Good News Bad News
So which do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news? It could be potentially terrible news however it could potentially be the best news.
Well the good news and the bad news is that nothing is permanent, nothing last forever, nothing remains unchanged forever. The good news in that is no matter how rough it may seem now, no matter what mistakes you made, no matter what bummer you are going through right now, it will not last forever. The bad news is that no matter what great things you have done, no matter how exciting or peaceful or easy your life is now, no matter how wonderful it all seems, it will not last forever.
“The Bodhisattva-mahasattva also should know the following truth. All things are insubstantial. They are as they are. Things are not perverted. They do not move. They do not go. They do not turn. They have nothing substantial just as the sky has not. They are inexplicable. They are not born. They do not appear. They do not rise. They are nameless. They are formless. They have no property. They are immeasurable and limitless. They have no obstacle or hindrance. He should see all this.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter XIV)
It is easy for us to get trapped into thinking something will last forever, or that it won’t change regardless if is a happy thing or a sad thing. When we place our happiness or satisfaction on things in our life, people in our life, events in our life then we have set up the potential for suffering. When we use crisis, grief, hard economic conditions, failing to accomplish something as a measures of our worth or value or happiness or success we should also realize that those things are not permanent either.
“Things are insubstantial. They have no property. They are not permanent. They do not rise or perish. This is the Dharma to be approached By a man of wisdom.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter XIV)
So if everywhere we look things are impermanent, insubstantial, constantly changing and so forth then what do we turn to for our happiness. It might seem like there is no point to make any effort if everything one does is insubstantial.
We may have a mind that approaches the things we do in life in terms of reward or benefit or avoiding punishment or pain, however for as long as we live that way we are not going to change our sufferings.
There is one constant there is one ultimate reality and that is the Dharma. When we live our life based solely on the Dharma, when we can approach life with understanding the ultimate truth then we can create the conditions for happiness and easing of suffering to well up from within our life. We can begin to live our lives as Buddhas and no longer as common mortals stuck in the realms and conditions motivated by rewards, gain, avoidance, fear, and so forth.
“The Buddhas, the Most Honorable Bipeds, expound the One Vehicle because they know: ‘all things are devoid of substantiality. The seed of Buddhahood comes from dependent origination.’ The Leading Teachers expound the Dharma with expedients after realizing at the place of enlightenment: ‘this is the abode of the Dharma and the position of the Dharma. The reality of the world is permanently as it is.’” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter II)
