While Confucius was traveling throughout various countries, he frequently had time to contemplate in solitude. One day upon finishing their meal, he and several close disciples went strolling through the fields, deep in thought and sighing quietly. After stopping by a lake beneath a waterfall, Confucius stood still for a long time before, in his melancholy, he said to them, “Thus things haste away, never ceasing day and night.”
Many students come to tell me about their plans to travel to Europe, a holiday in Spain or a sightseeing tour of the cherry blossoms in Japan. I reply in a happy, congratulatory tone, because some people spend a hard year earning money so that they can reward themselves with a holiday. Some go for a drink at various nightclubs after work, crowding into dimly lit spaces filled with smoke and noise, in the hopes of setting themselves free from the day's toil. Still others round up their friends for a scooter ride to the Waishuang stream where they spend all night shrimp fishing, just to feel the sense of excitement when the shrimp takes the bait. I am often dumbfounded by the unbelievable leisure activities modern people undertake.
Upon seeing the ways by which modern people escape stress and soothe their troubles, a certain (Buddhist) verse instantaneously springs to mind, "With the passing of the day, a length of this life is thus reduced; Just as fish in scant water, what enjoyment is there?" Life advances relentlessly, much like a beam of sunlight passing through a crack in the wall. Just like the blazing clouds at sunset are snuffed out in the blink of an eye, so too does life pass away, swiftly and unmercifully. Those with even a smattering of wisdom would not let their days pass wasted. For them, every second counts. Similar to the inspiration Confucius drew from the river, the flow of one's life is unstoppable once begun, and it can never be turned back. If you fail to come to grasp every moment, you will have no choice but to fall prey to the pursuit of Death. Those who do understand how grasp the current moment should also know that in addition to doing so, most significantly, they should not allow their thoughts to be limited by time. Those who are not restrained by time and space truly know how to seize the day and comprehend the true essence of this precious human life.
From Shang Longrik Gyatso Rinpoche
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