Ruth Kazuko Sasaki

White Ashes

In silently contemplating the transient nature of human existence, nothing is more fragile and fleeting in this world than the life of man. Thus, we have not heard of human life lasting for ten thousand years. Life swiftly passes and who among men can maintain his form for even a hundred years? Whether I go before others or whether others go before me, whether it be today, or whether it be tomorrow, who is to know? Those who leave before us are as countless as the drops of dew.

Though in the morning we may have radiant health, in the evening we may be WHITE ASHES. When the winds of impermanence blow, our eyes are closed forever; and when the last breath leaves us, our face loses its color. Though loved ones gather and lament, everything is of no avail. The body is then sent to an open field and vanishes from this world with the smoke of cremation, leaving only the white ashes.

There is nothing more real than this truth of life. The fragile nature of human existence underlies the young and the old and therefore we must – one an all – turn to the teachings of the Buddha and awaken to the ultimate source of life.

By so understanding the meaning of death, we shall come to fully appreciate the meaning of this life which is unrepeatable and thus to be treasured above all else. By virtue of true compassion, let us realize the unexcelled value of human existence and its effects on the future, and let us live with the Nenbutsu in our hearts.