“Wow” exclaimed Emma.

They all sat down.

“This is unbelievable. Mikhail, how do you know about all of this? This meditation stuff” asked Bold.

“Back in Russia when I was with the gang, our leader Badra used to give discourses about meditation. The others easily got bored of his talks, some even yelled and called him insane. But he kept teaching me various techniques and interesting trivia because I was interested” said Mikhail.  

“Okay, but I’m still curious,” said Bold.

“About what?”

“What is meditation? What is the exact definition”

Mikhail mused for a second and looked at him and talked: 

“Meditation is not concentration. Concentration means you're focusing your mind onto a single point. It is sort of a strain on you. And meditation is in fact, exactly the opposite of that. It is non-strain, it is flow. When you meditate you always have to remember that you should flow with the river.

Meditation is not a chore. If anything, thinking about all sorts of useless nonsense is actually a huge chore. It's one of the many chores man knows is useless but still kept on continuing due to many lives, many millions of years of conditioning." 

"Many lives? You mean reincarnation?" said Bold. 

"Yeah" said Mikhail. 

"Really? You think people really do reincarnate?" asked Emma. 

Mikhail shrugged his shoulders.  

"Hey, that's what Buddhists and Eastern knowers tend to believe in. But whether it's true or not doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is meditation is your true self. The witness, the observer, the awareness. That is who you are. Meditation should not be a strain on you.

But of course, we have all become great doers thanks to our workaholic society. It is hard to think of doing something without any effort. It will be hard for you at first. Maybe you'll start off with concentration instead of meditation. But eventually you'll learn the difference between awareness and concentration.”

When Mikhail and finished and looked at them Bold and Emma both nodded.

“Okay, but what about the other thing you said when you started your story. You said Gautam Buddha achieved enlightenment. What is enlightenment?” asked Bold.

Mikhail’s eyes narrowed and a smile appeared on his face.

“Oh… that. Well, I have to tell the full story of Siddhārtha Gautama then.”
Mikhail took a deep breath and started his story.

“Siddhartha Gautam was the only son of the king Suddhodana back in Ancient India. His date of birth is probably 500 years BC. It is said that weeks before his birth, his mother queen Maya, started dreaming about a white elephant with ten horns entering her womb. The dreams persisted every night. The king gathered astrologers and asked them what the dream meant.

The astrologers told the king that he was going to be the father of a very great soul. But due to giving birth to such a person, the queen might not be able to survive’.

Indeed, as they have said, the queen gave birth to Siddhartha and later died.     

The king asked the astrologers about the child’s future. They predicted that his son would either become a great king or a beggar who renounces his kingdom in search of the greater truths of life.

His father loved the sound of his son becoming a great king. But he was utterly terrified of the idea that his only son would desert his kingdom and become a beggar. In order to avoid that fate, the king asked the astrologers on what he may do in order to prevent the child from choosing such fate. The astrologers thought hard about it and said:

‘ Do not let the child see death, disease or any kind of ugliness. If he does not see anything that hints at death and annihilation then he will forever be content with what he has got’.

The father took their words and for the next 29 years of Siddhartha’s life, his father did not show him anything that resembles death. He would be surrounded by young pretty girls, all the king’s guards and bishops were healthy people. He wouldn’t even allow an autumn leaf to be in the garden.

But one day, when Siddhartha was traveling to a celebration held in the city with his charioteer Channa, his eyes fell upon a man in a coffin. The man’s corpse was being carried away. Siddhartha asked from his charioteer Channa:

‘Why is that man being carried in a box? What has happened to him?’

‘That man is dead, your majesty. He no longer exists in this world.’

Siddhartha looked at the corpse and contemplated for a while, and asked:

‘Will my parents, my beloved wife, my child. Will they all die?’

‘Yes, sire. They will all die someday’

Siddhartha looked at Channa and asked with a stutter:

‘W-will I die too?’

‘Yes, sire. Me, you and everyone else will someday die. I cannot lie, sire. I am sorry’.

Siddhartha’s whole body froze. After a few moments of silence he spoke:

‘Take me back to the palace. I don’t want to go to the celebration’.