Harmless Toads

I caught a toad in desert camo out in my white garden this morning, which is, come to think of it, the best place for camouflage if you're a white toad with a few brown and gray markings. My amphibian book tells me this is Fowler's toad, and that it croaks like a bleating sheep with a cold.

Catching a toad requires mindfulness and intention. There's no time for sissy reactions of "Eew" nor for the pseudo-compassion of "Poor thing, I don't want to hurt him."

Toad-catching requires a warrior's complete attention and intention. The Buddha himself was of the warrior class and brought these qualities to the practice of harmlessness in all aspects of life. A naga (a cobra-looking serpent) visited and protected the Buddha in the fourth week after his enlightenment. Compared to that, a toad seems pretty harmless.