Tigers and Strawberries. . .
A Zen Master who, while out walking one day, is confronted by a ferocious, man-eating tiger.
He slowly backs away from the animal, only to find that he is trapped at the edge of a high cliff; the tiger snarls with hunger, and pursues the Master. His only hope of escape is to suspend himself over the abyss by holding onto a vine that grows at its edge.
As the Master dangles from the cliff, two mice – one white and one black – begin to gnaw on the vine he is clutching on. If he climbs back up, the tiger will surely devour him, if he stays then there is the certain death of a long fall onto the jagged rocks. The slender vine begins to give way, and death is imminent.
Just then the precariously suspended Zen Master notices a lovely ripe wild strawberry growing along the cliff’s edge. He plucks the succulent berry and pops it into his mouth. He is heard to say: “This lovely strawberry, how sweet it tastes.”
The Point: In Life we are often suspended between many precarious moments and events – when we turn to one we only momentary relief or suspension of the moments that threaten us. We are often suspended momentarily and yet the forces of life both good and bad still gnaw at lifes vine. We should understand this as a constant and find a path to enjoy the fruits of this life just as they are given, even in the face of fears and endings.
Peace and Love, Jim
#faceit #thedailybuddha
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