Where has Robin gone?

: Where has Robin gone?
: He's no more, he's dead.
: Where did he go when he died?
: Where did you come from?
: From my mother.
: Where did your mother come from?
: From my grandmother.
: How do you know? Are you certain?
: I'm not certain, but that's how it ought to be!
: Yes, you're right. We all live by "ought to be." This stems from our beliefs, knowledge, experience. We assume everyone originates in the same place, meaning in the mother's womb. Take the chocolate you eat—it's sold in various shapes. If you wanted, you could mold it into flowers, patterns, circles, or any other geometric form. But the basic ingredients of all are more or less the same. So in this sense, when we speak of chocolate, we're actually speaking of chocolate's essence. Different chocolates have different names, but the core of all chocolate is one.
: But Cadbury is Cadbury, you can't match Cadbury with Snickers! So where's their similarity?
: Without chocolate's basic ingredients, would we call them chocolates? If we called Cadbury by another name, would its taste change? Or if we didn't call it by any name at all, but identified Cadbury through a specific action, would that make any difference? Say we decided from now on that Cadbury chocolate means three consecutive claps. So three hand claps would indicate we're talking about Cadbury. Would its nature change then?
: No, it would remain the same. But some people might want to call Cadbury something else!
: Let them! What difference does it make? When we name our pet cat Mimi, through repeatedly calling her Mimi, she eventually understands that when the sound "Mimi" is uttered, she must respond. If we named the cat Dog, she would do the same. What does this mean? The cat has no name of her own; whatever name we call her by becomes her identity. Even if we didn't call a cat a cat, but used some other name, what difference would it make? If the name were "ledab," the creature wouldn't change. When someone feels sleepy and yawns without saying anything, we still understand perfectly that they're sleepy. In other words, everything in this world could easily be identified through symbols, signs, or signals.
: So names make no difference at all?
: They do, because we're responsible for that. We've named the tiger "tiger," so when we call someone "tiger's child," they don't get angry. If we'd named the tiger "donkey," calling someone "donkey's child" would have the same acceptability.
: But there will inevitably be variety in the names of creatures. We can't escape from that, can we?
: Who said to escape? I'm only saying this much—whatever anyone's name is, they had no hand in it themselves. They grew up with that name. The name isn't their achievement. So you can't make assumptions about someone based on their name. Whatever you have in your mind, whatever your opinions suggest, whatever your likes or dislikes think—throw all of that away. Convince your mind that no one can be known through their name. Suppose someone comes to meet you. If you don't know their name, will any attachment or aversion arise in your mind about their name? Before thinking about names, everyone's thoughts are similar. If we could continue living in that state of mind, this world would become more beautiful.
: Then there's really no difference between humans, animals, and trees. They're all perishable; after death, they'll all disappear into the earth.
: They won't disappear completely; in the case of animals, the structure will remain. Though we can distinguish other animals by looking at their structure, we won't be able to distinguish between humans. What anyone's religion is, which country they're from, what their position is—none of this will remain. In anatomy class, skeletons have no caste, color, or religion—only characteristics. The skeleton of someone from a high lineage gets no special regard over the skeleton of someone from a low lineage. If we could live keeping this simple thing in mind, many troubles could be avoided. Whatever name we call someone by, whatever religion we identify them with, whatever color we understand them by, whatever position we know them in—before all this calling-identifying-understanding-knowing, only one awareness exists in our minds: they are human. If we could simply remain in that awareness and judge them as humans based only on their actions and behavior, then many misunderstandings, distances, and conflicts would vanish.
: Then won't we have different beliefs among us?
: Who separates beliefs? We do! Take when a hen sits on her eggs—she keeps all her attention on those eggs. Patiently, single-mindedly, she just waits for her chicks. Her belief is that this is her duty, this is what she must do. Whether the hen is white, black, or red, the belief is the same. Perhaps there might be slight differences in the manner of sitting, but the purpose and result are identical for all hens. Those who reach the same destination by different paths—is there really any difference between them?
: I understand. But do those who walk different paths walk at the same pace? Each person is different in their walking. So how do they become one?
: Humans don't become different due to differences in walking pace. But differences can arise in human achievements, in the timing of achievements. When a cat chases a mouse, even if the mouse escapes into a hole, the cat sits in front of the hole with infinite eagerness and patience, and the moment the mouse emerges, it pounces and catches it! A cat without patience has no mouse in its fate. Even if there is one, it takes longer to get it. The cat reaches the mouse through the strength of the cat's mind. The mouse might not emerge from the hole at all! But if it does emerge, it belongs to the cat, if the cat knows how to wait. A cat who keeps in mind that the mouse might not emerge at all finds it difficult to catch the mouse. It's the same with humans! Beyond this, what religion, what caste, what color?
: Indeed! Humans become separate in their questions; once they reach answers, there's no difference between humans at all! By the way, you didn't tell me where Robin went!
: Wherever you think Robin has gone for your comfort, assume Robin has gone there. Whatever each person thinks to feel good, that's fine! Your truth is important to you, my truth is important to me. The real truth is, Robin is no longer alive. Robin's close people will say Robin hasn't died, Robin lives on in their memories. Of course, none of this matters to Robin, because Robin has truly died!