A beautiful frangipanni in a curious shade of pink, lavender and white . I saw it en route to work one morning. In midst of the city that has just awakened, this flower revealed a moment of quiet, contemplative beauty.

This morning, I read an article about death which made me grateful for life.

According to this article, the Buddha asked a monk: “How long is the human life span?”

The monk replied: “A few days.”

The Buddha said: “You have not yet understood the way.”

He asked another monk: “How long is the human life span?”

The reply was: “The space of a meal.”

Again the Buddha said: “You have not yet understood the way.”

He asked yet another monk the same question. This monk  replied: “The length of a single breath.”

The Buddha said: “Excellent. You have understood the way.”

The article said that this is the most immediate mindfulness of death, and the fragility and fleeting nature of life. It is a reminder on the importance of living moment-to-moment with Dharma practice as much as we can.

Although we do not always have a morsel of food in our mouths, we are always breathing. With each breath, life shortens. The next breath might not come.

And in that moment today, I saw what moment-to-moment awareness meant. I knew then why it is intimately tied to the breadth.

Because breath is life. And awareness of each breath is awareness of each moment in life.