Daily Meditation: Sunday, October 16, 2011

Conditions - rather than wanting to change the outer ones, change them in yourself

10/16/2011

People think they can solve their problems by moving to somewhere else. In fact, they are like the baby birds that said to their mother one day, ‘Our nest has become so dirty! We cannot stay here any longer! Let’s go and live somewhere different, in another nest.’ ‘Very well,’ replied the mother bird. ‘I understand your disgust; we can change nests. But won’t you be taking your little bottoms with you?’ When the earth starts seeming uninhabitable, humans dream of paradise. But if they were allowed to enter paradise, with their hearts and minds full of impurities, they would soon turn it into a repulsive place. If they were pure, wherever they went they would take paradise with them. So, each time they are tempted to complain about external conditions, they should begin by looking to see whether something inside them needs to be changed first.