LEE WEN
ARTIST'S MESSAGE
A farmer boy liked climbing the mountains. He found
an eagle's nest filled with eggs and took one home. He was afraid
his father would not allow him to keep it, so he hid it beneath
a roosting hen. The eagle grew up in, as a chicken just like other
chickens. lt grew up thinking it would be a chicken amongst the
other chickens. Sometime it shrieks out a distinct cry and stretches
its wings quite unlike the other chickens. It grew up without learning
how to use its wings to fly, not even knowing it could fly. It tried
to lead a normal chickens life on the farm, but always felt something
missing and was often uneasy.
- One day the eagle felt, it could not stay and had
to stray from the farm. lt walked into the forest, towards the
- mountains. Then an eagle, flying in the sky, spied
the eagle walking on the ground. The flying eagle felt disgusted
- that one of its own kind was walking. So it flew
down and asked, Why are you walking and not flying like other
- eagles?" I am a chicken. How can I fly?"
replied the walking eagle. Nonsence!" said the flying one,
Climb on
- my back, I´ll show you how to fly."
- Up they went into the sky. At a great height, the
eagle, who could only walk and has never flown in its life,
- suddenly got frightened and let go of the flying
eagle's back. lt fell down, spiralling and in fear started to flap
his
- wings and suddenly found that it could fly.
- As time passed, he learned the way of the open
skies. Of course, this was not always easy.
- Sometimes it flew too fast and high, injuring itself.
Somtimes it flew too low and went back to walking. But it
- soon learned to fly like any other eagle.
- One day, it missed its friends from the farm and
returned to the farm to see them. It tried to explain the ways of
the open skies and share its adventures with the chickens.
- Suddenly, the farm boy appeared from behind and
grabbed the eagle by its two wings. The strong farm boy tried
- to pin the eagle down while the eagle struggled
hard to break free... In a cold sweat, I woke from that dream
- knowing that it was a dream while I was dreaming
it. Waking up from the dream, I found that I was still in a dream.
- And when I awoke, I wondered if I was still in
a dream of a man who was dreaming of me.
- For I've lived thousands of lives and manifested
thousands of selves and yet not of them was truely me. Not one
- was truely me, but is not the self the thing that
make me be ?
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