Psalms 37:36 Meaning But He Passed Away

Anicca: Impermanence

Everything conditioned rises and passes. Only a moment ago this man towered like the green bay tree the psalm watched spreading itself, and now the place where he stood is bare. His height and spread were never a fixture; they were weather moving through, already leaving as they arrived.

Vaya: Falling Away

The instant a thing finishes dissolving. "Lo, he was not" catches that hinge exactly: one glance he fills the eye, the next glance closes on empty air. Watch a wave you were sure of flatten back into the sea, and you have seen the same passing that swallowed him whole.

Maraṇa: Death

The cutting-off that spares no rank. Power, wealth, and the wide shadow he cast bought him no exemption; the tall tree came down like any other. Holding his end in view is not gloom but a lamp, showing which pursuits are worth a short life and which are smoke.

Anattā: Non-Self

Seek the owner behind the appearance and the hands come back empty. "I sought him, but he could not be found" is the plain result of looking for a solid self anywhere: press into the mighty man and you meet passing states, never a core that held him together. He could not be found because, under the name and the power, there was no fixed someone to find.

Kammavipāka: The Ripening of Deeds

Every act carries its own harvest forward. What looked like thriving was a debt maturing, and the roots that fed the flourish were rotten, so the fruit came to nothing. Fields sown from cruelty and grasping green up fast and fall faster, which is why the just watcher waits and is not troubled by the tall shade.