Photo by Mitch
I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, but I have been owned by cats all my life. If you haven’t been around cats much, it may not seem to make sense, but trust me, cats own the property and they allow you to live on it. It’s like a sign I saw in a gift shop one time. ”Dogs have masters, cats have staff.”
Take the other morning. I was still sound asleep when I felt someone poking at me. Mitch was flying a redeye from Seattle to Houston at this ungodly time so I knew it wasn’t him. But relentlessly I was being poked, prodded and the covers were being scratched at and pulled off of me, with great persistence. I finally gave up and took my head out from under the covers and looked to the foot of the bed where the annoyance was focused. There, staring right into my eyes was Cassie.
When Cassie joined our lives the name was short for Cassiopeia. But during a visit, my brother the veterinarian discovered that under the angora-like fur that “she” was actually a “he.” We made a quick shift to Casanova, but the shortened name fit so Cassie he’s been for about 11 years.
As you can see, he’s a beautiful cat, with enormous green eyes. But he also seems to have an uncanny awareness. Sometimes, he looks at me with his eyes totally focused on mine as if he is searching for something and I swear it feels like he’s able to see into my soul.
I once read that in Buddhism, cats are believed to be the last animal incarnation before the soul enters human form. They are also said to be protectors of monasteries when in cat form. If that’s truly the case, I think Cassie is studying us so when he comes back he’ll be ready to show us how this "precious human life" stuff is supposed to be done.
So aside from the obvious connection of cats to Buddhism, What’s Zen got to do with this?
I believe that any time we have the chance to be around an animal and observe, interact with and love, we have a chance to experience the sentience of all living forms. Cassie was communicating with me that morning. I still don’t know exactly what he wanted, but I sensed his frustration that I didn’t get what he was trying to tell me, I also got that there are important things going on in his experience that I can’t know, but he's willing to keep trying.
He is a wonderful living creature with a patient -most of the time - and loving soul. It's a pleasure and responsibility to care for him. He helps me see the very real connections between all living things.
And at night he helps keep my feet, and my heart, warm.