All Problems are Impermanent and Empty

 

Just as our problems come to life like this flower, yet not as beautiful, they will also disappear.

These past seven days have been interesting and more stressful than I had expected. It started with getting a collection agency letter addressed to me: my name and address, but not my debt. I went to my bank, which is affiliated with the company that issued this “supposed” loan and have been working at the matter to clear this up. I’ve had to talk to a bank manager that suspected fraud, had to fax my story to the creditor, and speak to the collection agency. To make a long story short, it looks like it is a debt for someone with the same name as me. It raises many questions on how this bank institution gets the right to pick my name essentially out of a phone book, put my phone number and address on someone else’s file and then send creditors after me. The more I think about it, it upsets me.

Then I thought of the Dharma; impermanence and emptiness.

These cherry blossoms first bud, then come into fruition, then will disappear come winter. Even problems have seasons, and will come and go.

This banking/creditor situation is definitely a problem to me. As frustrating it is to try to prove that it’s not me, I have to think that this problem will not last forever. This proves the impermanence of the situation. It will be resolved and life will return to the way it was before it happened. As much as I think of the problem itself, I can’t pinpoint the problem in itself. There are many factors that arose to cause this situation and when I think about those causes, I find causes to those causes, and so on. No singular thing or cause is the cause of this problem since there are many factors. This proves to me the emptiness of the situation.

When this situation arose first last week, we began to think it was identity theft. The loan was taken out in 2009 on a car. But that raised more questions. The year is 2012 now. If it were identity theft, would I have not heard from the bank sooner for non-payments or such? Then when I learned from the collection agency that they may have my address and phone number by mistake, I began to feel like I was personally targeted and had to now prove my identity. Then I asked myself, “What is my self?” How can I feel attacked when there is no self to be attacked? Identity theft is a serious crime, and ruins credit and sometimes reputation – don’t get me wrong about that. But at the mere thought of it, once you remove the idea of self from the situation, what is left?

So once I applied the ideas of impermanence, emptiness and lack of inherent self to my situation, my suffering and anxiety about the situation decreased. I was able to think clearly and remove the “emotional” aspect of the situation. I can now speak calmly with the collection agency (after all they are just trying to do their job and earn a living) and the bank manager who is the go-between for me and the lending institution that issued the loan, in which those people are also trying to do their jobs.

It still frustrates me when I try to think about it logically, which sometimes there is no logic. Sometimes what we think is logical, actually is nothing more than ignorance based on what we think we know and how we perceive reality. Applying the Dharma to this situation has helped me become less emotionally involved which had cause me to suffer (and yes, I shed a few tears of frustration).

My situation isn’t over yet, since I’m waiting to hear back from the bank and have to call the collection agency to get more clarification. But the wheels are in motion. As long as I stay calm, kind, understanding and work with them to solve this problem, the better it will be for me and for the people working on this matter.

The next time you have a problem causing you lots of strife, just think about impermanence and emptiness to put it into perspective. Kindness can go very far and understanding even farther. Smile through adversity, or in the very least when it’s over, remember to smile again. In fact, you may find humour in it afterwards. In my situation, what are the odds that someone with the same name as me, getting a loan from the same group of banks as me, and they pick my address and phone number to collect? When I’m not upset, it’s funny! When you can laugh at it, that’s buddha nature when you see through the delusion, and ignorance, and understand that it’s impermanent and empty. Then you can smile, because you have the glimpse of enlightenment. Just a glimpse, but it’s a start to a life long journey.

Laughing Buddha – we all have buddha nature – we mustn’t forget our buddha laughter!

Don’t forget to smile and laugh every day. Problems will come and go everyday. Don’t overwhelm yourself with problems, they will always be there. Smile and enjoy the ride with the dharma wheel to support you. Namaste.