The Refuge Is in the Knowing

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

Since childhood I have been fascinated by time-lapse photography. I have loved to watch natural processes unobservable by the naked eye unfolding on a screen – gracefully, magically – over the course of a few minutes. These short films encouraged me to question the apparent solidity of the world I lived in.

In light of such videos, I think it may be said that the difference between a thing and an event is merely in its rate of change. The longer something takes to change visibly the more of a thing it seems to be. (Perhaps we might add a new definition to our dictionaries: “thing” – “a slow changer”.) A mountain is a very solid thing. But if the technology existed we could presumably produce a video recording the arising of a whole mountain range, its erosion and eventual disappearance within the duration of a few human breaths.

Reflecting on this topic can feel liberating or frightening. It can be frightening if we perceive ourselves to be a solitary solid thing adrift in an insecure non-solid world. But it can feel liberating when we realise that we are not solid either. Event the craving for something solid to hold onto is non-solid. Our refuge is in the knowing.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.