In the Dhammapada, the Buddha says: “All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering” (v 277).
Jack Kornfeld says: “There is some sense that when you know that things change, and accept it, or you find composure in it … you find yourself in Nirvana.”
The changing seasons are perhaps a wonderful teacher for how to delight in the present while being acutely aware of impermanence.
At Sunday’s Sangha Margaret guided our reflections as we explored the close connection between fully accepting impermanence and being in the present with joy and awe.
She played excerpts from the following talks:
Jake Dartington: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/44728/
Christina Feldman: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/4478/
She read the following little verse by William Blake
He who binds to himself a joy
Doth the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses a joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.
The following two poems featured in Christina’s talk:
The poem The Summer Day by Mary Oliver can be found here: https://wordsfortheyear.com/2015/06/21/the-summer-day-by-mary-oliver/
The poem Adios, by Naomi Shihab Nye can be found here:https://wordsfortheyear.com/2018/02/07/adios-by-naomi-shihab-nye/
If you want to hear the music by the Paul Winter consort, it can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtZhk9fpSb4
