Three Rabbits and a Dead Cat

Went for a bike ride after work yesterday.  It was a beautiful day.  Was tired and was going to stay home but dragged the bike out and headed for the woods.  Saw a rabbit right away, scampering along doing its thing.  Living in the NOW.  Then there were two more and who knows what those two were up to.  They were all enjoying a marvelous day.  They weren't carrying around anything from the past and they weren't concerned about anything other than what they were doing at that moment.  Marvelous!  It was said before but we can learn a lot from the animal world.

Eventually went to a place to do some hill work (to get stronger at climbing hills).  At the top of the hill there was a dead cat that must have recently been hit by a car.  It looked like my cat Simon, a ragdoll.  They should never go outside. They are not smart about traffic and they are too trusting.  It probably got loose.  This was sad to see but Zen teaches that there is no difference between that dead cat and those living rabbits.

We all come and go on this planet (and perhaps to others).  We live many lives in physical form and our true selves live forever.  That cat's journey in that particular role is over.  We all have roles in our daily lives and roles in each of our lives.  These "roles" are not who we really are.  Who we really are is what we were before we were born and after we die.  It should be a happy time to go back home.  The cat is back home and perhaps soon to receive a new role.  Life and death is the same in Zen as the true self never dies.  The cat is not dead it just no longer needs that particular shell.  That dead cat is not the cat.  Make sense?

This relates well to what is now going on with Ralphy, my dog.  He is going on 15 years old and has been sick off and on for the last year or so.  He has dimentia and can't hear or see very well.  He also is not drinking enough water and is getting constantly dehydrated.  He has been to the vet regularly lately, most recently for a large lump on his neck.  It is getting better with antibiotics.  His dimentia is better with meds.  He sleeps better with the help of Xanax, a tranquilizer.  This life journey for him is coming to a close.  It is sad.  He is part of the family and has been for a long time.  But, it is also not sad because soon he is going back home.

Death is a part of life and life is part of a bigger picture which is beyond what most of us can understand.  We are not the body we inhabit.  We are what is left when our body is gone.  We are what we were before we were born.  We are as infinite as the universe.

Peace and clear mind...