As a lot of you know, I’ve been searching for answers lately — answers to questions that can’t be answered. Over the years, during our travels, I’ve collected a number of books about Buddha and his teachings. Obviously I’m not a Buddhist, but I’ve found that a lot of his teachings make sense — I don’t consider them religious…. just very often, good advice.
In my quest to accept things the way they now, and to accept myself they way I am, I ran across a Buddhist teaching that I remembered from a long time ago.
The principle of that particular teaching is that all of life is in a constant state of change. Everything has a beginning and everything has an end. Every tree begins with a seed and will eventually transform back into earth. In the modern world, that means that every car, piece of clothing — everything — is created and all will wear out and crumble. It’s only a matter of when. Our bodies are born and they will die. The teaching uses a glass as an example — it’s created and will eventually break.
Like a lot of Buddha’s writings, this teaching gives me a certain amount of peace. When you expect something to break, you’re not surprised or disappointed when it does. This is easy to say, but hard to do — but it’s important…. instead of becoming immobilized when something is destroyed, you should feel grateful for the time you have had.
Buddha suggests that the easiest place to start is with the simple things — a glass, for example. Take your favorite glass and look at it for a moment, and appreciate its beauty and all it does for you. Now, imagine that same glass as already broken, shattered all over the floor. He suggests that you try to maintain the perspective that, in time, everything disintegrates and returns to its initial form.
I don’t think that Buddha is suggesting that anyone wants their favorite glass, or anything else, to be broken. I think he’s trying to say that we should try to make peace with the way things are.
I’m guessing that the purpose of this teaching is that you should develop the philosophy that allows you to maintain your perspective — when the glass breaks, rather than saying, “Oh no,” you should think, “Ah, there it goes.”
Of course I’m not dealing with a broken glass, but I get the message. I haven’t accepted the way things are now, or the way I am now, but it’s good advice and I consider it another step on my journey.
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