precious human birth

Joyful to have such a precious human birth
Difficult to find, free and well-favored

My little niece has decided to enter into this human realm about 6 weeks early, so we have been contemplating the preciousness of human birth these last few days. The teachings say that being born into the human realm is the most fortunate, as you can actually hear the dharma and so achieve enlightenment. But the teachings also tell us that actually attaining a human birth is as rare as a lone ring floating in a vast ocean, that is found and poked through by a turtle who only peeks his head above water every 500 years. Precious indeed!

Of course, just being born human doesn't necessarily mean you will ever be able to hear the dharma. People are born into all different conditions, with all different kinds of obstacles - physical, mental, environmental, financial - the list is never ending. So we are very fortunate indeed. And these precious babies coming to us - rare jewels.

Our children come to us in many different ways, through their own karma joined with ours. With them we can embark on a journey of waking up to the world and other beings. Waking up to our own sanity and brilliance. Our love calls them down out of the realms, and it this love that they rely on to walk their own paths into the world. May all our children be free from suffering and the roots of suffering. May they know happiness and the roots of happiness. May they never be separated from the great joy devoid of any suffering. May they dwell in great equanimity free from passion, aggression and ignorance.

And may we continue to have confidence in our own fearless nature, so our children can have confidence in theirs.