Leunig's Cartoon Analysis

There are strong, hidden messages evident in the cartoon being analysed that can be interpreted in many ways by members of different religious backgrounds. A possible interpretation of Leunig’s cartoon could be that after the person had created such a big, extravagant cage, he starts to feel a sense of loneliness and realises that the simple cage that he once had was enough for him. The man acted upon his desire which blinded him from seeing the perfect cage and only when he was trapped by his own actions did he realising that there was no need for the big, extravagant cage from the dream to feel satisfied for what he had. This interpretation of the cartoon can be related back to how a Buddhist would view the stimulus regarding their beliefs.
Right effort is developing positive states of mind by freeing one’s self from unkindly states and preventing situations as such in the future (The Four Noble Truths, n.d.). A Buddhist would say that if the cage builder were to have practiced the components of the Eightfold Path, he would have not gotten himself trapped from the beginning and would have thought of alternatives to build his cage where he would not trap himself in the long run. Right Mindfulness is cultivating awareness of feelings, states of mind, sensations and the body (The Eightfold Path, n.d.). If the man were to have practiced the right mindfulness aspect of the Eightfold Path, he would have accepted the situation he had put himself in and meditate to control his emotions about being trapped. The cage builder would have waited until someone came along and freed him which is similar to how a monk depends on lay Buddhists for donated materials. The last stage of the meditation component is right concentration, it is the practice of trance meditation which fundamentally develops awareness necessary to practice the right mindfulness stage that the Buddha had studied from his teachers. It is the practice of the mind being fixated, absorbed in or established on a single object (Trainor, 2004). If the cage builder were to have practiced focusing on one object through the trance meditation, he would not have any other thoughts about dream cages but would have been able to be aware of his feelings, state of mind and the situation around him. The man’s actions in the cartoon could be analysed by referring to a core component of the Eightfold Path. The stimulus could be interpreted another way with reference to the cage builder’s feelings and the first two Noble