The Gift

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

The child gazed at the reclusive prince sitting under the Peepul tree. The villagers washed his feet and offered him food.

They sat mesmerised as the enlightened one spoke in a tranquil voice explaining Dharmachakra or the Wheel of Righteous Duty. 

The child fell asleep and on waking, he saw the grown-ups offering bhiksha to the departing Buddha. He had nothing yet consumed by love he gathered dust in his two little hands as an offering.

Smiling serenely Buddha accepted the child’s offering and blessed him.

He never saw the master again but the fragrance of his memory stayed forever.

**

Written for Friday Fictioneers Word Count : 100

I start this year with the recount of a legend around the ancient Indian emperor Ashoka.

The story was told in the Ashokavadana ("Narrative of Ashoka"). It is believed that Buddha prophesied about the birth of Ashoka, in the story of the 'Gift of Dust'.

Baroness Helen Giskra, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1949, by gift. 

To read how the wheel turned for the the other writers this week click here.