Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva

Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva: Verse 23

When you come across something you enjoy,

Though beautiful to experience, like a summer rainbow,

Don’t take it as real.

Let go of attachment — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

We’re lucky to be alive in a world full of life and beauty, though when you’re depressed, or feeling lonely you tend to forget. The moments you felt absolutely joyful have long faded from memory. That spark you felt rush through you when you met your perfect lover, the way your heart dropped when he finally admitted he lived with his wife and children, that too has been long forgotten.

The dull boredom that surrounded you when doing the laundry, the panic when you realized you had nothing to say. What about the pain of childbirth, who remembers it at all? The absolute happiness when holding your baby, making all those faces bringing on his peal of laughter, the sound molding you together. Like the rainbow in this verse, it fades and is soon forgotten.

It is real, all of it is real. None of it was a dream, a figment of the imagination. Oh no, it was very very real.

Something, anything and everything is impermanent, it all disappears with time. But it is real at the moment. It is there, it is present. But only for a moment, before it’s gone.

It’s wise to let go of attachment because of its temporary nature. But first, you must hold it, cherish that feeling you get when you’re together, then let it go when you drift apart.

Just because it’s all impermanent, doesn’t mean it isn’t real. It’s real for the moment. Relish the joy of your closeness, then tolerate the pain of loss when it’s gone. Learning to live with impermanence, to survive the agony of separation, must be the practice of the bodhisattva.

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