The Ants of V.M Mansion

The Ants of V.M Mansion

Oh! Dear ants visiting my room and kitchen is your daily chore climbing through the walls as the smallest  insects of Thailand, "The Land of Smile."  Who brought us together in this foreign land to live together sharing our love and care even though I cannot understand what you think and feel towards me. We are strangers here but somehow we became friends and living together in perfect co-existence.

Seeing your physical form drives  me to think of the Preta (Yidak inTibetan jargon) being born in the hellish realms who undergoes pains and sufferings for not giving alms to the saints and Yogis. One who really lived the life of a greedy person who could not sacrifice anything to the Triple Gem.  I am just wandering, why you are born as an ants to befriend me in this "land of smile" for brief stay together and vanish away suddenly when the death knocks your door. The main reason for you are kind visit to my room must be hunting for some foods and left over items that you want to carry home back on your head. Such a tiny insects you are but surprising to see that you can carry food bigger than your body. That is wonderful gift you possess indeed as an ants. Even you as a tiny insect have to struggle for the survival according to your level of sufferings.  The living has to be made and life forces has spin on until your breath stops. We are same indeed in all aspects of life. Your need and my need is quite different and you have less desires to gather wealth and property that I am doing today. I have heavy desires and thirst for wealth and power but you seems to be fine with what you have currently. How happy you are and how distressful I am on this earth with full of agendas!

I am learning from you indeed to live happy and contented life with little stuff that you can gather for the day. You taught me the best lessons which I usually don't get from my academic subjects at master degree level. My subjects taught me how to increase my desire and kill my enemies with a hired knife to become millionaires by swimming in the "red oceans" and "blue oceans". The common feeling we have is fear. You even fear of death and hit by some objects. How fragile you are life is! Just a drop fall of water will sink you  in and snatch away your life force. Forgive me if I have hurt you due to my ignorance and cruelty during our stay in a failed dialogue process. What you must be thinking is subtle and beyond my comprehension. I know you have the same feeling what I have too. You must be suffering and undergoing different torture and hellish life based on your past karmic forces. 

The enemy that you have is Mr. Lizard. Many of your are friends are already eaten by this deadly eater when you visit my room in the search of foods. Because, Mr. Lizard is also my neighbor and friend.We also share the same room for our living.  What Mr. Lizard like is your flesh the most as his meal. Oh! what a chain of eaters and killers for their survival on this earth. We the humans eat the flesh of animals for our survival and making profit by selling it. Mr. Lizard has to make his living and life forces should run until the death knocks the door for the separation of body and mind. I hope he is not trading the flesh of an ants for making dollars that we humans does for our greed. That is just my wild expectation, and I know only few activities of my friend Mr. Lizard catching the ants where I try to chase him away by pouring water on him to save the ants. This is another form of life on the earth as a Lizard. The karmic force (cause and effect) of ones deeds creates oneself but not by the God or Almighty. It proves true when I see we three( An Ants, a Lizard and Mr. Mindu Wangdi)  are in different forms but have similar characters in our mind like fear, hunger, thirst, arousal jealousy, anger and wrath. We are ruled by that forces completely. 

These days, I cannot see Mr. lizard any more in my room moving freely. The lord of death has taken his life force and must be wandering in the Bardo (intermediate state) to find another form of life soon. But I can see the ants roaming plenty enjoying the sugar that I provide for them as a meal on the walls being added with water. The liquid form is better for their neck is so small to swallow the solid sugar even though they can carry easily to their homes. How long we will stay together in this best friendship and love here in V.M Mansion? When the death will knock my door to say good bye "guys". Such is our life and brief stage show on this earth. Let us pray to meet in the Pure land of Buddhas with the help of Dharma and its power. It was really nice to have friendship you guys. Enjoy the life.

written by: Mindu Wangdi