Distilled In Impermanence

It's an odd and rather dark coincidence that I write this on the day of MJ's early passing, but I figure it's as good a time as any.

I recently finished Geri Larkin's Love Dharma: Relationship Wisdom from Enlightened Buddhist Women. I adore this woman, and I think that she explains Buddhist belief in a very progressive, Western way. She was the one who first got me interested in Buddhism. This was a book my wife picked up for me, and I was a little unsure about it when I read the first two chapters, because it was obviously written for women. However, it became a pleasure to read. It had many good insights into the female practitioners of Buddhism, and I learned a lot from what I read.

There was one story in particular that moved me, and I repeat it to everyone I see. It reached me in a totally odd way.

It goes like this:

"In Buddha's time, a young woman named Kisagotami was married to a banker's son who treated her like garbage. Her in-laws were just as cruel. The only person who loved her was her little boy; then he died.

"Kisagotami went nuts-literally. She dressed the dead toddler and carried him on her hip, going door to door, asking people for medicine. An old man told her that the only person he knew who had the right medicine was Buddha.

"Kisagotami hunts him down and asks if he can cure her baby. He says yes but first she needs to get him a mustard seed from a house where nobody has died. She agrees. Going from house to house, the young mother discovers that everyone has known death - in one house it was in the past week, in another a year ago. In a third house a father had died, in another a mother or child. Not a single house was without death.

"Suddenly realizing that everyone was in the same boat, Kisagotami was healed."

Now...the message is clear. Impermanence surrounds us. We all die. It happens. We all lose one another. It is the way life is.

I took a different lesson from this tale.

There doesn't have to be a miracle saviour. There doesn't have to be some magic trick to prove wisdom. Buddha shows us here that mindfulness in itself is a miracle. Just being aware of the world around us, distilled in impermanence, is full of miracles. Every breath is a miracle.

You have to quit waiting for some illustrious imposition for your happiness. It's not going to come when you want it, if at all. So be mindful! Learn to love each other now! The only thing we are absolutely certain of is that we will not be here forever.

Make your moments count.

-Ryan

Here is a link to Geri Larkin's book, if you care to read it!

Opportunity

So, I received an interesting text today. It read:

"It's frustrating how some people have all these amazing opportunities to become something and they pass them up. Then there is me who never has an opportunity and I'm watching these people."

I wasn't sure quite how to respond. (I always have this problem. I don't know whether asking for clarification helps, but I never do it.) At first glance, it looked as if this person wanted to be commiserated with...but the nature of that particular person told me that was definitely not the case. Then I thought, "Perhaps this person is down on themselves." Wrong again.

So I typed the only thing I could think. Not because I had no other option, but because it was the only truth that needed to be said....and I learned so much from it.

I responded, "Every moment is your opportunity. Smile and breathe."

Does everything come back to mindfulness? Absolutely everything??

To simply put it, yes. Yes it does.

Warning: I'm sure that I am, as I usually do, taking words from Thich Nhat Hanh's mouth...but being who he is, I am going to shine in that fact. (Since he has written a book entitled Present Moment, Wonderful Moment, all of my "findings" I'm sure will be there.)

Opportunity...that thorn in everyone's side...the crap shoot of all of our lives. Without this fictional object, nothing would ever happen..What kind of power does that place on these opportunities?

None.

Why does man make such ideas as to create chains for himself? It's not like we are waiting, our full potential held tight for this thing to come our way. Every moment, every breath, is our opportunity. It's all we have. Opportunity is life. How many ways can I say it? Every sentence spoken to you...every smile you give or receive (give more than you receive...it will make the world a better place)....every bird that flies by. It's the rippling effect.

So don't waste another moment! They are all opportunities!

/Bows

Ryan