The Middle Path

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Of the many princes who were drawn to the Buudha, Prince Shrona was also one. The prince led a life of comfort and royalty, before joining the Buddha. He enjoyed, women, wine and comforts. Once under the fold of Buddha, he lived an determined austere life, putting the body to utmost discomfort. When the other fellow-disciples rested under the tree, Shrona exposed himself to the blazing sun, walked barefoot and ate very little, that his body soon was almost reduced to a mere skeleton.

Buddha then had to intervene to put Shrona on track. He approached Shrona and said, “You are a very good veena player. To bring about mellifluous music from the instrument, can the strings be too loose or too tight?"

Shrona answered, "No it should not be so!"

Buddha proceedd, “Like wise in life too one should follow the path of the middle. You were earlier into a lot of comfort, now you are too much into denial. Neither of this will help. Both these paths are wrong"

Shrona understood Buddha's words which brought about a transformation in his life.

Osho says that mind always clutches the extremes, moving from one extreme to another. Both the body and the mind has needs. The body requires food and sleep. The body's needs can and should be fulfilled. The mind desires greed, lust, fame etc. The desires of the mind never meets fulfillment and results in a mere waste of energy.

Hence it is necessary to follow the middle path of the Buddha as illustrated in this short story.