Why is My Life so Precious?

So okay. My teachers keep telling me that I have this “precious” human life and that I need to use effectively now. There is no time to waste! After all, when can I ever hope to have this opportunity again!

Well, sometimes my life feels precious. Much of the time, it does not seem so very precious. My body hurts. I get sick. People get mad at me. I get upset at them. I become frustrated, disappointed, confused, lost, or scared. It is very easy to not be so very happy with this life. It is easy to see how much better my life could be if only…[fill in whatever you want].

So the traditional teachings repeat again and again what is meant by “this Precious Human Birth/Life.” You will find it in chapter 1 paragraph 4 of Shantideva’s Bodhicharyavatara written in the 8th Century:

These freedoms and advantages are extremely difficult to obtain.
Since I have gained the opportunity to accomplish that which is meaningful for a person,
If I do not practice what is beneficial like this come about later?
How will a perfect opportunity like this come about later?

You will find it in the 37-Practices of a Bodhisattva written by Thogme Zangpo in the 13th Century:

This sound human body endowed with full leisure --
an excellent vessel rare to be found --
since now we’ve obtained one in no way deficient,….

You will find in the Ngondros such as under Longchen Nyingthig as well as throughout many sacred texts and practices of all lineages of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Every time, we hear about the (8) Freedoms and (10) Advantages which in total are referred as “human body endowed with full leisure” it reinforces our understanding this precious human birth.

However, this academic understanding is just the beginning. Why is it so special?

Recently, I have been reflecting on teachings and writing from Robert Thurman’s Infinite Light. Dr. Thurman in Chapter 4, begins by recounting how we eventually find that nothing that we temporarily posses ultimately belongs to us…including even our thoughts, our memories, and our body. They are all impermanent.

All that remains is the residual imprints from our past actions, words, and thinking which propel us into future realms according to these natural tendencies. If we are constantly grasping for more and more, we might materialize such tendencies by being hard-wired with large grasping claws such as a lobster. We may manifest as a venomous snake as the result of continued poisonous acts in this life.

Within such a future life, we no longer have any choice. These tendencies are now hard-wired into our being for that life. Further, it becomes increasingly difficult to propel oneself back towards a human birth once one falls into a lower realm of existence. We fail to even have the ability to aspire to human existence.

Dr. Thurman points out the unique feature of human life is that there is far more flexibility in living. We are far less hard-wired into a living pattern. We have the freedom and flexibility to learn, study, and train. We have the ability to make choices including the choice to rid oneself of negative thinking and actions including the 5 Poisons of Desire, Attachment, Pride, Jealousy, and Ignorance.

So this is the Preciousness. We have the ability to make choices. As the result of making these choices, we can transcend the entrapments of re-birth. We can fully awaken because we have the ability to train, practice, and correct our actions and thinking. I appreciated his comment that we are more ‘soft-wired’ than other species and beings. As a result, we have the ability to Evolve. The vulnerability of the human condition is its greatest advantage (and responsibility.)

Consequently, we are constantly reminded “Don’t waste this rare opportunity! It won’t last and every moment wasted cannot be regained.” Once this life is over and you are at the mercy of the imprints from all of your past, its too late.

Spend your time wisely while you have the time, the freedoms and advantages of this precious human form of being. Otherwise, you just might find yourself living at the bottom of the sea with a hard shell as your home!