The Butterfly

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The Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day, a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress.
It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were one way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we were to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

Human rebirth is indeed precious as through it, we experience both happiness and sadness that would cause us to reflect what is the meaning of life about and want to break from this cycle of birth & death. May we follow the Buddha's guidance to attain ultimate freedom.

Read this Refuge and Bodhicitta Prayer recently & find it beautiful:

In my heart I turn to the Three Jewels of refuge.
May I free suffering beings and place them in bliss.
May the compassionate spirit of love grow within me that I may complete the enlightening path. (recite 3 times)


May All Be Well & Happy.
Amituofo. :-)