~ mirage ~
“The end of collection is dispersion.
The end of rising is falling.
The end of meeting is parting.
The end of birth is death.”
~ Buddha / Vinaya Sutras
we begin a new decade, another generation, a new year. i find myself turning 50 this month and realize i have only begun to understand what this present life is ALL about! it seems i ought to have known more, done more, been more….but truth is i have lived as fully as i knew how. when i read the quote above from Buddha it makes me grateful how i chose to live my life and how i choose to live it today because – E V E R Y T H I N G is impermanent. Dharma was a major turning point in my life. the difference on the outside is not visible but inside i have found a greater capacity to listen, love, appreciate, hold contentment longer, gain more compassion, give more and question innate views that no longer hold truth for me.
faith came to me very late in life…a belief in something without proof…i struggled to find it, searched for it since i was in grade school! seriously, i was one of those people whom could not understand how one developed, found, recognized or felt “it”. i went with friends to their churches in every denomination i can think of and even entered studies with meditation practices and some churches to learn and understand their rituals. nothing stuck or made sense! most people i questioned about a particular understanding or ritual would not know the answer but tell me “it is just what we do”… really?
i cannot judge why people have or hold faith in something or someone, i only know my mind cannot accept a spiritual practice without questions and answers that make sense. i rejoice in their blind faith and finally understand, my karma ripened.
in these degenerate times how do you find your happiness within?
January 20th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Gorgeous images and breathtaking words.
I, too, came to Buddhism late. When I see the children in our sangha and their kind parents, I pray to be born into a family like that – to discover the Dharma early, and be raised in it in such a way that I never have to rebel and leave it behind.
Happy, happy 50th dear love!