For those unfamiliar with Buddhism, many of you still may have heard of the four noble truths. And likely many of you have heard of the eightfold path, which is itself, the fourth noble truth. These are the fundamental principles of the Buddha’s first teachings, and they do tend to get most of the attention in college classes often named Introduction to World Religions. And that’s cool. We all should know something about Buddhism, if only the bare essentials.
But what I want to discuss today, is one of the Five Remembrances found in the Upajjhatthana Sutta, five subjects or facts about our existence, if you like, that many people often willfully ignore or deny, because they fear thinking about them. The Buddha taught, however, that to become a mindful person, to learn to live a life of meaning, it is essential to contemplate (or meditate if you prefer) on these five remembrances. By reflecting upon them as often as we can, it is possible to learn to face them without fear, but with equanimity, liberating ourselves to once again celebrate the magic of life, and remember that each life truly is a miracle, not only our own but everyone’s life.
Now if you clicked on the Wikipedia link above you can read about all five of the remembrances in the original Pali Texts and in two separate English translations. I recommend that you read them all, and consider the Buddha’s advice (not a commandment) that we should be mindful of them of them and reflect upon them as often as we can in our daily life. The purpose of such reflection is to free us from the terror they hold over us, and help guide us to follow the eightfold path. By such practice we learn not to be consumed by fear and anxiety over matters that we do not control. Instead we re-learn to appreciate life and to look at it with a sense of wonder and hope, with the ultimate goal of leading lives that are filled as often as possible with acts of lovingkindness.
But there are five remembrances, so why do I choose to write tonight only about the fifth or last of them? Because it is the one right now that strikes the deepest chord with me, especially this year, when lovingkindness has been in such short supply, not only in our nation but around the world. And when you read what I have to tell you, I hope you will understand why I consider it so important.
Now while there are many versions of the five remembrances, I like the one used by Thich Nhat Hanh, where he gives the Fifth Remembrance in three simple statements, as follows:
1. My actions are my only true belongings.
2. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.
3. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.
Read each of those three sentences closely. The first, My actions are my only true belongings, reminds us that, in a world that is ever-changing, where permanence is only an illusion, we truly have nothing we can claim as belonging to us but the actions we take in the present moment. Each day we may lose something that we value, whether small or large, important or insignificant. A favorite shirt may be ruined in the wash. Our medical test results could come back confirming that we have a serious illness, like cancer. Our partner may leave us for someone else. We could total that nice new car we just bought?
In a world of constant change, we actually possess nothing material because in an instant, it can all be taken away from us (for a classic example from another faith tradition, go read the Book of Job to see what I’m getting at here). Nothing, that is, but what we do in the world. Those acts are the only true things about us, the only “stuff” that we can lay claim to as our own.
Which takes us directly to the second sentence: I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. Each day, we are faced with many decisions about what to do, what to say, how to express ourselves to others, whether to help someone or do them harm. Perhaps as many as a thousand decisions to do a thousand often tiny things. And truth be told, many of these are decisions easy enough to make, but many are not. And while it is true that not all the consequence of what we do can be foreseen, that should not stop us from remembering that consequences will flow from each deed we do.
For example, we may think a small lie is unlikely to harm anyone, only to later learn that that lie began a pattern of lies, which ultimately destroyed our family, or even an entire community. Or another example: as a worker in a large organization we might choose not to oppose the consensus opinion, even if we feel it is wrong, because we do not believe our opposition will make any difference in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps we think that by going along to get along we might later get our way on something we view as more important.
Yet, later on down the road it may turn out to that our choice, along with the choices of all those who also decided not to speak out when we had the chance, may have helped create a situation that led to catastrophic consequences; in some cases consequences that effect the lives of millions of people. If we are mindful of the potential consequences of what we say and do, we can make better judgements on how we should act, not out of shallow self-interest, but with a true understanding of what right action means, for ourselves and everyone around us.
Now for that last sentence: My actions are the ground upon which I stand. Think of that one for a while. Our core values, our core principles are meaningless if we do not match those values to the actions we take in the world. Some people do not consider this truth at all as they go about their daily lives. In my view, whether they are simply ordinary people or those who have access to great power, they are making a grave mistake when they fail to remember this truth. Put another way, (and forgive the reference to this cheesy Batman movie quote), it’s not who we tell ourselves we are underneath, but what we do that defines us.
For good or bad, our actions matter. We are known for what we do, not who we say we are. We should be mindful of that fact. I’m sure we all know far too many people, maybe even ourselves if we are willing to take a hard look in the mirror, who fail to appreciate that all the good intentions in the world, all the promises we make, saying all the right things when asked, mean absolutely nothing if we do not follow through on those promises, or fail to follow the words we speak with actions to support them when it really matters.
This is a political blog, so yes, I do have a political point to make, beyond just the spiritual one that applies to us all. We all have important choices to make this year. And while we often say campaigns and elections are decided by who has the better ideas, and the better policies, and the better story to tell, the truth is those better ideas, and better policies and better stories mean nothing. The people who stand behind those words do, the ones for whom we will be casting our votes this year.
And whether the candidates we elect will act upon what they say they will do does matter a great deal. What they have done in the past matters, too. Their history is the history of what they have done, not what they have said they would do or will do or can do. Their record for telling the truth or dishonesty matters. Their record on issues you care about matters. Just as the record of our actions matter in our own lives.
For those of you yet to vote, your actions will define you as much as the candidate you choose to give that vote. And for those of you who support a specific candidate, your actions, past and present matter, as well. Actions to overlook or consider the respective weaknesses or strengths of the people who are running for office, to overlook or consider the behavior, good or bad, of those same candidates, actions defending one or attacking another – all of that matters.
And with that in mind, I ask you all to contemplate and reflect upon the fifth remembrance from the Buddha’s Upajjhatthana Sutta tonight, and in all the days to come.
Buddhu Saranai, my friends.
