A long time ago in the land of Zen there was a king. He only had one son and he was starting to get old. He started to be concerned that maybe his son was not ready yet to follow him as king.
So, as people did back then, he went to the biggest Monastery around and consulted with the master there. He asked, “How can I make sure that my son is ready to follow in my footsteps?”
The master gave him a very strange set of instructions. At first the King wasn’t quite sure, but then he decided he’d better follow what the master instructed. So the next morning the prince wakes up and there is the charioteer who says, “Come with me.”
The charioteer puts the Prince in the Chariot, no clothes or anything, and drives him out of the Kingdom. He takes away the Prince’s crown. He takes away his robes. He gives him stinking old beggar robes, and hands him a beggar bowl, and says, “You have been expelled from the kingdom. Do not come back.”
The prince freaked out he was crying, “What have I done? What did I do? I didn’t do anything wrong?”
The charioteer said, “I don’t know. They didn’t tell me. All I was told was that I had to bring you here, dump you on the street and tell you to not come back or you’ll be thrown in jail.”
The Young Prince was devastated. He cried. He got really depressed, but after a while he got really hungry. He had no idea how to become a beggar, so he had to learn from the other beggars on the street. Slowly, slowly he learned how to be a beggar. He forgot completely that he’d ever been a prince. Begging became his whole existence.
Then one day he’s standing on the street and all of a sudden he hears the bells of the chariot. He wakes up and remembers, “Wait! What’s that sound? I know that sound.”
The charioteer comes driving up and says, “Wake up! You are the prince. Your father is dying and it’s time for you to come home and lead the kingdom.”
The prince immediately forgot that he was a beggar. He stood up. His chin lifted, and in one second he transformed from beggar back into a Prince. Just because he remembered who he was.
This is exactly what waking up us like. This is why we call it remembering. You suddenly remember who you are and the transformation is instant and complete.