No hope, no fear

Life in samsara

Machik Labdron

In the 12th century, Machik Labdron wrote:

Grasping to benign gods as gods,

grasping to evil demons as demons,

and the stirrings of hope and fear in the mind

are the personal māras that arise from oneself,

none other than the self-originated mind.

Many readers will have been caught by surprise by the latest twist in the saga of the history of the United States, I suspect most of you will be unhappy, . But these likes and dislikes arise from our own discriminations.

You might be thinking “Women’s rights, immigrants, and democracy, and so on, are all at risk.” All this is true, and all of this is something impermanent. These things, laudable in themselves, can also become personal māras if we grasp too strongly to them. We only have to look at the example of Tibet to see how impermanent even institutions that support the dharma, which can be ruined and reduced to dust.

All that is conditioned is impermanent. All that is afflicted is suffering. All is without self. Nirvana is peace.

We have an indestructible refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. We should take these times as a sign we should focus our attention on firm, reliable refuges. And while we should not ignore mundane matters entirely, neither should we place much hope in their perpetuity nor fear their demise. Such is the nature of all conditioned things.