Shoveling Snow With Buddha By Billy Collins Summary
445 Words2 Pages
Since the beginning of time, people have looked to religion to find a purpose or to explain why one exists. People do not have a solid understanding of a spiritual life so they turn to materialistic things in hopes of finding a purpose or understanding of their own lives. Instead of turning to things that cannot give you what you are looking for, search for something greater than you. In “Shoveling Snow with Buddha,” Billy Collins demonstrates how one can find their enjoyment, purpose, and faith in the simple pleasures of life.
Humans tend to relate or picture a temple or church when they think about spirituality. When one hears Buddhism they automatically think of a fat guy sitting cross-legged because “sitting is more his speed”(Collins…show more content… The speaker states, “All morning long we work side by side, me with the commentary and he inside the generous pocket of silence, until the hour is nearly noon…”(Collins 33-36). Buddha was completely at peace working in his silence. He was focused and determined on a goal and was not going to let the complaining of the speaker, ruin his time of meditation. Buddha was teaching the speaker a lesson by working in silence. He taught that keeping the peace was a vital part in becoming enlightened. The speaker was very impatient, impolite, and unwilling to learn the ways of the enlightened one which in turn will prohibit him from moving forward in his path of enlightenment. If the speaker were to follow the ways of the Buddha then he to could become enlightened. The speaker seems to represent the human race as whole. One needs a reason to exist and looking beyond the natural world can help one gain an understanding of why things occur the way they do. Humans also tend to be very impatient, needy, and superficial when it come to religion. Expanding beyond the limits of one's mind can lead to a higher tolerance of things we cannot understand. In the foregoing we discussed the need for humans to find a purpose or reason why they exist and how one can become enlightened through peace, silence, and hard work. So, in conclusion, the speaker