The river and life

Buddhist Simile : The river

The river and life : Buddhist simile

River flowing swiftly downhill

Rivers, flow down lands with purified water. They make the most beautiful view. I like to sit by a river bank watching her beauty flowing swiftly down the hill.

Unwise thoughts

The nature of the river is to flow down the hill.  If I am unwise I might think this river should flow uphill. But that will never happen. My thinking is wrong. If I keep on thinking ‘the river should flow uphill ’l I will never find peace and happiness. We never think a river should uphill because we know it is impossible. It is very much unwise of me/you to think that river should flow uphill. My unwise way of thinking will destroy my happiness and peace within me.

River and life

There are 8 forms of realities we encounter in our life. That is; Birth, illness, death, aging, sad, lamentation, parting from loved one, accompanied by people we do not like. Similar to the fact that river flow downhill, we need to go through these realities in life. We experience all these as sufferings in life. We experience these as suffering because of our unwise way of thinking about the reality of life. Unwise way of thinking as we should be free from these realities in life.

Similar to the person who sit on the bank of the river thinking river should flow uphill, the unwise person think we should be free from these realities in life. Keep on thinking in the wrong way we never find peace and happiness.

Wise way of thinking

A wise person would look at the cause for these realities happens in life. In such he/she identify craving is the reason for all these realities in life. The wise person who look for the cessation of the suffering will also identify three mark of existence and the nature of the realities as Anicca (impermanent), Dukka (suffering), and Anatta (non self). And such he/she will culminate the craving.  Such wise person will always be in the bliss of emancipation, similar to the wise one who admire the true beauty of the river.

……………………………… May Noble Triple Gem Bless you …………………………………..