A wonderful story I came across in a book called 100 Zen Stories by Neelratna Desai, which explains the secret of creativity. The story does not have any fancy plot or twists & turns. It is a very simple story, but it holds a knowledge that can transform your life.
As a life coach, I have realized from time to time that the only thing you can do is show yourself at work and do your job. The result of your work is not in your hands. If you lose yourself, your identity, in the role that you play, you gain something that is indescribable in words.
The Divine Bell
So, the story goes like this: a king calls upon a worker, an artist, to make a bell for a temple. When the bell was ready and installed in the temple, it was appreciated all around the village. People admired the bell by saying words like, ‘The bell is incredible. The bell is divine. The bell sound is good on the ears.’
So, the king called the artist to the king’s court and gave him a prize. He then asked how he managed to make such a great bell.
The artist replied, ‘I am not educated. I haven’t learnt the art of bell making from anyone. However, before starting the process of making the bell, I did a fast for three days. Then I meditated. Because of meditation, my mind cleared. I lost the thought that I would make a good amount of money from this work.
On the fourth day, when I was meditating, I lost the ego, that I would make this bell. On the fifth day, I lost the greed of appreciation and fear of criticism. On the sixth day, I dropped all the doubts and questions about the methodology of making the bell.
On the seventh day, my mind was so calm and composed that I nearly lost all my thoughts. I even lost the sense of this body.
In such a state, I went into the jungle. I found an optimum tree. I sat in front of the tree for a long time. I developed a connection with that tree, and then I started cutting the tree.
I poured my entire energy into making the bell from that tree. In the process, I was lost, I was in a trance, and then this bell was made. I think this bell is created by some divine entity.’
Conclusion
Many of us try to do spiritual work. Many of us try to volunteer and give our time and money to various places. We go to different gurus, spiritual coaches, etc. Everything is good.
But most people forget that the daily work we do is itself a spiritual practice, a transformational process. If done with correct intent and proper meditation, your daily work can bring you closer to the reality of the so-called enlightenment.
A person may serve for years and may not get anywhere. But in a moment, one can realize the so-called ultimate reality, if one loses one’s identity, in the work at hand, if one loses one’s ego in playing the role.
“योगः कर्मसु कौशलम्”
