constant state of readiness, the mind feels as though it’s about to
soar up and out of the deep abyss of the kilesas at any moment –
like a bird taking flight. In truth, the kilesas remain ensconced
there in the heart as always. It is the evocative forest atmosphere
that tends to inspire this sense of liberation. Sometimes, due to
the power of this favorable environment, a monk becomes con-
vinced that his kilesas are diminishing rapidly with each passing
day, while those remaining appear to be ever more scarce. This
unfettered feeling is a constant source of support for the practice
of meditation.
A monk living deep in the forest tends to consider the wild
animals living around him – both those inherently dangerous and
those that are harmless – with compassion, rather than with fear
or apathy. He realizes that all animals, dangerous and harmless, are
his equals in birth, ageing, sickness, and death. We human beings
are superior to animals merely by virtue of our moral awareness:
our ability to understand difference between good and evil. Lack-
ing this basic moral judgment, we are no better than common ani-
mals. Unknown to them we label these creatures ‘animals’, even
though the human species is itself a type of animal. The human
animal is fond of labeling other species, but we have no idea what
kind of label other animals have given to us. Who knows? Per-
haps they have secretly labeled human beings ‘ogres’,^6 since we’re
so fond of mistreating them, slaughtering them for their meat –
or just for sport. It’s a terrible shame the way we humans habitu-
ally exploit these creatures; our treatment of them can be quite
merciless. Even among our own kind, we humans can’t avoid
hating and harassing each other, constantly molesting or killing
one another. The human world is troubled because people tend
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
#1