Philosophers Series · Part 9 of 12
Buddhism: May We Want to Remain When Everything Passes?
This series is about the wish to leave something behind. Buddhism questions exactly that wish. Part 9 of our Philosophers Series takes the objection seriously.
Everything passes
Many Buddhist traditions describe three marks of existence: impermanence (anicca), suffering or unsatisfactoriness (dukkha), and non-self (anatta). Nothing stays as it is. Even what we call “I” is not a fixed core, but a stream of processes.
The cause of suffering is said to be craving, in Pali “tanha”, literally “thirst”. One of its forms is the craving for becoming and continued existence. By this account, the wish to outlast ourselves would not be the solution, but part of the problem.
The honest objection
This shouldn’t be argued away. A project born only from the fear of being forgotten is clinging in its purest form. It promises peace and creates unrest.
And yet: passing on
At the same time, hardly any tradition is so thoroughly built around passing things on. The Buddha’s teachings were transmitted orally for generations before being written down in Sri Lanka in the 1st century BC. To this day, teachings pass from teachers to students.
In Japan there is also the tradition of the death poem. Zen monks and poets wrote a final poem shortly before their death, often of great serenity. It is not clinging to life, but a conscious farewell – and at the same time a gift to those who remain.
The logical conclusion
Buddhism does not forbid leaving something behind. It asks about the attitude. There are two ways of writing: one says “Don’t forget me”, the other says “This is what I learned – take whatever helps you”. The first is clinging, the second is generosity.
There is a second point: regular reflection is itself a form of mindfulness. Whoever asks themselves an honest question every day perceives their life more consciously – regardless of whether anyone ever reads the answers. And whoever later rediscovers old answers sees with their own eyes how much the “I” has changed. Impermanence then becomes not threatening, but visible.
Three questions to think further
- Do you write so as not to be forgotten, or to give something?
- Which insight has helped you so much that you want to pass it on?
- What are you holding on to, even though you know it will pass?