Happy Chinese New Year to you, too. Today marks the start of the Year of the Rat.
Legend says that Lord Buddha had called for all the animals to come to him before he departed from the earth. When the cat learned of the news, he told rat about it and the two animals decided to go together the next day. However, the next morning the rat did not wake up the cat. This is one of the reasons why cats hate rats.
The rat made it first to the assembly, although the rat depended a lot on ingenuity to be the first to the assembly. He convinced the ox to let him ride on its head. The ox agreed and they went together. But when they were about to reach the assembly, the clever rat jumped off the ox's head and got through the finish line first. Only twelve animals came to offer Lord Buddha farewell and as a token of appreciation he named a year after each of the twelve animals in the order they arrived. In this way each year got linked with an animal. People born in that year are believed to share different traits.
The first of the twelve years is the Year of the Rat then followed by the year of Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The cycle repeats every twelve years.
I was born in the year of the rat, which makes me either 36, 48 or 60 this year. I’ll let you figure out which. Apparently, I’m most compatible with oxen, monkeys, and dragons, and incompatible with horses. Hmmm.
Legend says that Lord Buddha had called for all the animals to come to him before he departed from the earth. When the cat learned of the news, he told rat about it and the two animals decided to go together the next day. However, the next morning the rat did not wake up the cat. This is one of the reasons why cats hate rats.
The rat made it first to the assembly, although the rat depended a lot on ingenuity to be the first to the assembly. He convinced the ox to let him ride on its head. The ox agreed and they went together. But when they were about to reach the assembly, the clever rat jumped off the ox's head and got through the finish line first. Only twelve animals came to offer Lord Buddha farewell and as a token of appreciation he named a year after each of the twelve animals in the order they arrived. In this way each year got linked with an animal. People born in that year are believed to share different traits.
The first of the twelve years is the Year of the Rat then followed by the year of Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The cycle repeats every twelve years.
I was born in the year of the rat, which makes me either 36, 48 or 60 this year. I’ll let you figure out which. Apparently, I’m most compatible with oxen, monkeys, and dragons, and incompatible with horses. Hmmm.
A YEAR AGO TODAY: I woke leisurely at 9am, as my OT was attending a meeting, so didn’t wake me at 7am to get dressed. PT came by around 11am, followed by lunch and a breathing treatment. My mother stayed until about 4pm.
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