{"id":13514,"date":"2008-11-10T05:01:55","date_gmt":"2008-11-09T21:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/?p=13514"},"modified":"2013-02-05T05:49:25","modified_gmt":"2013-02-04T21:49:25","slug":"picnic-cake-grass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/2008\/11\/picnic-cake-grass\/","title":{"rendered":"Picnic : Cake & Grass"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MM900172486\"<\/a>Below is something from four years back, that I thought would be appropriate to reproduce here, as an article categorised under Veganism \u2013 which is really more than not eating animal produce, but being mindfully sensitive to sentient beings in all areas of life. The article came to mind as some friends organised a birthday celebration in the form of sharing a (eggless but dairy) cake on a grass patch. As a subtle protest, I sent my regards to the birthday girl and went off. Thereafter, I sent the verses below to explain for my ‘anti-social’ behaviour.<\/p>\n

For the cake part, here’s why I declined :\u00a0http:\/\/wp.me\/p54LT-3w3<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

For the grass part, here’s why… Of Loving-kindness to Our Tiny Friends<\/b><\/i> (Some reflections after a retreat in the wild)<\/p>\n

Insects<\/b><\/p>\n

The Buddha says in the Surangama Sutra,
\n‘…all Bodhisattvas always refrain even from walking on grass…’<\/p>\n

How very touching! It makes me want to cry.
\nTo be reminded not to forget…
\nto respect even a blade of grass,
\nto love the tiny creatures below,
\nto protect their hidden homes,
\nto take no one at all for granted.<\/p>\n

Flies<\/b><\/p>\n

Maybe the summer flies have something to say to you,
\nin a language you do not understand,
\nas they buzz near your ears in an excited dance,
\nas they kiss your cheeks.
\nFor some reason they come near.
\nFor some reason they do not fear.<\/p>\n

Pray try to hear what they say.
\nGive them some time,
\ndon’t just shoo them away.
\nDistant relatives maybe, from a previous life.
\nIt is reunion time.
\nMay they be well and happy.<\/p>\n

Ants<\/b><\/p>\n

What does it mean, when you circumambulate the Bodhi Tree
\nin ‘mindfulness’ of wishing all beings to be well and happy,
\nwhen you are not mindful of the ants trampled beneath your feet,
\nas you go round and round, the tree, turning the wheel of life and death?<\/p>\n

What sense does it make, when you reverence the Bodhi Tree
\nand forget to revere the many tiny Buddhas-to-be,
\nwho got in your way, as you dodge them with impatience instead of compassion,
\nwhen they are companions on your path to Enlightenment?<\/p>\n

Spiders<\/b><\/p>\n

Be careful of the web you bump into in the morning.
\nIt might have been spun last night.
\nDid it get in your way, or you in its?
\nEven if it irritates you, please be kind,
\nfor it is the little spider’s lifeline.<\/p>\n

If we can learn to be kind
\neven to our tiniest friends,
\nwho will we not be kind to?<\/p>\n

May All Beings Be At Ease<\/b><\/p>\n

The Buddha says in the Metta Sutta,
\n‘May all beings be at ease.
\nWhatever living beings there may be;
\nWhether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
\nThe great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
\nThe seen and the unseen
\nThose living near and far away,
\nThose born and to-be-born,
\nMay all beings be at ease!’<\/p>\n

May all beings be at ease,
\nas they put each other at ease.
\nEasy now, easy, easy…
\nGive ease, ease, ease.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Below is something from four years back, that I thought would be appropriate to reproduce here, as an article categorised…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[156],"class_list":["post-13514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-veganism","tag-veganism-vegetarianism","wpcat-74-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}