In The Name of Freedom...

Set the birds free, fly little birds fly!

Finally escape from the cage.

Yes, escape from worldly cage,

entanglement, craving & karmic debt.

Fly with the Wind, with all my heart!

Yes, set me free as a free man now!

With a sky filled with rain,

Many are caught within and without.

For the adventurous, the daring,

The determined and those

Who like caged birds,

Know the impending dread,

Shall not wait to seek

What may be called a genuine escape.

In the name of the freedom,

This one pretty birdie is set free

For Mr. Wind,

And this one’s for me.

More for all the Yogis in Malaysia,

And more for Yogis in the whole wide world.

Six birds it is for peace in the world,

Six more for lovers with hearts entwined,

That they too may disentangle craving’s net

And at last be freed!

Fly little birds fly,

Fly with our hearts into the void.

By a generous heart

And one who knows what freedom is.

Poem by Ven. Sujiva

Note from Ven. Sujiva.

To-day happens to be my birthday. While others decided to celebrate a birthday other ways, Buddhists celebrate it by performing meritorious deeds.

I remember being told once that one ought to recollect that birth as a human being i

s a result of meritorious action (wholesome kamma) and is rare. Rarer still for a human to be born in and meet with the Teaching of Buddha. As a result, they perform acts of charity, morality and meditation.

To-day, after some hooh-hah, I slipped out for a drive with a friend whom I called Mr. Wind. On the way back, I had an idea to set some birds free. At the pet shop, Mr Wind generously offered to buy them, saying, money is not the problem. After all, isn’t freedom priceless? We bought 3 pairs of chestnut munias, 3 pairs of scaly breasted munias, 3 pairs of peaceful doves and a most colorful pair whose name I do not know. The last pair was set free in the name of freedom for Mr. Wind and myself. The peaceful doves, 3 for our yogis and 3 for yogis of the world. The scaly breasted munias for the peace of the world, and the last and most plain, for lovers. That is because they don’t deserve the best birds. They shouldn’t have got themselves into trouble if they took up meditation with enough seriousness.