Eckhart Tolle started the first chapter of his book, "A New Earth - Awakening to Your Life's Purpoase" with a very famous story about the Buddha delivering a sermon to his disciples.
When tens of thousands of the Buddha's disciples have sat down reverently to listen to His sermon, the Buddha did not speak. Instead, He just plucked a flower from a nearby flowering bush, held it in His hand, gaze at it and meditate on it. All the assembled disciples were puzzled about what the Buddha was doing.
When tens of thousands of the Buddha's disciples have sat down reverently to listen to His sermon, the Buddha did not speak. Instead, He just plucked a flower from a nearby flowering bush, held it in His hand, gaze at it and meditate on it. All the assembled disciples were puzzled about what the Buddha was doing.
Only one of his main disciple, Mahakasyapa, who is renowned for his intellectual abilities and wisdom, let a smile slowly formed around his mouth. The Buddha praised him for his smile.
But what does this story really mean? Why would the Buddha praised Mahakasyapa for smiling during His sermon?
The Buddha did that because Mahakasyapa was the only disciple amongst the assembly who was sufficiently advanced in his study to know what the Buddha was trying to teach all of them.
Mahakasyapa realized that the Buddha was showing him that everything is actually impermanent. By seeing the Buddha comtemplating and meditating on the flower, he realized that all forms does not last and therefore, it is useless to be attached to form. Therefore, Mahakasyapa was enlightened to the stage of non-attachement to anything - to the form of the flower, to the sound of the voice of the Buddha himself and to the material universe itself.
He also realized that even beauty is also temporary. Over time, the flower will wither, fade and decay. Therefore, he should also treat his body-form the same way - with the knowledge of impermanence. So, a healthy, beautiful and young body will eventually decay over time. Therefore, it is better not to get attached to the temporary forms and seek enlightenment by understanding the eternal being, the inherent Buddha that resides in all of us.
On another level, by meditating on the flower, the Buddha is showing the assembled monks to be present in the Now, that when you are enlightened, time does not really exist. The universe is represented everywhere and every time and yet, nowhere and no-time (beyond time).
And this is really an enlightening story that you should bring with you. Every time you see a flower, be aware that the whole universe, that eternity itself exists in that beautiful flower that you are seeing...
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