asanga and the dog

"hope you can forgive yourself for your reaction to the man on the bus. You aren't permanently stained or anything. (Was that foam he rubbed on the pole?) Maybe he was really a dog? You are still shining brightly." jw

"Isn’t it wonderful to have all these holy beings guiding us each day! I know that homeless person in Bandon was truly an emanation of a Buddha testing the deepest part of your heart." ml

receiving these two e-mails
from precious friends
this morning..
i recall -
asanga and maitreya..

asanga began by meditating
very diligently on maitreya.
he practiced for three years and did not seem
to be getting any results.
he became very depressed
because he had not accomplished
anything in his meditation.
he then left his retreat.
he saw a pigeon leaving
its nest in a rock face.
he noticed how the entrance hole had been worn smooth
by the feathers of generations of pigeons.
seeing this example of continued application
he was inspired to diligence
and returned to his retreat.

after a further three years
without result he again became depressed.
asanga left his retreat hermitage.
this time he encountered a man
who was removing dirt
from the top of a high hill.
asanga discovered that the man was removing
the dirt because the hill was blocking the sun,
which he hoped would shine on his house.
asanga was so impressed by this man’s perseverance
that he decided to enter retreat once more.

depressed after another three years without result,
asanga again left his retreat.
this time he met a man
rubbing an iron bar with a cloth.
intrigued by this, asanga asked what he was doing.
he was told he was making a sewing needle.
inspired by such diligence
and forbearance for such a small return,
asanga returned to his retreat.

having meditated for twelve years
he still did not feel he was getting
anywhere with his meditation.
deeply depressed, he left his retreat
and on the way he saw a dog
that was very sick and thin.
the dog was angry; ready to bite.

suddenly, asanga felt strong compassion
for the dog because he noticed
that the dog had worms in its wounds.
he wanted to remove the worms to help the dog,
but realized that if he pulled off the worms,
he would kill them.
it was a choice between killing the worms
or leaving the worms on the dog
which would eventually cause the dog to die.

asanga, overwhelmed by strong compassion for both,
felt that he must find a way to get
the worms out of the dog’s wounds.
he thought, “if i take the worms off with my tongue,
then the worms will not be hurt; the dog will get better.”
he leaned down and stuck out his tongue.
instead of touching the dog, asanga touched the ground.

maitreya appeared before him.
seeing maitreya he exclaimed,
“how is this possible?
i have been practicing this meditation
for twelve years and haven’t been able to meet you.
you haven't much compassion for me.”
maitreya said, “it wasn’t my lack of compassion.
i was there the whole time
but you couldn't see;
you had too many obscurations.
after twelve years of practice,
your obscurations had become so slight
that when you saw the dog
your compassion enabled you to see me.”

to prove the point, maitreya suggested that asanga
go into the nearby village with maitreya on his shoulder
and ask people what they could see.
most of the villagers saw nothing.
they thought him crazy
except for one old lady who asked
why he was carrying a wounded dog on his shoulder.

"i like a bit of a mongrel myself,
whether it is a man or a dog;
they're the best for everyday!"
george bernard shaw