It can take years of searching before finally realising your vision …
Don’t get despondent in tough times. Be brave, persevere and keep going, like Siddhartha Gautama.
‘Who’s he?’
Siddhartha Gautama was born in the 6th century (B.C.) in Lumbini (now present-day Nepal) and belonged to a large clan called the Shakyas.
One day a holy man prophesied great things for young Siddhartha. That he would either be a great king, military leader, or a great spiritual leader.
To protect his son from the miseries and suffering of the world his father (clan leader) raised him opulently, in a palace, sheltering him from knowledge of religion, human hardship and the world.
Siddhartha reached adulthood with little experience of the world outside the palace walls, but one day he ventured out (with a charioteer) and was confronted with the realities of human frailty.
He saw a very old man, a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic.
The charioteer explained everybody grows old, and that the ascetic had renounced the world to seek release from the human fear of death and suffering.
Siddhartha was overcome by these sights, and the very next day left his kingdom to follow a more spiritual path.
His vision was to find a way to relieve the universal suffering, which he now understood to be one of the defining traits of humanity.
For the next six years, Siddhartha lived an ascetic life, studying and meditating using the words of various religious teachers as his guide.
When answers to his questions did not appear, however, he redoubled his efforts, enduring pain, fasting to the brink of starvation, and refusing water.
Whatever he tried, Siddhartha could not reach the level of insight he sought, until one day a young girl offered him a bowl of rice.
As he accepted, he suddenly realised that corporeal austerity was not the means to achieve inner liberation and living under harsh physical constraints was not helping him achieve his vision.
So, he ate the rice, drank water, and bathed in the river. Giving up the ascetic life.
That night, Siddhartha sat alone under a Bodhi tree, vowing not to get up until the truths he sought came to him, and he meditated until the sun came up the next day.
He remained there for several more days, purifying his mind, seeing his entire life, and previous lives, in his thoughts.
Soon a picture began to form in his mind of all that occurred in the universe, and Siddhartha finally saw the answer to the questions of suffering that he had been seeking for so many years.
In that moment of pure enlightenment, Siddhartha Gautama realised his vision and became spiritual leader the Buddha. To this day his teachings serve as the foundation of the Buddhist religion.
Now we’re not saying, you’re going to be the next Buddha. But what we are saying. Almost anything is possible if you work hard, persevere, and focus your mind and body into believing it will happen.
A few years back when our business model was broken (as the world around us changed), we had to double down (like Siddhartha did) and accept some pain, before finding the right path.
We’ve still not yet realised our vision (to make office technology affordable for all), but our goals are clear, and although our journey won’t be straight forward, we believe we’ll achieve it.
…at times things will get tough, but double down, persevere, and keep the faith.
