[Buddha-l] Impermanence

[Margaret Gouin]

2008/3/5 Jim Peavler <jmp at peavler.org>:

>
> We all know that we are supposed to be careful about what we pray for
> in case our prayers are answered. I would add that we should be
> careful what we fear because we are very likely to be fearing the
> wrong things while being destroyed by things we haven't realized yet.
>
> Indeed. Biofuels may be one of the greatest threats to the planet yet
discovered, as cereal production is diverted from feeding people to feeding
cars. Perhaps the issue is not the type of energy so much as the amount
we're using--i.e. far too much!--and how we're using it.

Buddhist content: My understanding is not that we mustn't think about the
future, but that we mustn't obsess about it to the exclusion of being aware
of the present, and that we should always be aware that the future may not
come (impermanence). I think responsible social action has a place in
Buddhism--in my Buddhism, anyway--but it has to be motivated by compassion,
not anger. Difficult.

Margaret Gouin
PhD Candidate
Centre for Buddhist Studies
University of Bristol (UK)