When all dharmas are of the Buddha Dharma, there is delusion and enlightenment, practice, birth and death, Buddhas and sentient beings. When ten thousand dharmas are without self, there is neither delusion nor enlightenment, neither Buddhas nor sentient beings, neither arising nor extinction.
Because the Buddha Way originally springs out of abundance and shortage, there is arising and extinction, delusion and enlightenment, beings and Buddhas. And yet, even though this has been said, blossoms scatter in sadness and weeds spring up in dismay. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/viewFile/8548/2455
The quote above is from Dogen's expressing impermanence after returning from his trip to China in 1227. Impermanence is the first of the Universal Laws posited by Shakyamuni Buddha in the First Turning of the Dharma Wheel. The other two are interconnectivity and non-self. Each of these will be explored this month. To begin is to assume a beginning, rather than assuming eternity . Yet it is this conundrum that is at the heart of the matter. Impermanence related to cosmic matters (The Milky Way is scheduled in die in 2-4 billion years after colliding with the Andromeda Galaxy) seems vast while the the rate of decay in some rare isotopes are measured in billionths of a second. Each dharma position of a form is a function of its karmic conditions and interrelated variable impacts.
As humans we live in a range of coming into being, doing, and leaving our performance on this stage. In the photo above the image of the reality has a longer existence than the reality that happens when the person holding the plant blows on it. What is IT then? It is a moment of fluidity. Here Thich Nhat Hanh helps us with his saying, that impermanence does not cause suffering rather sticking to the belief of permanence does...
So let us begin the conversation about the basic teachings of Buddhism. Sit yourself with open ears, eyes, and heart as we share the Dharma together. As always I welcome your comments or questions. Please join us in Sangha, Tuesday, January 15, 2019 ...
Gassho,
Sangaku