Tricycle's Daily Dharma: August 12, 2007
Every Single Day
The Buddha recommended that
every person should remember every single day that we are not here for
ever. It is a guest performance, which can be finished any time. We
don't know when; we have no idea. We always think that we may have
seventy-five or eighty years, but who knows? If we remember our
vulnerability every single day, our lives will be imbued with the
understanding that each moment counts and we will not be so concerned
with the future. Now is the time to grow on the spiritual path. If we
remember that, we will also have a different relationship to the people
around us. They too can die at any moment, and we certainly wouldn't
like that to happen at a time when we are not loving towards them. When
we remember that, our practice connects to this moment and meditation
improves because there is urgency behind it. We need to act now. We can
only watch this one breath, not the next one.
--Ayya Khema
