home ill today. been sending up the stomach most of the night. can’t lay down, so no rest. trying to distract myself and hoping the brick in my stomach dissolves sometime soon.
in the meantime, reading a favorite Buddhism forum, encountered an unusual thing. preface this by saying it seems a favorite pastime of buddhists to seek out parallels, synchronicities, and analogies. i find it comforting to see, as it is something i find i do as well and maybe i’m not such an alien after all. heh.
the unusual thing is the old fairy tale ‘cinderella’ set forth as a parable for Buddhism. here is the text found:
Cinderella represents Buddha Nature.
Cinderella’s real mother (Buddha = Awakened One) dies.
Her father (who represents Ignorance) remarries.
The step-mother represents Anger and her two daughters, represent desire (together they are the three poisons.
Ignorance is very much the one that allows desire and anger into the house of Buddha Nature).
Of course these three poisons cause Cinderella much suffering.
One day her father (Ignorance) asks the two step-daughters what they want from the fair?
One says jewels and the other says beautiful dresses.
The father asks Cinderella and she tells him to get a branch from the first tree that knocks against his hat (this symbolizes a force that stirs to awaken the seed of Buddha Nature from the core of Ignorance).
The father returns with the gifts including a hazel tree branch which Cinderella plants atop her mother’s grave.
Then the King holds a festival in order to find a wife for his Son (who represents the Lama).
The step-sisters go to the festival, Cinderella wants to go as well but the step-mother won’t give her the clothes, slippers, etc (which represents the offerings obtained via the accumulation of merit to the Lama), to attend.
In the Grimm’s fairy tale it is the forces of nature itself, specifically the hazel tree that Cinderella planted atop her dead mother’s (the Buddha’s) grave and birds that give her the clothes, slippers, etc., .
Cinderella loses her golden slippers and the Prince tries to find her through these slippers.
The step-mother urges both daughters to make the slippers fit. The first daughter cuts off her big toe to make it fit and the Prince (aka “Lama”) is almost deceived, but while passing the hazel tree two pigeons (representing Wisdom and Compassion) clue him in to the deceit, he notices the bloody foot and returns to the house.
The second daughter cuts her heel to make it fit and the same thing happens while passing the pigeons in the hazel tree.
Finally Cinderella is called and of course the slippers fit perfectly.
They pass the hazel tree and the two pigeons perch themselves on Cinderella’s shoulders and remain there.
On her wedding day, the two sisters want to attend so they can share in Cinderella’s wealth and fortune (aka Dharma knowledge) but the pigeons peck out their eyes, forcing them to live out their days in blindness.
(The Grimm’s version is, as you can see, different than the Disney rendition.)
strange thoughts. not going to attempt contemplation in this moment. just noting it here as something curious and interesting.
going to find the maalox now… i hate being sick.