Many are referring to this time as apocalyptic. Fair enough. It can seem as though everywhere we turn a dismantling of some sort is in the works. While we might intellectually feel able to embrace the change upon us, for many it can be easy to fall into overwhelm, hopelessness, even despair. What do the teachings of the Buddha have to offer us now?
Everything.
In the Udana sutta, the Buddha taught:
For one who clings, motion exists;
But for one who does not cling,
There is no motion.
Where there is no motion, there is stillness.
Where stillness is, there is no craving.
Where no craving is, there is neither coming nor going.
Where no coming or going is
There is no rising or passing away.
There is neither this world, nor a world beyond,
Nor a state between.
This, verily, is the end of suffering.
May we turn now, with great dedication, to teachings that remind us that our true identity is without identity. Teachings that remind us that our true nature is unborn, undying, infinite. That’s not the same as ignoring or rejecting identity. That’s not the same as bypassing all that is happening in the world. We are that which, inherently and fundamentally, can be with all that is. We are all that is.
Practice offers us a way to remember who we truly are. Practice guides us home.
