Innledning
Billy Collins, an acclaimed American poet, penned the poem "Consolation" in 1995. The inspiration behind the poem came from his personal experience when he had to cancel a holiday trip to Italy for reasons beyond his control.
In the poem, Collins enumerates all the downsides of traveling, painting a dismal picture of the experience. Ironically, by doing so, he finds comfort in making himself feel better about the cancelled trip.
Through his skillful use of language and vivid imagery, Collins reminds us that sometimes, the best way to cope with disappointment is to look at the bright side of things.
Utdrag
At the age of 35, Gautama sat under a Bodhi tree and suddenly understood everything. He realized that suffering could end - there was only one way out of it.
That's when he changed his name to Buddha, or 'the enlightened one', and spent 49 days in seclusion, because now he knew what suffering was and how to cure it.
Gautama's meditation process is described in detail in the ancient texts. At an early stage he was confronted with worldly temptations in the form of demons, an episode similar in many ways to Jesus' temptations in the desert.
He then went through various stages of spiritual ecstasy, remembering all his past lives and thinking about how all things come together and fall apart.
Just after Gautama had reached enlightenment, two merchants named Tapussu and Bhalluka passed by. Seeing Gautama sitting under the Bodhi tree, they made him a meal of flour and honey and offered it to him.
After eating, the Buddha talked to them about his experiences, and the two merchants became his first lay disciples, the first Buddhists. Gautama was now 35 years old.
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