the way

"Everything arises and passes away. When you see this, you are above sorrow."

I dropped a casserole dish on my toe once. Hurt like the dickens. Went to the doctor. Got it x-rayed. Confirmed: broken toe. The treatment: go easy on it, and over time, it will heal, and so it did. Later that same day, was on the phone with my mother, who was in the hospital, right as the oncologist came in and let her know that she had leukemia. Within 16 months, she was gone.  Hurt like the dickens. Went to the Buddha. Meditated. The treatment: go easy on it, over time, it will heal, and so I did.   Pain comes, pain goes. Joy comes, joy goes. The thing is, we all experience pain and joy. What makes us different is how we let it affect us.