The Buddha's counsel is direct: cease dwelling on what has been and stop fantasizing about what might be. The literal meaning suggests a practical redirection of mental energy, away from unproductive rumination and anxious anticipation, towards the immediate reality of your experience.

Esoterically, this speaks to the Buddhist understanding of impermanence (anicca) and the illusory nature of a fixed self. The past is a collection of aggregates that no longer exist, and the future is a projection of desires and aversions. Clinging to either creates suffering (dukkha) by obscuring the ever-changing, interdependent reality of existence. The present moment, however, is the only point where liberation is possible. By concentrating the mind here, through practices like mindfulness meditation (vipassanā), one can observe the arising and passing of phenomena without attachment, weakening the grip of ego and the cycle of rebirth (samsara). This present-moment awareness is the gateway to understanding emptiness (sunyata).

In your life: Practice bringing your full attention to one simple activity today, like drinking tea or walking, noticing every sensation without judgment.