“It’s like a child or an adult playing with a balloon. You see the balloon floating and you ask, “What’s eventually going to happen to the balloon?” “Oh. It’s not for sure. It’s inconstant, stressful, and not-self. There’s nothing dependable about it. Eventually it’s sure to burst.” This is the view of the adult, the view of a person of discernment. It doesn’t trust the balloon. It always sees that the balloon will burst for sure. It sees clearly. Eventually the balloon bursts—boom!—and the mind is still at ease.
Why is it at ease? Because insight has arisen, because it sees that the balloon is burst before it bursts, right? It’s already burst. It bursts after it’s burst in our view. That’s why no problem arises.
It’s the same with our body, or any object we get and we love a lot: We have to understand that eventually it’ll have to break down.
I’ll give you an example: a lovely cup or plate. Once we get it, some people get really happy and glad. That’s the way children are. People without discernment think that it’s good, that it won’t break. But people with discernment see this glass or this plate, when they get it and happiness arises, and think, “Hmm. This is just… that’s all. It’s a vessel that one day is going to have to leave us. It’ll have to get broken. If it doesn’t break and leave us, we have to break and leave it.” When you can think in this way, the mind has gone to a high level. It’s trying to gain release from suffering and stress.
After a while, as we use the plate and it eventually breaks, no problem can arise. Why? Because we know that it’s already broken. This is insight. When this glass breaks, it’s no big deal. It’s perfectly normal.”