Our Dharmabyte today reminds us that Life is Too Short to Waste. Brought to us by the dynamic and passionate Padmavajra from the talk titled and#8220;Death and Desireand#8221; part II of a three-part series titled and#8220;The Alchemy of Loveand#8221;. Using Shantidevaand#8217;s and#8216;Bodhicharyavataraand#8217; as a root text, he brings us face to face with the big questions implicit in any life that seeks to embrace change and impermanence as facts of Reality.
Talk given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 2004
[music] Dharma Vites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for real life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, come and join us at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. Thank you and happy listening. [music] I noticed this quite vividly around this time last year. Last year at the end of August, my father died. He was very old and unwell, and it wasn't unexpected his death. And I loved my father very, very much. And for some months after he died, I entered a strange sort of place. I found that I couldn't think, or rather I couldn't relate to many of the things that I usually do. So much seemed utterly irrelevant. I didn't feel depressed. In fact, looking at it, it was part of me, looking back, it was almost as if part of me was sort of in the realm of the dead, with my father in some way, kind of seeing him through. But so much, the main thing, so much in ordinary life, so many of people's concerns, what people wanted to know about, what they were concerned about, seemed pointless. Meaning was in the experience of mourning my father's passing, of fully acknowledging his passing. Meaning was in the experience of meeting people heart-to-heart, heart-to-heart, they, as they are, as living, breathing beings. Meaning was in things like the fact of looking at leaves in the sunlight, or listening to birdsong in the early morning. Meaning was in these things, so much else seemed like empty noise. And the course of this weekend, I don't really mind if the effect of this weekend is that you get more into Buddhism, or you don't get more into Buddhism. But I would be really, really pleased if the effect of this weekend is that you ask yourself questions about what your life is for. We're not given very long in this life. So let's not waste what we have. As my dear old dad used to tell me, when I was upset and angry as a little boy, he used to say, "Son, don't get like that. Life's too short to waste on those things." So I was getting an early teaching on impermanence from my old dad, even in those days. But I remember it very, very vividly, this phrase of it, "Life's too short for that." And it was usually if I was annoyed with my sisters, or something like that. So yes, if this weekend has the effect of you asking questions about yourself, that would be really satisfying and pleasing to me. We hope you enjoyed the talk. Please come and help us keep this free at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. And thank you. [music fades out] [music fades out] You
