Welcome to the Year of the Snake! Just as the various domestic and wild animals depicted in the Chinese Zodiac have their own limitations and strengths, each year presents unique challenges and opportunities.
As a child, I dreamed of becoming a zoologist. I can still remember tracing my finger around the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac on the placemat from the House of Lo Chinese Restaurant in my hometown of Buffalo, Minnesota. Each animal was captured in a tiny picture, and I would linger over my favorites – the powerful tiger, the majestic dragon, and especially the clever monkey. But when I finally found my own birth year, 1977, my excitement turned to dismay. “The Year of the… Snake? Ew!”
I was reminded of this experience a few years ago when I brought home a calendar from a local Chinese restaurant here in San Mateo to show my own children, who also loved animals. My older son Ryoma proudly knew that he was born in the Year of the Rabbit. His younger brother Shoma, who was four at the time, took one look at the calendar and immediately recognized his favorite animal.
“What’s this bull?” Shoma asked.
“That’s the Year of the Ox,” I replied.
“I’m an Ox!”
“Let’s see… 2013…” I paused, calculating. “Oh! Just like daddy, you were born in the year of the snake!”
“No! I’m an Ox!” Shoma insisted.
“Well let’s have a look,” I said. “If you had been born in the Year of the Ox 2009, you would be eight years old now, not four.”
“I’m eight! I was born in the Year of the Ox!” Shoma declared.
Then his older brother piped up, “Then you would be the older brother because I’m six, and six is less than eight.”
Shoma was delighted. “I was born in the Year of the Ox! I am the big brother and Ryoma is the little brother!”
As you might imagine, things went downhill from there. Ryoma protested that Shoma was lying about his age, and before I could intervene, Shoma had climbed onto his brother’s back and wrapped him in a jujitsu-style leg lock.
It seems that around age four is when we first begin to manipulate reality to suit our convenience. This habit becomes deeply engrained, growing more sophisticated as we mature into adulthood. We see this plainly in adult society, where our minds become increasingly subtle and adept at twisting our perception of reality to match our desires.
The Buddha recognized the human tendency to selectively listen and interpret what is heard according to one’s own convenience, so he cautioned that one should approach study of the Dharma teachings with the same vigilance necessary for catching a poisonous snake. In the Alagaddupama Sutta, the Buddha taught that a foolish person will try to catch a snake by its tail, where it can easily coil around and deliver a painful, or even deadly, bite. Likewise, those who study the teachings of Buddha only to affirm their own attitudes and views hastily latch onto a mistaken understanding that ultimately causes more harm and suffering for themselves and others.
In contrast, a wise person knows the power of the snake’s venom and, with humility and careful attention, uses a forked stick to hold the snake down before carefully grasping it by its neck, so that the snake is not able to deliver a venomous bite. Even though the snake may coil and wrap its body around the arm that holds it, it will not cause pain and suffering. When one approaches the study of the Buddha’s teachings with similar humility and careful attention, the light of the Dharma will dispel one’s mistaken views, illuminating the path to a life free of suffering.
Best wishes for the coming year! Let us stay safe and study the Dharma with careful attention.
Namo Amida Butsu