An angler spotted a swan with its head underwater apparently dabbling for food. Some time later, he saw the bird still in the same position and naturally, grew curious.
When he went to investigate further, he found that a giant pike had seized the swan by the head and tried to drag it under. The swan had resisted and the pike had refused to let go.
In the end, this tug of war ended. Both swan and pike had died.
People often lament the fact that there is so little compassion in the world and that humans are capable of so much hate and cruelty.
The really remarkable fact is that there is so much compassion – we have a surfeit of it if only we allow it into ourselves.
People will make sacrifices to help those who are homeless and starving in places they have barely heard of. The will willingly give food to creatures of another species, even when they don’t intend to eat them later!
Compassion and kindliness are not exotic flowers – they are the daisies of the human mind.
What’s going on here? In our society, we seem to have become preoccupied with eternal life, death and preserving youthfulness. We have immortal vampires, zombies, angels, demons and various permutations of youth and life eternal. Photoshop, botox, silicon, along with a plethora of ways of going under the surgical knife, all of which I’ve lost count of.
Is death the ultimate taboo? People are taking seriously scientific advances that will allow us to live longer, if not forever, then at least much longer than before. What sort of society would this be if this became possible? Would this be a world that is stagnant? Would such a world allow the possibility of growth? Doesn’t growth come from death, from facing one’s mortality? Doesn’t growth come from encountering otherness? And isn’t death the great otherness?
Life and death are not two things; they are one. That is why the Hindus, for instance, saw Shiva as both Creator and Destroyer.
We recoil from death but we are foolish to do so. When the time is right, we should embrace it.
Everyone and everything can be your teacher.
It is said that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. But do not suppose your teacher will be a wise old monk in a saffron robe.
When you have the right understanding, teachers will appear in even the unlikeliest places.
If you keep your heart transparent
you will never be bound.
But one disturbing thought creates
ten thousand distractions.
If you let many things capture your
attention you’ll go astray.
How painful it is to see people so
wrapped up in themselves!
~ Ryokayayana
From the Red Room 