May 4th, 2010 posted by Bender Rodríguez
As we believe simplicity contributes to a peaceful life, we have not bought into the utopia promised by consumerism. Harry MacLure; Mush Register; The Hindu (Chennai, India); Mar 22, 2010.
i would not consider myself buddhist, because i do not go to temple or believe in karma (that is, the cycle of birth and rebirth, and not how most westerns understand "karma"), but i do follow the ways of the Buddha, and the Way has helped me to internalise and accept the transient nature of the universe, and to let go of the trappings of the material world. in short, i do not feel burdened by the desire to own "things", to collect things, to surround myself with things that define who i am. with that, i find the waste and the consumerism and the insatiable need for more, more, more, that is rampant in western society to be antithetical to becoming the compassionate people we need to be in order to live together on this fragile planet.
when i contemplate the vast expanse of the universe, the seemingly
infinite nature of time and space, i become lost in its embrace, comforted by the sheer magnitude of where we live. i experience an ineffable sense of falling, of rising, from one place to another: falling from earth, rising up to another planet from beneath, rising past, and then falling again towards another, and so on, and on, and on. my consciousness fades away, and i am no longer of this place, but a piece of all places, one with everything, one indeed.
therefore, i find that death does not bother me, nor do i cling to life. i am saddened by death and loss, and i find it difficult to refrain from crying when i experience it, whether directly or indirectly, through fictions like literature or film. at the same time, i understand death. i am not afraid of death or dying. in fact, i will embrace it when the time comes. i do not believe in a god or an afterlife that awaits me. i have made my peace with death. that is, i see it as the "snow day" of life: an unexpected but welcomed surprise that relieves us of the duties to which we were bound.
my only regret is that i will not be around to see the future.
"As we believe simplicity contributes to a peaceful life, we have not bought into the utopia promised by consumerism. "
Harry MacLure