drives cattle to pasture,
old age and death
drive living beings.
Dhammapada verse 135
The Buddha never said anything with the intention of making us feel depressed. So what is the point of this verse on the inevitability of getting old and dying? The point is reality, Dhamma. As long as we deny reality, our efforts feed habits of delusion - our hearts are sapped of vitality. Since the day we were born we have been moving towards death. Contrary to what we might expect, when we open our hearts and minds to this truth of the way it is, we don’t become depressed, instead we are freed from having to lie to ourselves. We already know what we have ahead of us and it takes energy to maintain denial of it. The Buddha taught that behind the veils of delusion is the deathless. To know this is to no longer be driven.
With Metta,
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