When The Leaves Go. . .
October gives us a vivid picture of change. Leaves turn, daylight shortens, and the familiar landscape begins to shift. We may feel a little sadness as summer fades, but there is also beauty in watching a season change without asking it to stay.
Buddhist practice invites us to notice impermanence, not as a gloomy idea, but as a way of seeing life more clearly. A teaching in the Saṃyutta Nikāya uses autumn plowing as an image for how contemplating impermanence can uproot our clinging.
We can try this with a simple walk. Notice a leaf changing color. See its beauty, and also see that it will not remain exactly as it is. Then turn that same attention toward your own day. A difficult feeling will shift. A joyful moment will pass. A conversation, a season, even a version of ourselves will eventually change.
Impermanence doesn’t mean that nothing matters. It may help us cherish what is here precisely because it won’t stay forever. We can listen more carefully, offer affection without delay, and meet ordinary moments with greater attention.
This October, let the falling leaves be a gentle teacher. We don’t have to hold every beautiful thing in place to appreciate it. Sometimes the practice is simply to notice, give thanks, and let the moment go when it is ready.
Peace and Love, Jim
#fall #thedailybuddha #tdb
