Dad and Lucie studied Buddhism and shared many lessons with me along their journey.
This one touches me now in a new light.
Hi Aimee!
The Buddha recommends that we recite the "Five Remembrances" every day:
1) I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
2) I am of the nature to have ill-health. There is no way to escape having ill-health.
3) I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
4) All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
5) My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.
Thich Nhat Hanh writes the following about the Five Remembrances:
"The Five Remembrances help us make friends with our fears of growing old, getting sick, being abandoned, and dying. They are also a bell of mindfulness that can help us appreciate deeply the wonders of life that are available here and now. But in the
Heart Sutra Avalokiteshvara teaches that there is no birth and no death. Why would the Buddha tell us that we are of the nature to die if there is no birth and no death? Because in the five Remembrances, the Buddha is using the tool of relative truth. He is well aware that in terms of absolute truth, there is no birth and no death.
"When we look at the ocean, we see that each wave has a beginning and an end. A wave can be compared with other waves, and we can call it more or less beautiful, higher or lower, longer lasting or less long lasting. But if we look more deeply, we see that a wave is made of water. While living the life of a wave, it also live the life of water. It would be sad if the wave did not know that it is water. It would think, Some day, I will have to die. This period of time is my life span, and when I arrive at the shore, i will return to nonbeing. These notions will cause the wave fear and anguish. We have to help it remove the notions of self, person living being, and life span if we want the wave to be free and happy.
"A wave can be recognized by signs - high or low, beginning or ending, beautiful or ugly. But in the world of the water, there are no signs. In the world of relative truth, the wave feels happy as she swells, and she feels sad when she falls. She may think, 'I am high,' or 'I am low,' and developa superiority or inferiority complex. But when the wave touches her true nature - which is water - all her complexes will cease, and she will transcend birth and death.
"We become arrogant when things go well, and we are afraid of falling, or being low or inadequate. But these are relative ideas, and when they end, a feeling of completeness and satisfaction arises. Liberation is the ability to go from the world of signs to the world of true nature. We need the relative world of the wave, but we also need to touch the water, the ground of our being, to have real peace and joy. We shouldn't allow relative truth to imprison us and keep us from touching absolute truth. Looking deeply into relative truth, we penetrate the absolute. Relative and absolute truths inter-embrace. Both truths, relative and absolute, have a value." (Thich Nhat Hanh, The
Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, pp.123-125)
Love and hugs,
Dad