Moments of Sadness inspire Life & the Buddhist mantra Om Vajrasattva Hum.

Buddhism: How to use Negative Circumstances to Wake up.

Buddhist Mindfulness Habit: Roadkill.

Death Comes without Warning.

The Vajrasattva Mantra: “mind protection.”

Momentary sadness reminds us that life is fragile, precious, worth living fully and properly.

By dimitridf

When I was a child, and I saw a dead animal on the side or a road, or wherever, I was sad. It was like the world was happy and fun and then….wrong. My mom stepped in and assured me that this was the nature of life, that it was okay…not only okay but a reminder of how wonderful life was, and that we should be careful and enjoy it. She taught me that if I wanted to say a little prayer for the dead squirrel or what-have-you, I could say the Buddhist “Vajrasattva mantra”:

Om Vajrasattva Hum

with the wish that the animal have a okay peaceful time being dead and that it might have a happy future rebirth.

Now, though I don’t believe in reincarnation (Buddhists aren’t theistic, we aren’t supposed to believe in anything we can’t experience, the Buddha talked about how even what he said shouldn’t be taken on faith, and that many of the Great Questions were in fact unimportant) I still say a little prayer. It helps to turn that still-disturbing moment into a moment, an occasion or opportunity for remembering the Four Reminders.

So whatever reminder you recite, it doesn’t matter. But let the message be one of simple, straightforward compassion and reminding oneself that life is like a bubble—perfect, rainbow-colored, and then, suddenly, >>>>gone<<<<.