Impermanence. We float in it. We are constantly bathing in it. Everything rises and then falls. In the poetic zen metaphor, we are “streams branching in the darkness.” When the Dalai Lama was asked to summarize Buddhism in a few words, he replied, “Everything changes.”
And yet, we are thrown into this impermanence with a purpose, a task. We must figure out for ourselves what that task shall be. I think that mine is to carry something forward in time; to pass it on to someone, if possible- a student, a family member perhaps, or even a stranger. If it is not passed on, then at least it will be kicked a little further down the road.
Sometimes the most important messages are the simplest ones. As an example, an advanced scout probing enemy defenses only needs to convey an appraisal of readiness to determine a strategy to move forward. The enemy’s defenses are either alert or unprepared. Certainly more detail is always helpful. But the scout has served his purpose if the simplest assessment is returned.
Choosing my message is the hard part. What has made the biggest difference in your life? Things that once loomed large in my earlier years now seem of less consequence, if not any at all. Loss is constant in most human lives. Traditional virtues may help us to persevere, to power on through adversity. Loyalty and devotion are noble traits, but they do not constitute a message to carry forward. Patience is nourishment to allow time to get the job done.
The sort of message I am suggesting, short and easy to express, might be something like this. Be kind to one another. Give of yourself. Love your neighbor. These are examples of what I am getting at. The ethical system that has been a constant background for most of my life has been Buddhism. Compassion for all living beings would be my message, but still it remains somewhat vague, lacking in critical information. Two thousand five hundred years ago a prince by the name of Siddhartha Gautama meditated under a fig tree and came to understand the cause of ignorance and suffering, and how to break free from them. He gave a first sermon, an exposition or teaching, to five early followers, and these followers went on to spread these teachings to an ever growing order of monks, nuns, and lay people.
And these five pupils, twenty-five hundred years ago, will always be known as the first of many. My self-assigned task, humble as it may seem, is simple and concise, easy to carry forward to any who will listen, no matter which school of Buddhist teachings you may adhere to. Theravada, Pure Land, Zen, Tibetan. The older I get, the less meaning I find in the word “meditation.” I simply hold in my heart the names of the five pupils. I think their names as I breathe in and breathe out. Kondanna, Bhiddiya, Vappa, Mahanamma, Assagi. May their names never be forgotten.