One time, a supporter of the Abbey gave our cats some catnip seeds and a toy mouse with a built-in laser pointer. Manjushri loved chasing the red dot around even though there was nothing to catch, and even our older cat Achala watched the dot intently. It made me think that this is exactly how we are with sense pleasure. There is no real happiness in the object and nothing to hold on to, but our mind becomes captivated by whatever we think is beautiful and we follow it around wherever it goes. If it is a person, our eyes are always on the person. If it is a piece of fudge, we are watching who else is going up to the table to take it. It is very helpful to remember that all this is total illusion and that chasing after a sense pleasure is only going to make us dizzy. Let us be human beings rather than kitties that chase things that do not bring any long-term happiness.

“365 Gems of Wisdom” e-book is out now!