The Hold and the Freedom

(Let our children grow more innocently than we are!!)

A few weeks ago, I went to a park with my children. One of my daughters had grape-tomato in her hands and the other one was holding her little toys. The problem was that they both could not be able to climb or play around in the park because their hands were not free to hold the other things. In other words, they could not go higher because of their holding; kind of self-hinders on the way of higher, further places or freedom.

Then, I remember one of the Buddha’s examples about - how the holds make us away from freedom.

Once, a hunter set up a couple coconuts to catch the jungle monkeys. He made a little hole at one side of the coconut/s and put monkeys’ favorite foods inside. On the other side of coconut/s, he put a small and strong string. He grabbed the string/s and hided in a bush.

When the monkeys came, they found coconuts full of their favorite foods inside. Monkeys even fought each other to get the coconuts. Finally, the biggest ones of the group won the fight and they got the coconuts. The giant monkeys began to eat foods that were inside of the coconuts. The holes those the hunter set up in coconuts were big enough to put monkeys’ hands but when they hold food inside, they were not able to take their hands out. The clever hunter put food that made such tasteful smell for monkeys. Because of the smell, as well as they felt foods in their hands, hungry monkeys tried to take out their hands from the coconuts. However, the tighter they hold foods, the more difficulties they faced to take their hands out. At the same time, the hunter was pulling the strings into the bush where he was hiding, till the monkeys reached for good enough place to be caught.

Poor monkeys knew lately that the more they were holding foods (their favorites), the further from freedom or the nearer to the danger.

The stories demonstrated many lessons for us and some of them could be the followings:

- Our greediness often leads us to be in danger or it makes us to go far away from freedom.

- Because of our holds, we are not able to get the other things. (Ours are full already with what we have.) In other words, we cannot go higher, further and into the true freedom, with holding those (our favorite, loves, hates, beliefs, isms, etc….) matters. Even it is difficult to see or accept the others’ favorites, loves, hates, beliefs, isms, etc. Eventually, we become self-slaves of our favorites, loves, hates, beliefs, isms and so on. Humans, the highest thinkers among all creations, should live above of them, but instead, we are under of them, and become the slaves of them, and even we are fighting, killing and destroying each other as slaves of those matters. The worse and more sorrowful thing is that we consciously or unconsciously are setting our innocent new generations to actively participate in those slavery matters (because of our weaknesses) and to our children get troubling futures where there never will be ending!!!

- The tighter we hold the further from true freedom. And yet, nothing of them is not permanent since all things are moving, changing, occurring and disappearing in its or their time.

At least, let us try to not to be self-slaves of what we have, love, hate, favor and believe. After we pass this stage, we will have grand opportunity to see clearer each other!

Please remember that the more we hold / grab the further from freedom or higher places!

Thank you!