A man once asked a Buddhist monk:
“If everyone we love will someday leave—through distance, change, or death—then what is the point of loving at all?”
The monk looked at him quietly for a moment and asked:
“If a flower blooms for only a few days, does that make it meaningless?”
“No,” the man replied softly.
The monk smiled.
“Then why do we believe something must last forever to have value?”
The man became silent.
“Music ends.
Sunsets fade.
Childhood passes.
Seasons change.
And yet, none of these things become meaningless simply because they do not last forever.”
“But love hurts because it does not stay,” the man whispered.
The monk nodded slowly.
“Yes. Love can hurt because life is temporary. But perhaps that same impermanence is what makes love so precious.”
He pointed toward the fading sunset.
“If the sun never set, would you notice every sunset with the same wonder?”
Tears filled the man’s eyes.
“So we are meant to lose everything?” he asked quietly.
The monk replied:
“In Buddhist teachings, we are reminded that everything conditioned by life is subject to change.
People come.
People go.
Bodies age.
Moments pass.
Relationships transform.
Suffering can become heavier when we demand permanence from something that was never permanent.”
The man lowered his head.
“Then how do I love without fear?”
The monk smiled gently.
“By understanding that love is not possession.
It is presence.”
He continued:
“The purpose of love is not to own someone forever. It is to experience connection, kindness, growth, laughter, comfort, and warmth while life gives you the opportunity.
And when someone is no longer beside you, the love they gave does not simply become meaningless.
It may remain in your memories, your lessons, your compassion, and in the person you became because you knew them.”
The man whispered:
“So love is still worth it… even if it ends?”
The monk smiled one final time.
“A beautiful song is still worth hearing, even though it ends.
A sunset is still worth watching, even though it fades.
And a loving heart is still worth opening, even though life is temporary.”
MORAL:
Love is not made meaningless by impermanence. Its value comes from the moments we are given to share, the lives we touch, and the person we become through loving. Do not refuse a beautiful chapter simply because you know it cannot last forever.
Love deeply.
Appreciate fully.
Hold gently.
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