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The goal :)

BrianBrian Detroit, MI Moderator
edited January 2004 in Buddhism Basics
I just came across this tidbit on a pretty unrelated site, but I thought I'd share it with you all:
"The Goal - To Become The Greatest Person in the World: Buddhism teaches that being the greatest is an absolute achievement free of comparison. What does that mean? It means that to be the greatest is not an achievement that can be attained through competition. You can't win greatness - but you can achieve it. That means everyone can be the greatest.

Here's an example: For a healthy ant to successfully carry one grain of rice is a great achievement. For a healthy horse to successfully carry one grain of rice is not all that terrific. The ant has put his best effort into his job. It has fulfilled its purpose as an ant. When this truth is achieved, the ant is no longer just an ant. The ant has moved into the realm of Truth - it has become the greatest ant in the world.

Buddhism teaches that a person is successful not because he or she is better than someone else, and not because they received a higher grade on a test or won a Gold Medal at the Olympics, or beat out other ants to see who could carry the biggest and heaviest grain of rice. True achievement does not come from competition or comparison. A person (or an ant, or a horse) is successful because he or she has given their best within their means. For this reason, every single person can become the greatest person in the world, all at the same time. "

I liked that example about being the "greatest ant in the world"... :)
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