Milestones of Life

In each life, there are various milestones. There are, in general, four common milestones. They are the milestones of birth (jāti), aging (jarā), sickness (byādhi), and death (maraṇa). No one can avoid passing each of these milestones. They are markers on the path of the carriage of the five aggregates (khandhā), and since this carriage only moves forward, never backward, it is the natural law (dhammaniyāma) that every possessor of aggregates must inevitably cross these four milestones. The beginning of life is called birth (jāti). It is the start of the present life. Birth itself is the period of conception (paṭisandhi) in the mother's womb, abiding there with mental and physical suffering. Birth is solely the truth of suffering (dukkha saccā). Therefore, it is not wrong to say life begins with suffering. However, ignorance (avijjā) veils and covers all the suffering and misery of dwelling in the womb, so we cannot know or see it. Not knowing, even though it is said "birth is suffering," the understanding does not arise sufficiently for us to truly accept it. That suffering has ended, so we cannot know it again, but the fact remains that we all have departed from the milestone of birth. Once past the milestone of birth, we are born and, as we grow older, we are merely traversing the long milestone of aging (jarā). Aging, too, is not a state of happiness but purely a collection of suffering. Just as we began with suffering, we must continue our journey in the middle with suffering. Growing from infancy to adulthood, and from adulthood to old age, is the period of crossing the long milestone of aging. Graying hair, a bent back, deaf ears, falling teeth, and wrinkled skin are all signs of aging. The eyes that were good at birth now require glasses and cannot see clearly—this is the truth of aging arising from the aggregates. The youth is lost, and old age arrives. Finally, when one reaches a state of being bedridden, unable to stand or sit, one must search for suitable medicines, call doctors, and be sent to the hospital, becoming a burden—this is entering the milestone of sickness (byādhi). The inability to bear the pain, crying out, moaning, and groaning in unbearable agony is the suffering of sickness. At the end, when one can no longer endure the torment of sickness, one enters the milestone of death (maraṇa). This is the suffering of death, where one dies even though one does not wish to. Thus, just as life begins with the truth of suffering, in the middle we cross only milestones of suffering, and in the end, we culminate only with the truth of suffering. These are milestones that no one can defy. Therefore, we speak figuratively of them as the milestones of life. If we remain heedless and unmindful, one life will end with these milestones, then we will start again from the milestone of birth, end again at the milestone of death, start again from birth, and so on. Thus, the carriage of life will merely keep circling on the journey of saṃsāra. If we reflect and contemplate that we cannot escape birth, nor can we escape aging, sickness, and death, a desire will arise to find an escape, a way out from these sufferings. Therefore, instead of passively accepting that these milestones cannot be defied, if we contemplate, "Indeed, the truth of birth cannot be escaped; the truth of aging cannot be escaped; the truth of sickness cannot be escaped; the truth of death cannot be escaped," then a sense of urgency (saṃvega) and a desire for liberation will arise. To find the path of escape from these milestones of saṃsāra: during the time we are crossing the milestone of birth, we are dwelling in the mother's womb, so there is no way to search. After being born and growing into adulthood, the milestone of aging has already begun. After birth, we are being forcefully driven towards the milestones of sickness and death. If we wish to find the path of escape, the most suitable time is during the period of aging. The milestone of aging is the longest. If we wait until we reach sickness and death to search, it will be too late, and we will not find the way out. Therefore, we must search for the path of escape in advance, before the milestone of aging reaches the milestone of sickness. If we do not search but instead merely cross these inevitable milestones one after another, then when these four milestones end, we will start again from birth and continue to revolve along the same route. Since all milestones are milestones of the truth of suffering, we will endlessly cross one truth of suffering after another. Whether human, deva, sakka, brahmā, or a being in the lower realms, all must cross these four milestones; thus, we are merely subjected to these four sufferings. We may not know if we were human or dog in a past life, but it is certainly true that we crossed these four milestones of sufferings. In the next life, we cannot predict what we will become, but we will only have to traverse these four suffering milestones. As long as we do not search for the path of escape, we will merely keep crossing milestone after milestone on this route, with the carriage of saṃsāra running incessantly without rest. Birth is followed by aging, aging by sickness, sickness by death—only suffering milestones revolve. After death, birth begins again, and the wheel of suffering turns once more. The aggregates are full of the perils of aging, sickness, and death. We merely carry these perils and walk along. We walk from birth to aging, from aging to sickness, and from sickness to death. Even while carrying these heavy burdens of the aggregates and walking along, we also carry the burdens of sons, daughters, wives, husbands, rulers, masters, and all other burdens. Thus, while carrying burdens, we cross milestone after milestone. Only when we reach the milestone of sickness do we think, "I wish to find a path of escape!" By then, it is not easy to find the right path and method in time. There is no time to meet a good teacher who can give close guidance. Therefore, the time to search for the path of liberation is during the period of crossing the milestone of aging, before reaching the milestone of sickness. The path to liberation is the Noble Eightfold Path (maggaṅga). If we do not follow this path, the carriage of life will continue to cross the four milestones one after another along the same route, endlessly—ending in death, starting again from birth, and revolving perpetually according to Dependent Origination (paṭiccasamuppāda). Thus, these suffering milestones will always be waiting to inflict suffering. If, with insightful reflection (saṃvega), we realize, "I do not wish to cross these suffering milestones anymore," and if we search for the path without milestones—the Noble Eightfold Path—before reaching the milestone of sickness where we must rely on doctors, only then can we truly reach the shore beyond milestones, Nibbāna. Ven. Dr. Ashin Parami