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The Daily Dharma – December 8, 2021

Photo by Oliver Pacas

“We usually think that although the entire universe may not be my show, at least my life is my show. We think that we are some kind of cosmic, karmic agent who created our life and therefore we should have 100 percent control over our life. Yet it turns out that my life is somebody else’s show. We don’t know who that person or that thing is. The best course is not to name it. However, if we really want to name it, we could say it is the show of the divine, a cosmic lila, or divine play. We just happen to be part of this dance, and that’s why everything that happens in our life is part of the cosmic dance, the divine play. We have very little influence over what happens in our life; it’s just part of the divine show. If we are Buddhist, we may say that this is a display of the great emptiness. If we are not Buddhist, we might say that this is the play of the great mystery. Whatever we say, the truth is that we don’t have absolute control over our existence.”


Excerpt From
Choosing Compassion
Anam Thubten & Sharon Roe
Apple Books