..續本文上一頁 goats, won”t that be a waste of time

　　There was once a large pond full of fish. As time passed, the rainfall decreased and the pond became shallow. One day a bird showed up at the edge of the pond. He told the fish, “I really feel sorry for you fish. Here you barely have enough water to keep your backs wet. Do you know that not very far from here there”s a big lake, several meters deep, where the fish swim happily

　　”

　　When the fish in that shallow pond heard this, they got excited. They said to the bird, “It sounds good. But how could we get there

　　”

　　The bird said, “No problem. I can carry you in my bill, one at a time.”

　　The fish discussed it among themselves. “It”s not so great here anymore. The water doesn”t even cover our heads. We ought to go.” So they lined up to be taken by the bird.

　　The bird took one fish at a time. As soon as he got out of sight of the pond, he landed and ate the fish. Then he would return to the pond and tell them, “Your friend is right this moment swimming happily in the lake, and he asks when you will be joining him!”

　　It sounded fantastic to the fish. They couldn”t wait to go, and they started pushing to get to the head of the line.

　　The bird finished off the fish like that. He went back to the pond to see if he could find any more. There was only one crab there. The bird started his sales pitch about the lake.

　　The crab was skeptical. He asked the bird how he could get there. The bird told him he would carry him in his bill. But this crab had some wisdom. He told the bird, “Let”s do it like this: I”ll sit on your back, with my arms around your neck. If you try any tricks, I”ll choke you with my claws.”

　　The bird felt frustrated by this, but he gave it a try, thinking he might still somehow get to eat the crab. So the crab got on his back, and they took off.

　　The bird flew around, looking for a good place to land. But as soon as he tried to descend, the crab started squeezing his throat with his claws. The bird couldn”t even cry out—he just made a dry, croaking sound. So in the end he had to give up and return the crab to the pond.

　　I hope you can have the wisdom of the crab! If you are like those fish, you will listen to the voices that tell you how wonderful everything will be if you go back to the world. That”s an obstacle ordained people meet with. Please be careful about this.

　　Q: Why is it that unpleasant states of mind are difficult to see clearly, while pleasant states are easy to see

　　 When I experience happiness or pleasure, I can see that it”s something impermanent, but when I”m unhappy, that”s harder to see.

　　AC: You are thinking in terms of your attraction and aversion and trying to figure it out, but actually, delusion is the predominant root. You feel that unhappiness is hard to see while happiness is easy to see. That”s just the way your afflictions work: Aversion is hard to let go of, right

　　 It”s a strong feeling. Happiness is easy to let go of. It”s not really easy; it”s just that it”s not so overpowering. Pleasure and happiness are things people like and feel comfortable with—they”re not so easy to let go of. Aversion is painful, but people don”t know how to let go of it. The truth is that they are equal. When you contemplate thoroughly and get to the point, you will quickly recognize that they”re equal. If you had a scale to weigh them, their weight would be the same. But we incline towards the pleasurable.

　　So are you saying that you can let go of happiness easily, while unhappiness is difficult to let go of

　　 And you think that the things we like are easy to give up, but you”re wondering why the things we dislike are hard to give up—but if they”re not good, why are they hard to give up

　　 It”s not like that. Think anew—they are completely equal. It”s just that we don”t incline t…

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