorns? They are like the man so addicted to the dripping honey of a beehive that they face the countless stings of bees for a small fruitless drop of the sweet honey!”

Shakyamuni smiled. “Go ask all what they seek! Their goals and needs, and recount them to me. I will answer you accordingly!”

So, the disciple went to a nearby village, and from door to door, he went, asking, what do they want?

“Wealth!”

“Knowledge!”

“Health!”

“Children!”

“Victory!”

“Food!”

Said the countless men and women.

And he told the Buddha all this. “Oh glorious one! This is what they want! This they seek in life!”

And the Buddha smiled, looking at the clouds.

“And so, who amongst them wanted enlightenment?”

(Retelling of Buddhist legends)



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