It goes without saying that even those of us who are going to hell will get eternal life—if that territory really exists outside religious books and the minds of believers, that is. Having said that, given the choice, instead of being grilled until hell freezes over, the average sane human being would, needless to say, rather spend forever idling in an extremely fertile garden, next to a lamb or a chicken or a parrot, which they do not secretly want to eat, and a lion or a tiger or a crocodile, which does not secretly want to eat them.

~ Mokokoma Mokhonoana

Mokokoma Mokhonoana Adage Adages Africa African Aphorism Aphorisms Atheism Atheist Atheists Axiom Axioms Believer Believers Bible Book Books Chicken Chickens Christian Christianity Christians Crocodile Crocodiles Dead Death Deep Devour Dictum Dictums Eat Epigram Epigrams Fertile Fertility Freeze Funny Garden Gardens Gnome Gnomes God Grill Grilled Heaven Hell Humor Humorous Humour Immortal Immortality Insightful Lamb Lambs Life Lion Lions Made Me Think Make You Think Maxim Maxims Mortal Mortality Nonbeliever Nonbelievers Parrot Parrots Philosopher Prey Profound Proverb Proverbs Provoke Thought Quotation Quotations Quote Quote Of The Day Quotes Religion Religious Satire Satirical Satirist Satirists Saying Sayings South Africa South African Territory Thought Provoking Thoughtful Tiger Tigers

One of the parrots was very friendly with...Master of the Robes. He used to feed it nuts. As it nibbled from his fingers, he used to stroke its head, at which the bird appeared to enter a state of ecstasy. I very much wanted this kind of friendliness and several times tried to get a similar response, but to no avail. So I took a stick to punish it. Of course, thereafter it fled at the sight of me. This was a very good lesson in how to make friends: not by force but by compassion.

~ Dalai Lama Xiv

Dalai Lama Xiv Friends Making Friends Parrots Punishment

Mr. Jamrach led me through the lobby and into the menagerie. The first was a parrot room, a fearsome screaming place of mad round eyes, crimson breasts that beat against bars, wings that flapped against their neighbours, blood red, royal blue, gypsy yellow, grass green. The birds were crammed along perches. Macaws hung upside down here and there, batting their white eyes, and small green parrots flittered above our heads in drifts. A hot of cockatoos looked down from on high over the shrill madness, high crested, creamy breasted. The screeching was like laughter in hell.

~ Carol Birch

Carol Birch Animals Birds Hell Menagerie Parrots