The Buddha was staying in Kapilavastu.
One day, a learned farmer approached Him. The man was hardworking, rooted in the soil, proud of the crops he cultivated with his own hands.
He looked at the Buddha and asked bluntly:
“Revered Sir, why don’t you work like the rest of us? You could grow crops, enjoy their fruits, and share them with others. Why live like this — idle, dependent on others for food?”
There was no anger in the Buddha’s face. Only a gentle, knowing smile.
“Wise one,” the Buddha replied calmly, “I too am a farmer.”
The man looked puzzled.
“The field I cultivate,” Buddha continued, “is the field of Dharma.”
“With the plough of wisdom, I till that sacred land.”
“I sow seeds of faith and purity.”
“I uproot the weeds of unnecessary desires.”
“With the rain of noble actions, I nurture the crop.”
“And what grows from this labor are the fruits of Nirvana — fruits that remove suffering.”
He paused, letting the words settle.
“Is that not farming?”
The farmer stood silent.
“Human suffering,” the Buddha went on softly, “arises from desires and cravings. As long as we remain trapped in longing, comparison, attachment, and aversion — can there ever be true peace?”
“That is why I work tirelessly — cultivating the human heart, removing greed, anger, delusion, and thirst.”
“This is my harvest.”
The farmer’s resistance dissolved.
What he once saw as laziness, he now saw as the highest form of effort.
Overwhelmed by insight, he bowed before the Tathagata — and from that day forward, became His follower.
How did this article make you feel? ఈ కథనం మీకు ఎలా అనిపించింది?
