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buddha
April 2008 
Serendipity & Self Discovery
Posted on Jan 25th, 2008
by 
thinkpossible
thinkpossible
This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for July 16, 2007:
SERENDIPITY & SELF DISCOVERY
Off the eastern coast of India in the Bay of Bengal - lay a large island country called Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was once known by the ancient name of "Serendip".
There is a story of Serendip that tells of an ordinary young man, a tailor from Persia, who was chosen to be sent to the far east by the King to find Sarin, a fabled land of magical silk, and bring back as much as he could to make the King's royal garments.
He sailed for many months in search of Sarin without luck. Eventually, he landed on an island that was not on his map. The locals called the island Serendip. He wondered if Serendip could not be the fabled Sarin?
For many years, he searched every inch of Serendip and never found the magical silk. But in the course of his search, he saw the most exotic and beautiful places he'd ever seen, experienced a different and fascinating culture, learned many of their customs and traditions, made many friends, found love, lost love, learned other skills and trades, shared his skills with eager students, studied with great and accomplished teachers, and had many opportunities to be of help to others in need.
When he returned to Persia many years later without having found the land of magic silk, or any silk at all, many in the royal court demanded he be put to death for his failure. The King, however, recognized that the ordinary young tailor had become an extraordinary man, with great wisdom and knowledge that could be of shared with the people of his kingdom for the benefit of all.
The tailor went on to be considered one of the kingdoms' greatest teachers.
-----
Serendipity is setting sail for one destination and accidentally discovering the beautiful island paradise of Serendip. There are places on our journey that we simply cannot set course for, and in fact can only be found by losing our bearings.
The discovery of Serendip and therefore, that of self-discovery is a matter of discovery by fortunate accident. The coming together of circumstances both beyond and within our control.
The circumstances that are not in our control are the actions and choices that all other beings in the history of being have made that lead to the moment when it crosses your path. The circumstance within your control is the choice you make at that very moment. This is: 'being at the right place at the right time'. It is the confluence of billions upon billions of decisions to turn right instead of left - or left instead of right.
And the beauty of it all is - that regardless of whether you choose right or left, thereby plotting your course for one destination... you will undoubtedly discover the island of Serendip on your way.
in peace, with love & respect,
Ehron
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
Off the eastern coast of India in the Bay of Bengal - lay a large island country called Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was once known by the ancient name of "Serendip".
There is a story of Serendip that tells of an ordinary young man, a tailor from Persia, who was chosen to be sent to the far east by the King to find Sarin, a fabled land of magical silk, and bring back as much as he could to make the King's royal garments.
He sailed for many months in search of Sarin without luck. Eventually, he landed on an island that was not on his map. The locals called the island Serendip. He wondered if Serendip could not be the fabled Sarin?
For many years, he searched every inch of Serendip and never found the magical silk. But in the course of his search, he saw the most exotic and beautiful places he'd ever seen, experienced a different and fascinating culture, learned many of their customs and traditions, made many friends, found love, lost love, learned other skills and trades, shared his skills with eager students, studied with great and accomplished teachers, and had many opportunities to be of help to others in need.
When he returned to Persia many years later without having found the land of magic silk, or any silk at all, many in the royal court demanded he be put to death for his failure. The King, however, recognized that the ordinary young tailor had become an extraordinary man, with great wisdom and knowledge that could be of shared with the people of his kingdom for the benefit of all.
The tailor went on to be considered one of the kingdoms' greatest teachers.
-----
Serendipity is setting sail for one destination and accidentally discovering the beautiful island paradise of Serendip. There are places on our journey that we simply cannot set course for, and in fact can only be found by losing our bearings.
The discovery of Serendip and therefore, that of self-discovery is a matter of discovery by fortunate accident. The coming together of circumstances both beyond and within our control.
The circumstances that are not in our control are the actions and choices that all other beings in the history of being have made that lead to the moment when it crosses your path. The circumstance within your control is the choice you make at that very moment. This is: 'being at the right place at the right time'. It is the confluence of billions upon billions of decisions to turn right instead of left - or left instead of right.
And the beauty of it all is - that regardless of whether you choose right or left, thereby plotting your course for one destination... you will undoubtedly discover the island of Serendip on your way.
in peace, with love & respect,
Ehron
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
Access: PublicTagged with: QaR, fate, destiny, karma, serendipity, self discovery, chance, choice, free will, change, changing the world, peace, love, compassion, respect, kindness, generosity, patience, manifest, possibilities, shambhala, trungpa, sakyong, buddha, buddhism, buddhist
I beleive anything is possible in serendipity…nice story!