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The Three Times
The Three Times
gāthā on the limitless moment
Breathing in, I observe the past in the present;
Breathing out, I welcome the present in the past.
Breathing in, I observe the present in the future;
Breathing out, I welcome the future in the present.
The threads of all times are woven in the moment:
The Five Skandhas are their fabric.
Wearing the cloth of Being
I smile to the child, the adult and the elder.
Commentary
The three times are present within us. Each moment is all moments: the child carries within her the seed of the adult and the seed of the elderly woman, seasoned by life; the adult has within him the freshness and the fears of the child, and the wisdom of his elder self; and the elder, in his or her weathered body, is the continuation of the flowers of the youth and the engaged adult.
We can access these at any time. Whenever we arrive home to the present moment, the three voices are present. It is helpful to let them converse. We live more fully and in a gently balanced way when all are present.
If a man repeats to himself “That’s childish. That’s beneath me.” he teaches his child that he is not welcome, that speaking is not allowed. He may pass many years cut off from the joy of living. If a child is not taught the path to stillness, if the flower of wisdom and assurance isn’t watered in her, she may pass many years believing her instincts and knowledge are worthless; she may not meet her elder self until she is physically old. And if we do not meditate on our own ephemeral nature, if we are afraid of death, then we will run away from growth itself: growth is change, and change feels like death.
It is better to breathe, and know we breathe. It is skillful to breathe in, and welcome the child in us; to become full of the breath of the adult in us; and breathing out, to welcome the sage grandmother or grandfather that we already are.