Page 231 - Mystic Pathways through the Bible

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by Burma. But before the Burmese invaded their country, the priests of the Thai temple pooled all their money, purchased gold, and sculpted it into the form of a Buddha. They then plastered the Buddha with multiple layers of mud so it appeared as though the statue was constructed of earth. During the war, all the Thai priests were killed and the great secret of the Buddha died along with the monks. The Buddha was left in the temple and remained cleverly disguised in mud for generations.
After some time, the priests that lived in the Thai temple decided to make some changes. They brought in a crane to relocate the Buddha. But as they were lifting the statue, the crane broke because the statue weighed more than a ton. The priests decided to leave the statue where it was since some cracks appeared as a result of it being dropped.
During the evening, when the head priest entered the shrine with a light to study the Buddha, he observed shimmering rays emanating from the Buddha’s head. He thought he was surely witnessing the heavenly planes. But, upon closer observation, he realized that gold was peeking out from behind the layers of mud concealing the golden statue. So with great care, he gradually chiseled the mud away, and after some tedious effort, a brilliant Buddha emerged. He then understood the ingenious secret behind the mud.