“There Is No More”: What Sitting Bull’s Words Teach Us About Impermanence
In 1881, an influential Lakota leader and spiritual figure, Sitting Bull, stood in the heart of a rapidly reshaped country by settlers and the U.S. government. His words, “there is no more,” speak to a world in collapse — a profound loss of land, resources, and a way of life that had thrived on the American plains for centuries. Surprisingly, his words echo Zen Buddhism’s teachings, which peaked during China's “golden era” in the 7th to 9th centuries. Like Sitting Bull’s message, Zen teachings offer us a framework to confront change, loss, and transformation with resilience and insight.
Chief Sitting Bull (1831–1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who fiercely defended his people’s rights, lands, and way of life. Revered as both a political leader and a spiritual guide, Sitting Bull was instrumental in resisting U.S. government forces that encroached upon Lakota lands. He famously united various tribes 1876 in a historic victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. However, by the 1880s, relentless expansion and government policies had pushed his people onto reservations, decimating their resources, buffalo herds, and traditional livelihoods.
By 1881, when he said, “there is no more,” Sitting Bull was pointing to the heart-wrenching reality: the old way of life was ending, leaving his people with a painful new world in which their customs, resources, and sovereignty had been stripped away. His words carry the resignation of a leader forced to surrender to forces beyond his control, embodying profound loss and accepting a reality he could no longer change.
In Zen, practitioners are guided to see beyond attachments to worldly things and accept that life’s suffering often stems from a desire for things to remain constant. This lesson was taught through koans, meditation, and everyday encounters in which masters helped students see the world’s true, transient nature.
The Zen concept of mujo (impermanence) was central to this practice. Zen masters emphasized the importance of acknowledging that nothing in life is permanent — not our identities, possessions, or even relationships. Practitioners are trained to recognize all things’ fleeting nature and find peace in this reality. This philosophy resonates with Sitting Bull’s “there is no more” and his acceptance of the unstoppable tide of change.
The chief’s “there is no more” powerfully echoes Zen’s teachings on impermanence. Just as Zen encourages accepting life’s changes without resistance, Sitting Bull’s words acknowledge an irrevocable shift. For both Sitting Bull and Zen masters, there is wisdom in realizing that what once was cannot always be and that peace lies in surrender rather than futile resistance.
In Zen, attachment is understood as the source of suffering; one finds a deeper peace by letting go. Sitting Bull’s resignation similarly suggests an acceptance of loss, a moving beyond attachment to what once was. For Zen practitioners, this perspective provides resilience and emotional stability in the face of even the most difficult circumstances — a strength that Sitting Bull embodied as he watched his people’s way of life vanish.
Zen Buddhism teaches shunyata, or “emptiness,” which is not a nihilistic void but a concept pointing to all things’ interconnected and temporary nature. This was a path to enlightenment: recognizing that the essence of reality is change itself. Embracing shunyata allowed practitioners to see beyond individual suffering and to open up to compassion for all beings.
Sitting Bull’s words also suggest a universal compassion and a shared understanding of loss. He was not speaking only for himself but for his people, who were watching their ancestral lands, cultures, and freedoms disappear. The suffering Sitting Bull recognized in his community speaks to the Zen ideal of compassion: the willingness to bear witness to universal suffering without succumbing to bitterness or hatred.
Could his statement ask us to contemplate our attachments and struggles with change? His words call us to reflect on how we face loss and transformation in modern life, where change is constant — whether in technology, relationships, or global events. In Zen, the answer lies in zazen (meditation), koans, and the practice of detachment, which train the mind to let go and allow change to unfold.
In Sitting Bull’s case, “there is no more” marked an inevitable transformation requiring deep resilience and adaptation. His people would survive, though not as they once did. Similarly, Zen wisdom encourages us to find freedom in acknowledging that life itself is in constant flux.
As we face our own periods of change, Sitting Bull’s words remind us of the pain of loss and the strength that can emerge from acceptance. Today, these teachings challenge us to ask ourselves: What attachments do we cling to, and how might we grow by letting go? The lesson remains: our greatest strength lies in the ability to face change, not with despair, but with wisdom and compassion.
This knowledge encourages us to find beauty in the act of surrender, to face what is beyond our control, and to trust that something enduring can be found — not in clinging to the past but in embracing the freedom that comes from letting go.
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