Of Two Travelers

How far must we travel before we find our way home? Who are the people we meet and share the journey with along the way? Who are the people of our universe, and what might they reveal to us if we only listened? In many ways, I suppose these are just a few of the questions we are presented with when we read Sonam The Star.

The word, or the very concept of Home evokes so many possibilities. To some, it represents something of tremendous sorrow, something lost which can never be regained or restored to what once was. To others it represents joy…perfect freedom, and unconditional love and acceptance. Still there are others for whom it represents a deep yearning…a glimmer of a feeling, fainter than the hope of fortuitous future fortune in the midst of crippling chaotic calamity. Why do so many of us seek Home…and what is it that we expect we will have attained once we find it?

In the story, we are introduced to two young men who travel beside one another for a time on the road of the journey of Life. As is often the case on this road, they find themselves face to face with someone whose journey thus far has differed from their own. A simple question, and a willingness to listen leads to a remarkable tale, and unexpected insight. Though their destinations are different, they each heed the same call.

And just how is it that we should seek our Home, and is it something to be sought to begin with? Ask any monk of Buddhist tradition and I’m sure they’ll reply with something along the lines of how it is precisely our attachment to the construction of an idealization which brings about the very suffering we experience within our longing and striving to attain it.

This very well may be so. But for me, the true beauty of this tale is found within the willingness to welcome and share the paths Life hews for its many travelers…without concern for destination.