Impermanence of life

Sutra of the Collection of Miscellaneous Metaphors, Vol.1

 All sentient beings desire different happiness in the mundane world without realizing that these delights and lust are impermanent and subject to change.

 Moreover, the pursuit of pleasure itself is a source that creates pain and suffering, which leads to continuous transmigrations within the three realms.

 A Buddhist story tells a vivid example: A person got arrested in jail and sentenced to death; being so afraid of the death sentence, he escaped the prison. According to the country's law at that time, any escapee with a death sentence will be trampled by chasing elephants as a punishment.

 To get away from the torturing death sentence, this inmate hid in an abandoned well after the escape. Little did he know that a giant poisonous dragon was at the bottom of the well with its mouth wide open, waiting to engulf him. There were also four poisonous snakes at the sides of the well, casting their covetous eyes on him.

 It so happened that a long piece of grass was hanging on the side of the well, and this inmate grasped to it instantly, trying to survive. He did not notice two white mice gnawing at the root bit by bit on the other end. Coincidently, there was a big tree right above the well. A drop of honey would drip from the tree into his mouth every day. As soon as he tasted the sweetness of the honey, the pleasant flavor enchanted him, and he had forgotten all the dangerous situations he faced. He was obsessed with the sweet-tasting honey that he had no intention to leave the dangerous well at all.

 The scriptural story is a metaphor told by a sage. The inmate's jail is comparable to the phenomenal world of the three realms that restrain sentient beings from transcendence. The inmate who was hunted by the herd of running elephants is similar to living beings haunted by impermanence and unable to find a way to escape.

 The abandoned well where the inmate hid could be a burning house that denotes the five aggregates of sentient beings. The poisonous dragon at the bottom of the well resembles hell. Having thought of the well as a safe hiding place, sentient beings have no idea that they are still in extreme danger of being trapped within the five aggregates, just like staying in a burning house. Meanwhile, the evil deeds committed due to ignorance of sentient beings will bring consequential sufferings in the three unfortunate destinies of rebirths in future lifetimes.

 The poisonous snakes entrenched at the sides of the well represent the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind of the form aggregate. The form aggregate that comprises the four elements is easy to break apart anytime. The grass's root can be seen as the vitality of life that humans are always grasping so dearly and tightly. Meanwhile, the two white mice are like the passage of time as they nibble the root of grass shorter and shorter, representing the daily decreases of our lifespan without a moment of break.

 When people indulge in the happiness of the mundane world, they cannot perceive and observe the source of that happiness is, in fact, the biggest flaw in the origin of suffering.

 A serious practitioner should constantly contemplate and observe the ever-changing nature and the impermanence of mundane phenomena to refrain oneself from being obsessed with worldly delights and can eventually escape from various sufferings.

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