Can we appreciate something without trying to own it or keep it or control it? That’s the question behind Verse 23 of the 37 Verses of a Bodhisattva. It reads:
When you encounter attractive objects,
Verse 23
Though they seem beautiful
Like a rainbow in summer, don’t regard them as real
And give up attachment—
This is the practice of bodhisattvas.
Like in verse 22, here we are dealing with the Buddhist understanding of reality and emptiness. A rainbow serves as a good metaphor for this, because though we can see a rainbow, if we tried to touch it, or capture it, we realize it’s impossible. This is, for Buddhists, the nature of reality. We try to cling to things that lack essence.
Of course we know that rainbows are “real.” They are light refractions we can understand through science, but that doesn’t make them any less real…or beautiful. So what I hear, and what I receive from this verse, is the wise admonition to appreciate something without needing to own it. Even if we can’t capture the rainbow, we can appreciate it, and let it go when it disappears. The same is true for the view atop a long hike, or a tender moment over dinner, or any beautiful moment shared.
It reminds me of the story in Christian scriptures where the disciples see a vision of the ancestors and then see Jesus transfigured, and immediately they want to build something to capture it. To mark it. To keep it. But Jesus tells them instead not even to share the news of what they’ve seen. Sometimes, we keep things holy by keeping them to ourselves.
Maybe this is also about appreciating the moment and trusting in its transformation without needing anything else from it. Moments of meaning and beauty don’t need fanfare; they are intrinsically good. We can just experience them, be grateful, and let them pass. And we can trust they’ve done something within us that matters.
What can you simply appreciate this week?
