Ducks and us...!

Have you ever watched ducks? Just sat and observed them? 

They're indeed beautiful and graceful in the way they swim. I always loved watching them; but today I was sitting and just observed them for a while. 

The water was clear and I could see them peddle their feet to swim afloat on water. It is so magnificent to see them working hard to move while their face is up with pride. 

We, humans are the same in life. We keep up our face with pride while we trying to make it through the steps in life. We would never want to disclose our rough patches with everyone when going through one, but would share eventually end up sharing it with friends after the issue is resolved.

True to the fact that we have evolved from animals, there is so much to learn from them. The lessons learnt from animals and nature are the most difficult to absorb in our brains albeit they look simple but hard to endure.  Lessons from animal kingdom has been used extensively. It was in our childhood days when we first heard the saying ''Try, try until you succeed''. This phrase came from from King Solomon, when he watched a trail of ants trying to  climb and failing and after few attempts they succeed. He learns the lesson from a minute, very weak and scantly visible ant. How could an ant teach him such a big lesson? Is it the problem of interpretation? Other than this, I would like to know any other interpretation. 

To give an analogy about Sangha, we can study the pattern of birds flying, they always form boids, and they make it so easily without fighting. No one tells them to make such way and no one decides their leader. They just do it as a habbit. Also, we can see bees working on hives. Their movement is so random, no one decides their job, but all do. No leaders and no slaves in their community. The queen is just for laying eggs, even the queen has to work. This analogy is used to study the development of a  Sangha, Law of equality prevailed.

Shopenhauer the great German philosopher while talking about human tendencies of mating, he correlates that to a typical mongoose. He says, mongoose lives in hard conditions, faces lot of problems in terms of food and climate but still mates. We humans are like that too. However frustrated or suffering we are in our life we give birth to children or feel the necessity to mate. I would like to say, mating is a sense thing, but for animals? I guess it is their need. We humans always have the option of abstaining from sexual practice but may be our intellect doesnt permit us.

There are umpteen examples to find the analogy and any behaviour of animals can be interpreted in any form. Observe it numerous times, if the idea is not changing, take it as a lesson.

If we want to be compassionate towards humans. we must first learn to be compassionate towards animals. If animals can't harm or have no voice doesn't mean we will show our dominance on them. Winning over animals doesn't make you a human! Whatever you do to animals, you would do that to humans, being merciless. Will you be quiet if a silent member of your family is dominated and hit by others? No you wouldn't. So, please be kind to animals! :)