What are the divine messengers?
Old age
Sickness
Death
:-)
These are the three things which lead Gautama Buddha to enlightenment. These are inevitable, These are showing us the reality of life.
How different this is from our modern life? Where we are trying to erase every sign of old age and sickness and Death is a taboo? Our anti wrinkle cremes and botox to keep away signs of old age so we can pretend it does not exist, Xanax, anti depressants, alcohol to pretend Dukha does not exist. And Death - we are so uncomfortable about acknowledging death. One day we will die, it can be any moment. I see people in the west finding it really hard to accept death of loved ones, because it is somehow made out to be a personal tragedy. Like it happens to only you. All suffering is hidden from us - Thanks social media ! If we realised everybody is in the same boat, we would find it easier to accept tragedy.
Other religions promise us that God will take away all our suffering, Buddhism - Suffering is the nature of your existence :-) Hardcore and real.
My mother said this about her sister who suffered from cancer. She said her sister found strength and calmness of mind to face her severe pain, She accepted her pain, her death. My mom said I think cancer and dire situations give you that strength to face it, She was not devastated, She accepted whatever came her way gracefully, - like Stitha-Pragna. Mom said under all that sickness and suffering my aunt was actually ok, more ok than us living normal lives. My mom is perceptive like that at times.
Makes me think, Is that also a gift from God? Suffering? an opportunity to transcend the petty mind and its small problems?
And now this lecture - Divine messengers!
