Gautama Buddha penetrated deep into the heart of the world’s great sorrow when he said that its cause was trisna, thirst; desire was the great enemy. Slay desire: conquer the will to-live.
True freedom is from within. True freedom is freedom from the fetter of desire.
It is difficult for me to forget what I saw and felt on that day, many years ago, when I paid a pilgrim’s visit to Buddha-Gaya. I saw the Bo-Tree, the Bodhi-tree, the tree of enlightenment. Beneath that tree had come to him the supreme illumination of life. I saw pilgrims from far-off lands. A few had come from China, also. And they were telling beads and praying the prayer:—”Om! Mani Padme” which means:—”The jewel in the Lotus”. The Lotus is in the Yoga science, a symbol of the heart. The jewel is the “treasure” of great price. In the heart is the treasure of happiness. Om! Mani Padme! In these words is the great message of Gautama Buddha.
Men wander and are unhappy. Go within you! There, hidden in the heart, is the treasure of happiness.”