Visakha Buddha Day

Tuesday was a Buddhist holiday, a day which remembers Buddha's birth, death and enlightenment - all in one.  Quite resourceful really how they organize it.  For some in my Bangkok, this day is one of those no alcohol days that they so dread.  Life is fleeting.  So what is one day without alcohol at the bars?  Life and death, hellos and goodbyes are everyday realities.

My great Irish neighbour moves out this week.  A sad moment to farewell a good friend in my Bangkok but as ever such goings highlight a central element of my Bangkok - it is most transitory.  People come and go.  Nothing remains permanent.  That is life. 

So the wisdom of Buddhism to remember all of Buddha's major movements in one day.  A reflection on how temporary life is. Buddhism focuses on the suffering and impermanence of life.  We come, we go; life goes on.  Quite freeing all this really as it tells us that no one is indispensable. We make decisions, we move on and life evolves, and evolves in ways we could never imagine or plan.  Life, and not just Thailand, is truly amazing.  I could never plan it any better myself.

A new store in my Bangkok where there was a massage shop.  Businesses come and go.  So what next?