If rain and shine are equally crucial for nourishing life, why dread either? - stonepeace
Have you ever walked to the end of a cloud? What do I mean by this? Surely, on some rainy days, you must had walked or drove in the rain - be it a heavy downpour or a slight drizzle. At one point, the rain stops falling. You look at the semi wet and dry ground and see the very line that separates where it is still raining from where it no longer rains. This line forms the boundary of the raincloud. Try this. When caught in the rain, walk straight in any direction. If the rain doesn't stop while you do that, you will eventually walk out of the rain itself.
What am I trying to say? Sometimes, there is no need to wait out the karmic passing of the "foul" elements of life. Sometimes, you can just walk away. That said, the foul weather of life will end eventually - even if you do walk away from it. It's a matter of time - but why wait? Yes, there is no concept of eternal hell in Buddhism. After all, there is only so much negative karma you can accumulate and experience the results of - in a single lifetime. Even down and out cartoon characters on TV don't have a dark cloud hovering over them forever!
Consider it a consolation then, that suffering will end - even if you do nothing to end it. It will be a recurring "curse" though, if it is not truly ended via the realisation of enlightenment. If both rain and shine are impermanent, why dread the coming or passing of either? Why let your moods be swayed by the weather, by taking it too seriously? The fickle elements offer no refuge. They are change itself, the embodiment of impermanence. When the weather turns wrathful, it wrecks lives - a reminder of the urgency to practise the Dharma well. - Shen Shi'an
The "elements" represent the fickleness of matter, not its stability. - stonepeace
Credits: TheDailyEnlightenment.com Weekly 04.09.08
