Ugly

.

Maybe it's my general state of being today, but that made me just start bawling. :(

Thank you, Bruce. Your post reminded me of a famous Buddhist teaching:

Asanga, Maitreya, a bitch and the maggots

In this regard, we find accounts of how Acharya Asanga spent twelve years in meditation, hoping to have a vision of Buddha Maitreya. His story is an example for us.

Asanga exerted himself so much throughout those years. But still he could not have a vision of the deity Maitreya. He lost heart and came out of his meditation cave. Asanga then was walking towards town when, all of a sudden, he came across a female dog totally infected by maggots on the lower part of her body. She was being eaten away by thousands and thousands of maggots. Asanga felt so much compassion towards the maggots and towards the female dog. He was wondering how to relieve both the maggots and the female dog. The maggots themselves are so delicate that to pick them up with the hand will kill them instantly. Asanga was so strongly motivated by compassion.

To save both the maggots and the dog, Asanga cut a piece of flesh from his own body so that the maggots can have a safe place to stay after he licked the maggots off the dog with his tongue. Under such strong compassion, he reached out his tongue with the eyes closed. No matter how much closer he went, he could not touch the dog.

Asanga opened his eyes and saw Lord Maitreya there in all his glory. In shock, Asanga said to Lord Maitreya, "You seemed to lack compassion towards meditators. I have exerted so much effort over the past twelve years but I could not get close to having a vision until now!" Lord Maitreya, however, said that he has always been close to Asanga, even on the very first day of his entering retreat. It is due to the strong and thick defilements that were obscuring Acharya Asanga that he could not see Maitreya.

Thus, Asanga came to understand that the very reason why he could not get a vision was because of the defilements weighing down on his mental continuum. It was due to the strong genuine compassion towards the female dog that Asanga could clear out the obscurations.

http://www.purifymind.com/BodhicittaGandenTri.htm

:mecry:i can haz tear

Awww Bruce, that made me cry too.
Shame the person writing it could only feel compassion for ugly when he was dying though.

Sundae Girl;679602 wrote:

Awww Bruce, that made me cry too.
Shame the person writing it could only feel compassion for ugly when he was dying though.

♪ ♫ Don't it always seem to go, that we don't know what we've got till it's gone.♪ ♫

Oh shit - did they bury him in the parking lot?

Sold him to Chinese restaurant.:greenface:thepain:

Pete Zicato;679628 wrote:

♪ ♫ Don't it always seem to go, that we don't know what we've got till it's gone.♪ ♫

yes

beautiful compassion

Hmmm

My god...that's the saddest thing I've seen in awhile. Choked me up and started the tears.

Partly, it reminds me of the untimely demise of my longtime familiar, TC, several years ago. Partly, it makes me sad because there are so many unloved, unwanted animals in the world. Right now, I have two cats laying on the bed behind me who could have easily become Uglys before coming to us. They are both so unique, so full of life and love and trust, and I can't imagine them ever being in such a malign circumstance.

Life would be *so* much emptier without an animal to love and be loved by in return.

Word.

I thought long and hard before posting that.