Buddha means *awake*

Buddha sat under the bodhi tree to clear
his mind of the false
why did he come to sit and how
did he find himself under the tree?

He was born in a family of wealth
that were focused on externals
clothes, royal trappings and games of love, war, sex
and worldly pleasures were their mind sets
this was very superficial in nature
and did not hold any substance
or find its way into the heart of the young
seeker
he was looking for something other than
what came like this and gave no lasting return
he was wanting to be free of all attachments
of form and desire
to rid his mind of the false energies that rose
to haunt his soul in the morning, day and evening
he was not wanting to live like a king
for it held no lasting value

Once his longing for freedom fully blossomed
and he knew for certain he was not a man of
the world
and did not want to delve further into the life
that was handed so easily to him
(like a plate filled with wonderful
foods and pleasures right at hand)
When he knew for certain
he had enough of all of this
and that his desire was firing elsewhere
in the heart to seek
this is the evening when
he took to his horse and went out with the help of his long
time companion
and then journeyed forth alone
he did not bring with him heavy trappings of the past
as this would be very cumbersome and daunting
for he was to journey through mountain passes and
into lands that were very rigorous
so why then would he bring the heaviness of his
past with him
he left the wealth
he left his family
he left his child (in good hands with those in the
community to care for)

So he moved forward
what he found in the beginning was suffering
suffering that he had been shielded from before
and he was shocked
he saw people starving and gaunt
like skeletons
pain wracking their eyes and heart
he saw souls lost and left to waste away like shadows
he saw old age and decreptitude
he saw poverty
he saw struggle and deep despair in the eyes
of those sitting by the roadside
what a shock this was indeed
as nothing like this had ever been revealed
before

He did not go to feed these souls food
or find them water
he did not bless them or help them to stand
he did not call them to come near or even pray for them
instead, he resigned himself to find freedom so that all of
humanity would have a map out
to be free of suffering eternally

So he wandered through the forest
barefoot and clothed only in a bit of cloth
with the elements coming in fully as there was no door
to shut or any locks in this open land
he carried no money
he begged for food and alms
he ate what he found
shrubs and berries
seeds and even earth when there was nothing
he slept on the dirt under the full moon
with the wild animals of nature's creation
and listened to their call in his ear
he encountered dangers
snakes, leopards, tigers and all the
wild things that people shun
and he sat shaking and petrified
but stayed, sat, walked
and continued

If he were to go back to where he came from
he would not be the Buddha
or the example of glory
that he is
or the one that showed the way out
of suffering
he would be another creature
that sank into worldly desire and was lost
to their own nature
like so many others
he would not have awakened
to the truth

So he wandered and sank into himself
in loneliness and dark places
but moved forward
he brought a lamp and this is the lamp
that lit his soul up
(not an external light)

he had no guide

**(Though this is not what is spoken
in the scriptures as the way that all can take
without a guide.
The majority need a true sturdy guide.
He is a rare example)**

Onward he went into the shadow land of mind
and its dark hauntings
the desire for flesh
the desires of food for the beast of ego
the desires for finding something for yourself
and holding it away as being yours only
all of the desires that haunts souls of those
in the shadows

He went into these dark energies
and did not run
and yes he was afraid and burned with the
desire to run
but he did not

He found himself in many rough waters
in which he did not know what to feel or think
but he called inwards always
to be present and steady

He almost wasted away to nothing
skin stretched across bone
and barely breathing
when a small girl
gave him some milk
he drank from it
because he finally understood
the body needed nourishment
and the soul needed the body for a time
to discover the truth
if the body died now
he would have lost his chance

The bodhi tree is a symbol
of his time spent in awakening
to his true nature
it is not a symbol that fits into your
picture of what it is
it is a shining example
of the forthright and steady efforts
of a soul to sit and discover himself
in nature with its spreading mystery
and open elements
the bodhi trees roots are so broad and flow
underground so deep that there is no way
that tree is to be shaken
this is like the spirit that is steady
through the winds of change and testing
waters
this is why the ones that do enter reality are the ones
that continue in spite of obstacles

The bodhi tree is where Buddha sat
for many a day
and many an hour
he did not wander around and talk
or ruminate about what he left behind
he just sat
and the demons came
and the desires rose up
this is where he continued to penetrate
the nature of mind and its false ramblings
he shook them clean
and tore away the covers of the false
he wrenched the mind clean of its wanderings
and personal stains
he wiped the mind of its outer layers that
blocked the light of truth
he did not reflect on what this or that meant
or hold his knowledge against the scriptures
or the lights of others
he was looking to find out for himself
so he could be a lamp to humanity
this is when he awakened
when all the false nature of impurities
burnt away
and the beauty of truth lit up

Buddha is awakened
and this is what it means
to be **awake**