Fully responsible, yet at ease

There is a Bodhisattva of very great merit who was entrusted with the most to manage, the heaviest and most laborious duties, and who became king of the heavens to govern the three thousand worlds: Sakka, king of the devas. The sutra Sakka's Questions tells how Sakka came to pay homage to the Buddha. One summer, the Buddha went alone to a deep cave high in the mountains to sit in meditation. There was no human presence around the Buddha. Sakka, king of the devas, came to visit the Buddha and said, “Because my work is so busy, I have little time to attend upon the World-Honoured One. Today, passing this way, I saw the World-Honoured One sitting in meditation in the cave, and I ask permission to pay homage and to consult the World-Honoured One on the teachings.”

The king of the heavens, entrusted by heaven and earth with managing the realms, has an extremely hard task because the workload is so vast, yet he remains at ease because his mind clings to nothing. This is a great example for us. In life, there will be things that come into our hands and seem to be our own possessions, but we must not cling to them; we must know that we are only managers on behalf of heaven and earth, and do our best to use them rightly. In this way, even though we have responsibility, we stay calm and at ease. Then merit keeps multiplying and growing, and we will be entrusted with even greater things. We do not betray the kindness of heaven and earth, and we also try to live well and manage well. In doing so we are training in the practice of the Bodhisattva.

For the rest of our life, let us resolve to see nothing as ours any more. A life of letting go that is yet full of responsibility will bring great rewards of merit. At a lower level, after death this merit will carry us to the heavenly realms; at a higher level, the merit will surely lift our steps to the noble stages of liberation.