Blocked by the window, a sudden noise woke me up.  In the blurry consciousness, my intuition told me that it was the raindrops splashing on the gutter.  It was raining!  What a wonderful day I thought!  The almost dried lake could be saved.  The mangy dog like lawn could have a rejuvenated look!  I turned over and looked at the small clock next to the bed.  It was still early.  Since it was a raining morning, I should go back to sleep for a little longer to compensate for my arduous work in getting ready for the Earth-Womb Ceremony the past few days.

Time passed very fast while sleeping.  It was time to get up.  After pulling up the mini blind in the bathroom, I found out that the interrupted noise wasn't caused by the raindrops splashing in the gutter.  The ground was dry and it didn't rain at all from last night to this morning.  Mind is such a wonderful artist, who can draw various colors creating everyting true and false.  I smiled.

The source of the noise should be coming from outside between the front of the Buddha Hall and the bedroom's window.  The noise stopped immediately when I came close to it.  I had glanced at the bush and flowerbed even the gutter, but still could not figure out where the problem was.  After I walked back to the room and put on my robe getting ready for the morning service that intermittent noise started again.

After the morning service, Jeannie came to tell me that she had found out where the problem was and it had been solved already!

A tiny squirrel was stuck in the gutter and he could not get out.  That noise was that tiny squirrel's claw scratching on the gutter while he was struggling for help.

How did that tiny squirrel get stuck in there?  We figured that tiny squirrel was playing on the roof as usual, because of his carelessness in the darkness and he had short legs so that he felt into the U-shaped gutter.  It faced upwards along the eaves.  On rainy days, the rainwater flows into the gutter then after a distance flows into the letter U shaped drainpipe to discharge the rainwater.  And that tiny squirrel fell into the opeing of the drainpipe, which is connected to the gutter.

In order to keep the soil in the flowerbed from washing away, we connected a horizontal drainpipe across the flowerbed to drain the rainwater.  In that squirrel's mind, he was to climb up vigorously.  He intended to climb back to the opening where he fell down.  The internal surface of the pipe is very smooth.  He could not get a grip, even though he can normally leap across branches with ease.

Actually, if that tiny squirrel could turn around then he would discover that horizontal pipe affixed to the ground behind him.  He would have gotten out instantly by running down the pipe.  That tiny squirrel was impatient and fiercely clinging to the idea that climbing up was the only way out.  If it weren't Jeannie to solve the crisis for him in time, who knows how much more the suffering that squirrel would have to go through!

Sigh! The tiny squirrel was ignorant.  But, how much better are we?

It is said in the Buddhists teachings that it is rare to be born as human.  It is even more rare to meet and have meet the opportunity to learn the Buddha Dharma and also to have the leisure to practice based on the Buddha's teaching!  Sometimes if we could change our view, then we wouldn't be badly battered.  But, we just don't know and we are not willing to do so.  This puts us in a very difficult situation.  Hadn't the Buddha taught us?  The Buddha had already guided us and showed us a bright direction.  But we don't listen.  What can the Buddha do about it?

One day, Buddha arrived at a village.  He saw a farmer lowering his head and toiling in the field.  Buddha would like to liberate him.  Therefore Buddha stood aside the field waiting for that farmer quietly.  The farmer saw the Buddha from a distance but he still continued in doing his work.  After a long time, he finally came to the Buddha.  Before the Buddha spoke up, the farmer said: "We are farmer who toils patiently to till the field and to sow the seeds.  We have contributed a lot to others.  But you monks don't work through out the day; you are not good to the human beings at all."  "We are also cultivating the field.  We are cultivating a field of merit to let living beings plant their good fortunes."

The farmer didn't understand what that meant.  He turned around and paid no attention to The Lord of The Worlds and walked away.  Looking at his back, Buddha sighed and realized the principle of delivering only those who have good connections to the Buddha.