Sunday 5 June 2011

Buddhism is not about "being in the present"

Let go of the past.
Let go of the future.
Let go of the present.
With a heart that is free
cross over to that shore
which is beyond suffering.

- Dhammapada Verse 348
  
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People often have an idea that Buddhism is about "Being In The Present" or a variation on this. This verse reminds us that the present only exists in relation to the future and/or the past and cannot be separated from either.

Buddhism is not about "being in the present", it is the path that leads beyond these distinctions, to  that which is beyond suffering.

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