Life Is Like a Dream, an Illusion, a Bubble

📖Master’s Reading

All things change constantly; what you have today you may lose tomorrow. We suffer because we take a fleeting phenomenon for the eternal and grip it fast. The Diamond Sūtra's "all conditioned things are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, like dew and like lightning — thus should you regard them" is the very key to unlock the shackles of suffering.

Worldly phenomena are brief as dew and lightning, like a dream. We must call out to our own heart and understand that all of past, present and future does not inherently exist. We feel suffering all because greed, hatred, delusion, pride and doubt are at work; if we can relate to things with an ordinary mind, the torment naturally vanishes like smoke.

When life meets adversity or love and hate you cannot set down, often silently recite these four lines. See through that all is but the empty appearance of arising and ceasing, and the heart is no longer held hostage by gain and loss. This is not passively fleeing the world but combining the wisdom of "give rise to the mind that dwells nowhere," letting the heart not cling to any pain or appearance.

Knowing all things are a dream, an illusion, a bubble, and accepting impermanence as the world's normal state, we can instead, with an open attitude, cherish each present meeting. No longer forcing the eternal and unchanging, willingly loosening the tight grip, the soul leaves inverted dreaming far behind and regains clear freedom.

🌱Reflection for Daily Life

• Understand that all worldly things change constantly.
• See through that all conditioned things are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble.
• Give rise to the mind that dwells nowhere and cling not to appearances.
• Accept impermanence and openly cherish each present moment.
• All is changing; do not cling to the unchanging.