The New Year Must Be Better Than The Old

The New Year Must Be Better Than The Old

By Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

 

A new heart is better than a new year,
that is, to understand more than before,
with more breadth and depth of wisdom,
enabling me to advance further beyond dukkha.

 

That the new year must be better than the old:
if just new, without anything good, is a waste;
good on the lips but not in the heart serves what;
just so the spirits can mock us -- why bother?

 

Cleaner … clearer … calmer …
is to be meaningfully new, so don't be dim,
closer to Nibbana than ever before, unenchanted,
means we have a New Year that's truly new! 

                    ******* 

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