Master recently designed a beautiful and innovative
house for birds. She explained that domesticated birds depend on humans
for everything. However, since they do not have to hunt for survival
like wild birds, they can attain a high level of consciousness. Every
day, Master visits each of Her birds individually and talks to
them as if they are human beings. There are many amazing stories
to tell. For example, Master can understand from Her birds what happens
during the day, what they are given to eat, and so on. She even warms
a spoon before feeding them by hand because She knows cold metal is
uncomfortable for them to eat from. If the sunlight is too strong
or not strong enough, She moves all of their cages to the other side
of the room, twice or more times per day.
When we built the birdhouse, Master told us to
use clear plastic instead of glass —specifically, plastic that
was not wavy. However, we built the whole house out of wavy plastic,
thinking that it was the same. As soon as Master saw it, she asked
us, “What’s the use? Would you like to look through something
like that?” She said that we have no love. How could we not
think of what it would be like for the birds to look out through this
distorted plastic all day long? Could we bear every day to look through
this wavy plastic? We ourselves could not bear it so how could we
do this to the birds? Master also noticed immediately that the silicone
sealant we had used on the house was toxic and would thus harm the
birds’ delicate throats.
Master later explained that many of us want to
help Her and She has no doubt that we love Her, but without wisdom
our help is useless. She stressed that wisdom must accompany love.
Because we had not even considered the birds’ point of view,
we had to reconstruct the house from the foundation.
Only when it was completed did we realize Master’s
inspiration. It’s the most beautiful birdhouse in the world.
During the day, the walls are transparent and full of light. At night,
accordion-style doors unfold to cover everything. The ceiling has
a row of thin, elegant skylights, with a graceful transparent canopy
over the window. Master designed everything on the spot, based on
the materials we had available. She even tried to think of possible
uses for some leftover PVC pipes. One of Master’s most practical
and innovative ideas was to paint the outside of several roofs at
the Center sky blue. Most houses have dark colored shingle roofs,
and no matter how colorful the walls are, no one thinks of painting
their shingles. However the sky blue color of these roofs gives the
whole Center a cooler atmosphere.
Once the birdhouse was finished, Master conceived
a revolutionary design for birdcages. Actually, it is a very simple
idea from the birds’ point of view, but only Master realized
it. Birds are normally confined in small metal cages. However Master’s
cages are more spacious and have clear plastic walls. The ceilings
and floors have metal grills so that air can flow through. Master
worked until late at night for several weeks to complete the cages,
kneeling on the floor with Her hair tied back in a pony tail, and
hammering and drilling along with the residents. She joked that She
no longer needed a blanket at night because She had become so used
to the freezing cold during this time.
While the cages were being constructed, Master
often consulted with Her birds. On one humorous occasion, She asked
a bird to try out a ladder. So the bird walked over to the ladder,
went up a few steps, turned around as if to say “OK,”
and then walked away as though it had more important business to attend
to! Master made sure that every detail of the cages’ construction
met with the birds’ approval. She went to many pet stores looking
for a proper eating bowl, but felt that none of the available designs
showed any consideration for the birds’ convenience. Thus, She
ended up taking parts from four different bowls in order to make one
bowl.
The night on which the birds moved into their new
home was very cold, and they had to wait outside in their cages while
the room was being prepared. Thus Master was very concerned about
them, holding all the birds individually and touching their feet,
saying, “Oh my God, his/her feet are cold!” For many nights,
She stayed up late arranging space heaters and blankets for the birds.
She once called a resident after midnight, apologizing for waking
him up, and telling him that the heaters’ electrical power cords
were extremely hot. The resident did not know what to do, short of
rewiring the house, but while he was getting supplies, Master figured
out a way to run all four heaters without overheating the cords.
