Chapter 7 Chapter 1 Artificiality and Impermanence-1

We are the same as the King of Pure Rice in many places.In everyday life, we can't help but hide the truth from ourselves and others.We have developed immunity to the signs of decay.We tell ourselves "stop thinking about these things" and encourage ourselves in positive ways.We celebrate birthdays by blowing out the candles at birthday parties, when in fact the candles that go out should be used to remind ourselves that another year has been shortened from death.We celebrate the new year with fireworks and champagne, only to forget the fact that the old year will never return and the new one is unpredictable.However, anything can happen.

When this "anything" is unsatisfactory, we will deliberately divert attention, just like a mother distracts a child with toys and bongos.If we are in a bad mood, we will go shopping, eat out or watch a movie.We weave our dreams and aim for lifetime achievements such as beach houses, badges, trophies, early retirement, fancy cars, good friends, good family, good fame, and best of all, a Guinness Book of World Records.Later in life we ​​also have a devoted companion who goes on luxury cruises or owns a purebred poodle.Magazines and television introduce and reinforce this paradigm of happiness and success for people to aspire to, constantly creating new illusions to seduce us.These notions of so-called success are our adult baby rattles.

Almost nothing we do throughout the day, whether thought or action, reveals how fragile our awareness of life is.We waste time waiting for a bad movie to open at the studio, or rushing home to watch live TV.As we sit and watch commercials, wait..., the time of this life fades away. * ** * For Siddhartha, the mere glimpse of the sight of old age and death aroused in him a longing for the whole picture of truth.After the third outing, he tried several times to leave the palace alone, but all failed.On an unusual night, a mysterious spell swept the entire palace, subduing everyone except Siddhartha.He wandered around the temple and found that everyone from the king of Suddhodah to the lowest servants was asleep.Buddhists believe that this collective lethargy is the result of the accumulated merits of all human beings, because this decisive event resulted in the birth of a great man.

No longer required to please the royal aristocracy, ladies-in-waiting sleep snoring, sprawled, jeweled fingers dipped in curry sauce.They look like remnants of flowers, lost all their charm.Siddhartha was not as busy as we were about making things right, but his resolve was strengthened by the sight.The disappearance of their beauty is a testament to the impermanence of the world.While everyone was asleep, the prince was finally able to leave the palace without being watched.He took one last look at Yasodhara and Rahula, and then quietly disappeared into the deep night. * ** * We are also like Siddhartha in many ways.We have our own palaces—whether it's a bachelor pad in the ghetto, a duplex in the suburbs, or a penthouse in Paris.We also have our own Yasodharas and Rahulas.We may not be princes with peacocks, but we have careers, pet cats, and countless responsibilities.Everything goes wrong.Appliances are broken, neighbors are fighting, ceilings are leaking.Loved ones are dead; or they wake up in the morning with slack jaws like Siddhartha's maids, looking dead.Maybe they smell stagnant smoke, or last night's garlic.They chatter and chew food with their mouths open.But we are still willing to stay there, not trying to escape.Or, we finally get fed up, think, "I've had enough!", end a relationship, only to start all over again with someone else.We never tire of this cycle because we expect and believe that a flawless soul mate or the perfect Shangri-La is waiting for us somewhere.Faced with everyday annoyances, our natural reaction is to think we can get them right, that it can all be repaired, that teeth can be brushed, and that we can feel complete.Maybe we also think that one day, we will learn to be fulfilled from the lessons of our lives.We expect ourselves to become like the wise elder Yoda in the Star Wars movies, not knowing that maturity is just another aspect of decay.Subconsciously, we hope that we will reach a point where we no longer need to fix anything.One day, we will "live happily ever after."We are big believers in the concept of "solve".It's as if everything we've been through, life up to this moment, is just a dress rehearsal.The big show hasn't started yet.

For most people, this endless processing, rearranging, and updating of versions is what defines "life."In fact, we are waiting for life to begin.If pressed, most would admit that they were working toward some kind of good future, such as a log cabin in Kennebunkport, Maine.Or retire to a cottage in Costa Rica.Or some people dream of sitting in meditation and enjoying their old age in the ideal mountain forest like Chinese landscape painting, in the tea pavilion beside the waterfall and carp pond. We also tend to think this way: when we die, the world still exists.The same sun will continue to set the earth, and the same planets will continue to turn, as we think they have always been since the beginning of time.Our children will inherit this earth.All this shows how ignorant we are of the constantly changing world and all phenomena.We may notice clouds moving and fingernails growing, but in fact everything is in motion.Children don't necessarily outlive their parents, and they don't necessarily live up to our ideals.A well-behaved and cute baby who grows up to be a drug-hungry villain who brings home an assortment of lovers.You might be thinking: This doesn't really look like my son, but he is.They don't care to squander your life's savings, just as people take for granted the bees' hard-earned honey for their tea.The most prim parents may have the flashiest gay kids, while the most rambunctious hippies have neocon kids.But we are still attached to the typical family.To dream that our bloodlines, facial contours, surnames and traditions will be passed on to our children and grandchildren.