Last weekend I went to a garage sale and found a pot of green plant. What had attracted me about this plant was its name – baby tears. I bought it home and looked at it closely. Why this plant is named baby tears? I suppose its leaves look like tear drops. It gave me a very soft cool feeling. It is so soft and moist that when I place my hand on its leaves it feels as delicate as baby’s tears. This plant reminds me of a Tibetan Tara’s story.
The story goes like this. Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara had been working for a long time to help boundless sentient beings. He helped hundreds of thousands of beings become free from samsara, but then when he looked back and realized there were still so many more beings suffering in samsara. He began to cry, and from his tears a lotus arose, a Tara appeared from the lotus, saying "Don't worry -- I will help you." How beautiful is this story! The tear of compassion and loving kindness from Avalokitesvara penetrates deep in my mind like raindrops falling onto the desert. My heart becomes soft with compassion. This also remind me of my son’s tears when he saw people at the market slaughtering live stocks. Just imagine these tears turn into lotus buds and purify the samsara within.
In general, the plant- ‘baby tears’ is regarded to an evil plant or invasive plant. This plant will suck up all the nutrients from the soil and kill other plants in the garden. Personally I love this plant. It will give a nice soft green look when it covers my stones and edging garden. I wish our compassion and loving kindness can be as invasive as this baby tears plant, grow and spread to the world, cover every corner with love and understanding, and kill all the discrimination and injustice, to live harmonious between sentient beings.
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