Satisfied Buddhist - Domo Geshe Rinpoche

In Bali, when the rice is nearly ready for harvest, many rice finches swoop in and will eat the whole crop, unless strong efforts are made. Similarly, accomplished meditators attract a different kind of rice finch and can lose their development. What are the names of these rice finches? Distraction allows your attain ments to be stolen, but the finches of pride and anger are the real culprits, which will cause the damage. Anger will steal meditation attainments just like throwing away gold. However, there is something even more insidious about rice finches bothering me. One cute tiny rice finch doesn’t eat much, isn’t that so? This is like a small irritant after spending time in retreat improving spiritual strength. For example, when anger occasionally arises, we can deal with it and its aftereffects. Rice finches are like a entire flock of petty irritations building up, causing the loss of our high quality mental states gained with great effort...

In Bali, after planting, weeding and waiting, the rice shoots grow longer, and the field owners come more often to check. As the crop ripens and the heads of rice show signs of attainments, who arrives, but rice finches, not there to help the rice crop, but to eat it! The farmers hard work in the field is about to be stolen! Just before the rice is to be harvested, the farmers have to guard the rice crop night and day for finches. With huge white flags on sticks, they run through the fields with the same ferocity and appearance as sports fans. However, these farmers are not shouting, “Yea team” with painted faces, so excited and happy that they do not know what to do except drink more beer! The first time I saw people rushing around a field waving flags, I thought it was a Balinese celebration inviting holy spirits to their rice crop shouting “AHHHHHHHAHHHH” very loudly. As soon as they turned their backs, the rice finches returned, again and again. However, if they did not flush up th...