The Passing Years Are Impermanent

The sun cannot linger, the earth cannot stand still; time shifts with the sun’s rising and setting, and fades with the earth’s turning. Thus the Buddha taught: “All things arise and pass in a flash, ever-shifting and impermanent!” Those who practice must never fall into the delusion that time is permanent.

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s Exhortation states: “This day has already passed, and with it our lifespan grows shorter. We are like fish in water that is slowly drying up—what joy is there in this? All of you, strive with the urgency of a man whose head is ablaze. Hold the reality of impermanence close to heart, and do not fall into negligence.”

What a sorrowful, piercing warning! Human life, adrift in the vast universe, drifts ever closer to the shores of old age and death as time slips away. Just as fish rely on water to survive, and their lives grow short when the water dries up drop by drop, so too do we find our days growing fewer with each passing sunrise and sunset, like water seeping drop by drop from a cracked fishbowl.

Time slips through our fingers in an instant. We must seize the vigor of our youth with wholehearted diligence, the grit to toil, and the determination to learn deeply. Even as we grow old, we must not readily resign ourselves to aging, but keep striving to study and practice: live, learn, and act all the days of our lives! Even when illness and pain weigh us down, we must not waste our time in listless drowsiness, nor squander our lives steeped in grief.

Most people fail to recognize that their end is fast approaching, yet they drift through life in a haze, drunk on hollow, illusory pleasures. Worse still, they miss the hidden perils that lurk on every side: traps and dangers at every turn. We have every reason to be wary: “though we are safe today, we can't guarantee safety for even the next moment.” What joy is there in such a state?

As human beings, we must race time itself, seize every moment, and put our days to good use, lest they slip through our fingers in idleness. Merit is built drop by drop, day by day; only steadfast perseverance can give rise to true, lasting strength.

The meaning and value of life don't lie in how long we live, but in how much we give to the world. As long as we carry out our basic duties as human beings, and find joy and contentment in the work we do, that's the most solid, fulfilling life one could hope to live.