Every morning
the world
is created.
Under the orange
sticks of the sun
the heaped
ashes of the night
turn into leaves again
and fasten themselves to the high branches–
and the ponds appear
like black cloth
on which are painted islands
of summer lilies.
If it is your nature
to be happy
you will swim away along the soft trails
for hours, your imagination
alighting everywhere.
And if your spirit
carries within it
the thorn
that is heavier than lead–
if it’s all you can do
to keep on trudging–
there is still
somewhere deep within you
a beast shouting that the earth
is exactly what it wanted–
each pond with its blazing lilies
is a prayer heard and answered
lavishly,
every morning,
whether or not
you have ever dared to be happy,
whether or not
you have ever dared to pray.
“Every morning
the world
is created.”
I do not believe in reincarnation. I don’t disbelieve it either. It’s just not something I believe in. It’s not a thing for me. This is problematic for someone who practices Buddhism as reincarnation is foundational for some Buddhist practices. Not particularly the practice I’m surrounded by, but some of the others. And yet I see value in the concepts that float around reincarnation and also karma, which can be intertwined in the idea of reincarnation.
An oversimplified view of reincarnation and karma might lead one to believe that if you do good, work hard, and find wisdom in this lifetime, you will be reincarnated into a better life after death. But if one does not believe in the afterlife, then where’s the motivation? Why not just live it up in this lifetime since there’s no afterlife? If there is no hell, and therefore no consequences, then sign me up for hedonism. Tap that keg and bring on the dancing girls.
For me, the answer is simple. I experience reincarnation over and over again. “Every morning, the world is created.” Every morning I wake up is a new morning. Every breath I take is a new opportunity, a new now. Every time I slip in and out of mindfulness, I am born again. And how many times have we said, “In a previous lifetime…” For me, I used to captain a boat in the Caribbean, “in a previous lifetime.” I used to compete in windsurfing races up and down the east coast, “in a previous lifetime.” I used to work in advertising on Fifth Avenue, “in a previous lifetime.” Each lifetime, whatever the time span, is an opportunity to do good, do no harm, and purify the mind. And even though there is nothing to attain, there is the opportunity to make our lives easier, more joyful, and peaceful by working hard in this present moment. Work hard to do good, do no harm, and purify the mind–the consequences of this karma do not need to be confined to an afterlife. These karmic consequences can arise in the timespan of the now and the next now. Or perhaps today and tomorrow. Or perhaps this phase of our lives and a later phase of our lives.
So maybe I’ll pass on the keg and dancing girls. I’ve experienced that a regular practice does make life a little bit easier. For me, that’s all the proof I need.
Thanks to Trina Truong for introducing me to this poem in one of her “Wake up Together” services.
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