Before the cloud appeared in the sky, it existed in another form—
as mist, ocean, rain, or river.
If we look deeply into the nature of a cloud,
we see that a cloud can’t die;
it can’t pass from a state of being into a state of nonbeing.
A cloud can become rain or snow or ice,
but it can’t become nothing.
So if the sky is clear,
it doesn’t mean that your cloud has died.
It continues on in other forms.
How can our loved one die?
Everything arises in dependence on everything else.
There’s no beginning or ending;
there’s no creation and no destruction of anything at all.
This is true of the entire universe.
Billions and billions of conditions have come together
for us to manifest in this form.
When different conditions arise,
we will manifest in a different form.
Do not get caught in the form.
Do not get caught in signs.
Learn to look with “the eyes of signlessness”
and see your cloud in its new forms—
in the rain, in the river, in your tea.
If you have lost someone
and if you have cried so very much,
please look deeply and recognize
that the true nature of your beloved
is the nature of no birth and no death,
no coming and no going.
Thich Nhat Hanh
How to Live When a Loved One Dies: Healing Meditations for Grief and Loss
dedicated to Dave and Bonita