The Gift of Faith
A little boy once met the Buddha and wanted to offer
the Lord something, whatever little thing he could. As
he had nothing at all with himself, he picked up a
handful of dust and with folded hands laid his gift at
His divine feet.
It is said Gautama accepted his innocent offering and
blessed the child.
He was reborn as Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty, one of
the cruelest emperors in the history of the Indian
subcontinent. He slew his own brothers to capture the
throne of Magadha -- till the carnage of the Kalinga
War brought about a transformation in him and he
embraced Buddhism, becoming one of the greatest
apostles of peace and piety the world has
ever seen.
That is why, perhaps, they say the Blessed can
apotheosize even a handful of dust into the beloved of
the gods.
(Ashoka's later appellation was Devanampriya, 'the
beloved of the gods'.)
