Wide open sky

A bird glides through a clear sky. It notices a branch and decides landing on it might feel nice. Upon landing the branch holds, the bird abides for a while and then takes off again.

Another branch is found, and the bird heads toward it, landing again. From here, another branch can be seen, and the bird makes a straight line towards it, but upon landing the branch almost immediately breaks.

Searching for another branch, again and again. Each landing, the branch breaks, the bird finds itself in flight again, and the branches to land on keep getting thinner, less substantial.

Desperation begins to build in the bird. Where will it be able to land?! Trying and trying again the branches fail, sometimes even vanishing as they are landed upon.

Why can’t it just land?! What will it do if there is no landing? Surely this would mean something grim, as it has always landed to rest or to get something.

Flying now, it begins to accept a new idea, that it may not be able to land and may just fall when it’s strength fails. It decides to press on until that point. With its last few flaps the desperation turns to acceptance and disillusionment with flying. It’s been a good run, but it must end.

As it gives up and begins to fall, it begins to notice: when there are no places to land, there is only expansive sky. It falls faster and more freely. Where will this lead?

Relief sets in as the realization occurs: in expansive sky, there is no need to land, or to fly, simply feel the wind currents move.

Resting in this realization the bird realizes there is nothing to do, nowhere it needs to go. The bird itself begins to fade as the need to be a bird releases as well.

There is only wide open sky. Nowhere to land and nothing to land on.


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Luminous Dharma