IMPERMANENCE IN LIFE
 

During Ajahn Brahm's dhamma talk at The Singapore Buddhist Lodge on 21 Feb 2009, someone posed this question to Ajahn Brahm :
After the sudden death of his brother, his mother could not take the grief and wanted to commit suicide.

Ajahn Brahm's reply (in summary) was : There is no use in committing suicide.
The deceased would feel sad that you have died, and it would also cause the same grief to your loved ones who are still alive.
Do you wish that your loved ones who are alive to suffer the same sadness as yourself ?

There have been many tragedies lately, such as : the Tsunami, Sichuan Earthquake, Cyclone Nargis, and also the Australian Bushfire.
All in which many have died.

Instead of continuously suffering in grief, we should make use of these tragedies to learn & develop.
They are our 'teachers' in life.
 

Indeed, I could not agree more. It struck me immediately of how real Anicca (impermanence) is in reality.
Take the recent financial crisis for example.
We slog ourselves out at work, scrimping and saving, thinking of migrating, retiring early, or living a luxurious life.
We may also satisfy our material desires by buying and keeping expensive stuff.

However, accumulated wealth & possessions of all the years of hardships can be wiped out within hours.
And in the case of natural disasters, lives are lost as well.

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Humans are procrastinators. We like to wait & wait, always putting off things till the last minute.
Consider the time lost while we are working for material gains.

Have you expressed your care & concern to your loved ones yet ?
Do it now .... before it's too late.

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Have you been diligent in your spiritual practice ?
Start now .... Life is short.

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By the time you are aware that it's "Time-Out" for you, it's already too late .... It's Here-&-Now.

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