Theme: Mindless Compassions
Story 19
Compassion that killed
We all know the butterfly, finally, come into the world breaking open the cocoon in which it grew.
So also there are a few species that build around a cocoon at the early stage of its life, grow into it and finally breaks open the cocoon to enter the world.
This is a story of a moth that was killed by compassion. Can compassion kill? Yes; Read the story below:
A science student, found one such cocoon and wanted to watch as the butterfly come out of its cocoon. As he watched, a small opening appeared on the cocoon. He skipped his classes and sat down watching for the butterfly to finally come out of the cocoon. He spent several hours, watching it.
A small hole appeared on the cocoon and the creature, say a moth, struggled to force the body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck.
Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shrivelled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. It did not happen! In fact, the little butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shrivelled body and shrivelled wings.
It never was able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle.
Theme: COMPASSION.
Know this:
(1) Most of us love ourselves.
(2) Some of us love our parents, wife, children and a few other relatives and friends too.
(3) A few among us goes beyond this circle of relatives and friends to love and care to the people in the society where he lives in.
(4) Lord Buddha, Lord Jesus and Prophet Muhammad, Ramalinga adigalaar, are a few, who had compassion extending to the entire humanity.
(5) Compassion of some of the Saints surpassed the limits of humanity to include every life forms such as animals and plants.
(6) Compassion is not an act. instead a means of acting with kindness to people.
(7) Compassion is not a rationale act, for you do not think of pros and cons of the actions you take. It is a subconscious function, performed instantly.
Let us read a Zen story of a Buddhist Monk and his true nature.