The Perishables

Observing everything in this world is pretty much threatening, especially if you come closer to the truth: nothing is static or fixed, everything is changing, everything is impermanent. To realize this is a sweeping dilemma, and I have observed this in many instance. Like a small toddler I saw a few years ago who is now an almost six-footer teenager. Or seeing a very different appearance of a place that I haven't visited for years, being shocked of contrasting it to the past image imprinted in my mind. Or some new stuff that I bought, like a shirt, a pair of shoes or sandals; after several months, what used to be a new, shining stuff with a resin-like aromatic scent has worn down bit by bit, fraying and chipping in many corners, and its glowing quality has been heavily scratched. I have seen this reality in spending my money, or going to a certain place, or experiencing a new situation. They are all gone and the only trace that remains is my memory of them. All these things are known as the Perishables.

It seems that we need to edit what the Buddha has taught. Life is not suffering at all. Life becomes a suffering because of the truth that every thing in life is actually a Perishable. Nothing is not a perishable. Every thing that has begun will about to end. This is the cycle of truth. We all suffer because we have always thought that Perishables won't expire at all. Whenever we cling to this idea, our lives become a chain of miseries, because we tend to regret to the time that has passed, cling to the realities that have long gone in our midst, and fix the things, and even people, the way we see them. And we will find out that doing these are futile ways to live, wasting our precious life in making sure that whatever we want to stay must stay the way we want. And, ironically, we often choose to do this than to let go, and continue to suffer, despite the desire to break free and be happy. Running after the Perishables will soon cause us to perish with them.

"Running after the Perishables will soon cause us to perish with them."

There is a profound wisdom in understanding the Perishables that I have noticed in my contemplations. The soon I get worried, I automatically sense that I am worrying of fixing the Perishable, of grasping its slippery texture, and find it easing out from my grip. It makes me feel sick, tired, wasted, and anxious, and soon I lose my control over the situation, especially over my mental composure. This experience has led me to see what I worry about is a Perishable. The sooner I see this I immediately engage myself to a timeless retrospection, imagining what my emotional and mental state would be like after 2 years of recalling this very moment. Would I still be anxious? Or would I laugh out loud, or simply smile for seeing that those Perishables have long gone perished? And I would come to my senses that I have nothing to worry about. I relax and accept things and events as they are, even if they are my inner anxieties or my outer worries.

Whatever perishes returns to the cycle of creation and re-creation, and it means I have to let them go to that process. Any people, material things or situation that comes across my path are all Perishables in one way or the other. It is not that they are unimportant, but to see them as Perishables is to honor their once role in our Soul, and as they return to the source of creation, we also honor their process of renewing the energy of the source. If we keep the Perishables in our heart, we will clutter our attention and limit our movement on our sacred space. They will appear to be junk that rusts and stinks in our consciousness. This is the call to clean our space, and let the Perishables perish in their own natural way. As they perish, we cultivate a new growth in our awareness. We allow the growth of Love.

I keep on reminding myself that if I am beginning to worry on the Perishable, I must stop, and let Love fill my heart. For I know that Love is the only stable and bedrock state that I can trust and cling to, that I can firmly grasp and grip. Despite the irony that Love is an essence and its nature is intangible, it is the most tangible truth I can ever hold on to. Love, and the Perishables that grow from its fertile ground remains ever-changing, but will never, ever perish.