091 - The sense of music

This is a story from the life of Buddha. One afternoon, when he was in meditation, voices drifted across. One musician was in conversation with the other. He told him, "You want to be able to play the ektara don't you? Then learn to tune your string properly, in such a way that it's neither too tight, nor too loose. The middle path, that's the road to good music."

The voices ceased. But in a flash, Siddharth's mind had absorbed the message. He had the answers to his questions. he understood the reason for sorrow and all the problems man faced. Either man was too attached to the world, or he was too detached, either people ate too much or they starved, either they were too rich or too poor. In either case they were unhappy, because their string of life had not been properly tuned!

The answer? The middle path - the path of peace and serenity - the 'madhyama marga'. Who would have thought that this concept that changed the world would have originated from a statement made by an illiterate musician? A most unlikely teacher indeed!

source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html