What is Courage? Through the enclosed stories Mother Mirra, the God-realized Yogi, highlights the real meaning of courage. True courage she tells us, is the ability to walk the straight path, to brave the storm, darkness and suffering and to persevere forward, in spite of everything, towards the light. The enclosed narration which illustrates this meaning of courage has been excerpted from her book: Words of Long Ago (Volume 2 of Mother’s Works).
– Lord Buddha
What is Courage? The Man Who Walked on Water to Reach Lord Buddha
Let me tell you about the calm courage that accomplishes useful and noble things without show or flourish. A deep river ran past an Indian village of five hundred houses. The people of this village had not yet heard the teachings of Lord Siddhartha (Buddha), and the Blessed One decided to go to them and speak to them of the Noble Path.
He sat beneath a great tree which spread its branches over the riverside, and the villagers gathered on the opposite bank. Then he began to speak and preached his message of love and purity.
And his words were carried over the flowing waters as if by miracle. Yet the people of the village refused to believe in what he taught them, and murmured against him.
Only one of them wanted to know more and wished to come closer to the Blessed One. There was neither bridge nor ferry. And the old legend tells that, strong in his courage, the man began to walk upon the deep water of the river. And so he reached the Master, greeted him and listened to his words with great joy.
Did this man really cross the river, as we are told? We do not know. But in any case he had the courage to take the path that leads towards progress. And the people of his village, touched by his example, then paid heed to the teachings of the Buddha; and their minds were opened to nobler thoughts.
There is a courage which can make you cross rivers and another that enables you to take the right path; but even more courage is needed to stay on the right path than to enter it.
Listen to the parable of the hen and her chicks: Siddhartha (Buddha), the Blessed One, used to instruct his disciples to do their best and then to trust that the best would bear its fruit.
“Just as,” he said, “a hen lays eggs and broods on them and never thinks of fretting: ‘Will my little chicks be able to break out of their shells with their beaks and see the light of day?’ you too should have no fear: if you are persistent in the Noble Path, you also will come to the light.”
And this is true courage: to walk the straight path, to brave storm, darkness and suffering and to persevere, moving ever forward, in spite of everything, towards the light. This is the true meaning of Courage.
PART 5: What is Courage? The Ability to Be Calm in the Face Of Danger – Two stories by Mother Mirra which highlight that courage means the ability to keep one’s wits and remain unperturbed in the face of dangers.
PART 3: Speaking Truth To Power | Honest Vashishtha Incurs the Wrath of Vishvamitra – Mother Mirra narrates how the honest Vasishtha did not need the fearsome King Solomon’s throne to be frightened into speaking the truth.
