"You don't stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing." — George Bernard Shaw
Buddhism teaches that the four sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death are an inescapable part of life. The important thing is not to be defeated by them. Thanks to my parents, I've already had a victory over the first one. So that leaves aging, sickness and, inevitably, death.
Lately, I've been reflecting on what it means to be 74 years old and moving closer to the end of this life. As a child and teenager who suffered from severe depression, I was too afraid of the present to expend energy worrying about the future, much less old age. Most of the older people I knew back then seemed full of regret and suffering. It wasn't until I started practicing Buddhism that I got a glimpse of a different way to age — one full of hope and vitality instead of fear and sadness.
Buddhist philosopher and author, Daisaku Ikeda, has said that youthfulness originates from life force. There are young people who are disillusioned and there are elderly people who, no matter how the years pass, sparkle with the glow of youthful inner vitality. Still, I can't ignore the fact that my body has slowed down. Slight injuries now have greater consequences. A hurt lower back that might have kept me in bed for a few days took two years to recover. Through this experience, I also learned that my mental attitude significantly affects my ability to heal. My Buddhist practice gives me the wisdom and strength to influence my mind and, accordingly, to lessen my physical and emotional suffering.
My wife, Most Beautiful One (MBO), has had the same experience with her multiple sclerosis (MS). Since first being diagnosed in 1996, she has used her daily practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to help raise her life condition, improve her ability to manage her symptoms and to more quickly recover from several major relapses — the last one about ten years ago.
With the help of this remarkable practice and a compassionate therapist, I turned what could have been a devastating occurrence into the fuel to make personal changes that had continued to elude me, including being able to face and overcome my childhood sadness and anger.
In Buddhist terms, youth has nothing to do with chronological age. Instead, it reflects our ability to consistently maintain a hopeful, flexible and tolerant mind.
There is a saying that goes: "To a fool, old age is a bitter winter; to a wise person it is a golden time." Without my spiritual practice and the support of a loving family and friends, my winter would be bitter indeed. I'm so grateful that this doesn't have to be the case. And I look forward to laughing well into my nineties!
