I was sitting at the bus-stop when a strange twisted bundle fell inches before my seat. There was a sudden “Phat!”, which didn’t sound too pleasant at all. The bundle looked weirdly alien while organic. Shocked, I gazed at it with a convoluted mix of apprehension and curiosity. I wondered aloud within myself, “What on Earth could that be?!!!”... Just as suddenly as it fell, the bundle moved… apart, as it “split” into halves which scrambled away! It turned out that the “bundle” was made up of a couple of lizards, who were holding on to each other. They had fallen from a beam on the ceiling of the bus shelter. They too seemed as shocked by their fall as I was.
This quick and quirky incident was cause for unexpected epiphany. Were they great lovers or great enemies? I could not tell whether the lizards were making love or war, but it was certain that they must had been doing one or the other too intensely. So intense it must have been – such that it became life-threatening to both! On hindsight, could they be making both love and war “simultaneously”? Were they “wrestling” vehemently in the heat of passion and/or violence? Talk about an unconventional yet primal imagery for the paradoxical samsaric marriage of sex and violence! If they hadn’t gripped each other so tightly, they wouldn’t have fallen. Hope the lizards realised this!
Be it attachment or aversion that we have for each other, it is dangerous both physically and mentally (spiritually and emotionally) when these dual negative qualities are extreme. Attachment (wanting, or greed) and aversion (not-wanting, or hatred) are two sides of the same coin of craving. The first craves to possess the beloved while the latter craves to lose the loathed. When we huddle up too tightly with either forms of craving, we lose our balance – our firm “footing” for peace of mind – and we “fall” into the abyss of trouble and suffering. While clinging due to obsession, we lose mindfulness of the truth that this is the very basis of losing stability and well-being. Also, the stronger attachment is, the more likely it is to transform to strong aversion when the one attached to betrays oneself. Like the lizards, are you too “wrapped up” with anything lately?
- An article written by Shen Shi'an
Hao, if you're reading this, what do you think of it?
Do you think it's happening now??
I seriously don't want me to be the cause of conflicts to arise between you and your brothers.
I don't know what are they thinking nor do i know what they feel about us, but instead of ignoring them I think we should address the problems.
Instead of leaving the problem to snowball, maybe we should reflect on our behaviour in front of them. I believe a compromise can be reached.
Quoting from the song"I'll take my chances" by "The Click Five"
