Impermanence In David Haskell's The Forest Unseen

Anything can be beautiful at any moment. As time goes by, everything is constantly moving and changing like a flowing river and nothing remains still. The significance of nothing being permanent is that we as humans appreciate all things as they are now and as they were in the past. There are many different ways to witness the splendor of the world and each person may perceive it differently, but there is one thing that remains constant: beauty can only be captured by impermanence because if beauty did not fade, it would not be as important or awe-striking as it is now.

Matsuo Basho sees the beauty in once-great places and goes to great lengths to witness them in his book The Narrow Road to the Deep North. He travels to ancient ruins in

Haskell visits his “mandala”—which is a small, meter long area that he chose in the forest-- on a regular basis throughout the course of one year. Haskell believes that by staying in his mandala, he will be able to see the entire forest. The reason why this is possible is because of the impermanence of nature. Haskell did not interrupt anything within his mandala and simply observed how everything naturally changed as the year went on. One thing that greatly affects change is, of course, seasons. In the winter, everything seems dead. Haskell writes: “Death juts from the snow: fallen, partially decayed maple branches and the frayed stubs of leafcup stems protrude, each stem ringed by a circle of sublimated snow that reveals the dark litter below.” On the contrary, in the spring everything is coming back to life: “My walk to the mandala has become fraught. Every footstep threatens to crush half a dozen wildflowers, and so I step slowly, trying to pick a way that does not leave a trail of crushed beauty.” Haskell is aware that beauty is fragile and does not want to take it away, however, it will naturally fade on its own no matter what. Haskell witnessed this happening and he describes it as so: “Springtimes perfect leaves have turned ragged. Their smoothness is broken by irregular gashes or tidily incised bite marks.” Bugs, weather, and animals eat away at the plants and hail shreds the leaves of sassafras trees. The reason why we appreciate the beauty in spring, winter, summer, and fall is because it is not always there. The seasons are constantly changing just as people, buildings, and all things do. The mandala itself represents impermanence as well. The process that Tibetan Buddhist monks use when creating a mandala happens over several days and then it is swept up and its sands are cast into running water. Haskell lists the significance of the