Witnessing the Impermanence of What Is

A sand mandala is a Buddhist performance art of sorts.  Monks lay out an intricate design, using fine, multi-colored sand.  They work from the center and have to be mindful to not disturb their delicate accomplishment.  After all, a misstep or a sneeze – like a frivolous gust of circumstance – destroys the emerging pattern.  So as the monks work for days, if not weeks others watch what is emerging.  The time to watch the reality is now.  After all, there will be no grand opening with wine and cheese: as soon as the accomplishment is accomplished, the monks will scoop up the sand, carry it to a river, and release it into the flow of change. 

A sand mandala is a meditation on impermanence, as well as on perfection as completion rather than excellence.  Try this for yourself.  Make a paper lantern and let it flow away.  Write a poem on a balloon and let it fly away.  Stack up a tower out of the rolls of toilet paper to see it fall.  Build a sand castle and watch it wash away with the evening tide.  Cook an elaborate meal and share it:  here it is and now it’s gone.  Everything is like that.  Acknowledge it and make your anonymous splash in the river of impermanence without wasting your life on calculating a perfect ripple effect of your legacy.