You're Dead

I don't mean to waste your time but I have this pet peeve, and I need to share. The problem is that you - are - Dead (not metaphorically).

Us Buddhists, we talk a lot about death. We chat on and on about the next reincarnation, how many lives until Enlightenment, will we die tomorrow, or didn't this or that person do a great job of expiring. But the fact is, we are already dead. Dead as a doornail or an old tree stump. 

I say this because the YOU, that was here two seconds ago, is gone, kaput, will never return. That person from two seconds ago is dead. We might as well have a funeral.

Now, you can make up a STORY about how the present YOU and the you-from-2-seconds-ago are the same, and maybe include the you-who-woke-up-this-morning and the you-born-years-ago.

But seriously, it's just a story. And YOU just made it up (you liar). It could be true, but you haven't checked. You can't check because you can't time travel. You're just guessing.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE, you don't have to have a history to be alive. You don't even have to have a mother. You just have to feel something. Like, 'I know I'm alive because my butt itches.' 

Well to be clear, 'I know I'm alive because I'm CONSCIOUS of my butt itching.' Ha! Take a look at the Heart Sutra. You just told another fib! An itchy butt means nothing, unless YOU pretend YOU have a butt itch.

And another thing, Who's the boss? Are YOU making decisions for YOU? I bet you're taking hints from somebody else. Where does that voice come from who tells you what to have for dinner or which channel to watch? Who's deciding what to think about next? You? Hell no. That stuff just arises. You could say, 'Oh a few minutes ago I decided to think about doo dah.' But who made THAT decision? YOU don't make those decisions BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAD.

I accuse you of being dead, and lying about it! 

(You can make up for the lie by walking around and around repeating, 'I am dead.', one word per step.)


2/28/25