Freedom over Birth and Death Comes
When We Truly Escape Our Cage
The owner pulled open the cage door and gently
placed the little bird in his hand. It was still warm, not yet cold.
In fact, because the bird was only pretending to be dead, of course it
retained its body warmth. The owner peeked at the little thing,
turning his hand this way and that. The bird didn't even quiver.
Whatever angle he viewed it from, the bird appeared to be really dead.
Its body was still warm; only its breath seemed to have stopped.
Slowly he open his hand... PHLLRTTPHLRTTPHLRTT! The bird broke loose
from his hand and flew away! It had escaped from the cage!
But we are still in a cage right now! How do
we escape? As to human beings, you shouldn't think you are free.
Don't misinterpret freedom, saying, "I am really free. If I want to
eat, I eat; if I want to drink alcohol, I drink alcohol. I can do
anything I please. I can ignore the rules if I want to! That's what
I call freedom!" That's a misinterpretation of freedom. To be truly
free, you must be free of birth and death, and then if you wish to
fly into space, you can fly into space, and if you wish to burrow
into the earth, you can burrow into the earth. If you can do that,
you will gain the kind of freedom that the little bird gained.
