Ancient Buddhist Artworks Teach Us Not to Fear the Future

The Second Buddha taught his disciples that the future is one with the past and present.

Scenes from the Life of Padmasambhava. Bhutan or Tibet; ca. 18th century. Pigments on cloth. | Courtesy of the Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich

When time is linear, we learn to fear the consequences of each decision we make. Despite our best efforts to secure imminent wellbeing, the principles of linear time obliterate the possibility of a fate other than what…