“To behold a samaṇa — a renunciant — is the highest auspiciousness,” so declared the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Lord Buddha. Why did He speak thus? There are many reasons, yet the most essential, which I wish to bring forth here, is this: the samaṇa is a symbol of goodness. So long as there remains a samaṇa to be seen, it is a testament that goodness still abides in this world.
Therefore, let all people resolve with firm intention to cultivate goodness — for the samaṇa, who illuminates the path toward ever greater virtue, still walks among us in this world. He stands ever ready to walk shoulder to shoulder with us, guiding us onward in the creation of goodness, greater and greater still.
January 5th, 2015
