|
|
Already Broken
By NOAH LEVINE 
There
is an often-told story in my tradition about the Thai Forest tradition
master Ajahn Chah and his apparent attachment to a certain drinking
glass. Sitting around with some other Buddhist monks, nuns, and lay
students discussing dharma and enjoying some tea, someone asked Ajahn
Chah something like, “You’ve been teaching us about impermanence and how
everything is constantly changing. You’ve told us that being attached
to anything in this transient world will always cause us to suffer. Yet
it appears that even you, who has renounced all worldly possessions,
have become attached to that special drinking glass.”
Ajahn
Chah replied with something like, “It is true, I do enjoy this drinking
glass. I like the way it holds my tea. I admire the way the sun shines
off it, at times creating tiny rainbows. This is my favorite glass, but I
do not cling to it, because to me this glass is already broken. I know
that my time with it is temporary and precious. So I enjoy this glass
while it lasts, but I am fully aware that eventually it will fall from
the shelf or be knocked over and shatter. And when that happens I will
say ‘of course.’”
I
heard this teaching early on in my Buddhist practice and it was a very
important guide for me on how to relate to change and impermanence. This
was tested a few years ago when my 1964 Chevy Impala lowrider was being
test driven by my mechanic, who was working on the hydraulic suspension
system. The car bottomed out as he drove over a large metal
construction plate on the road and the frame was ripped in half. My
prized possession was wrecked.
When
I got the news, I experienced anger and sadness, but I reflected on
Ajahn Chah’s broken glass and said to myself, “Of course, this lowrider
too was already broken.”
Noah Levine’s latest book is The Heart of the Revolution: The Buddha’s Radical Teachings on Forgiveness, Compassion, and Kindness. Thanks to Noah for providing the above photo of his lowrider in its heyday.
|
