Contemplating Impermanence

Reflective Practice on Impermanence

Three important aspects of life can make our lives so much fuller and easier. The first is the truth of impermanence. The second is seeing that we do not have a separate self-identity; or that we are interconnected with everything. And the third is the discovery that all beings have a basic nature that is unconditioned. In the Buddhist tradition, these are called the Three Marks of Existence, three profound impressions that can help us end suffering.

The first Mark of Existence, impermanence, may be the easiest for us to understand. We just have to look at our mind and our life. What has not changed in one way or another? If we start training ourselves to observe the changing nature of our everyday situation, we are already well on our way to gaining perspective on what makes us suffer.

This practice gives us the chance to explore the truth of impermanence. This is a key way in which we come to peace with dying.

The Practice
Let the body and mind settle and remember why you are practicing. Listen openly and at the same time explore your response to the truth of change.
We are taught, in reflective practices, to contemplate five aspects of impermanence. The first aspect is that everything is continually changing. Our bodies constantly renew themselves, including our bones. Consider: we have a new skeleton every eight years. Our ideas are in a continual flow of change. How many times have you changed your mind? Our feelings move from pleasant to unpleasant or neutral; our perceptions shift as the world changes around us and within us; even our relationship to our psychological and cultural conditioning changes as we mature. And, of course, the world around us in big and subtle ways is in constant motion. This is the constancy and continuousness of change.

Let yourself be aware of this. Feel this in your body, your mind, and the world around you.
The second aspect that we are taught to contemplate is the truth that we all die. Sometimes when I see an old movie, I remind myself that all those people in the movie are long gone. They seem vital on the screen and so involved with their characters, and yet, they are in reality all quite dead. I often meditate on my mother and father, remembering that they have died. So many mentors and teachers of mine have died. I think about those who have harmed me who have died, and those who have been kind to me who have died.
Sometimes I try to grasp the presence of all beings that have died; they are like the stars in the night sky, beyond counting. And then I remember that I too will die, sooner or later. This is the natural outcome of birth.

You should also contemplate the truth that all those whom you care for and don’t care for will be lost one day. And like the Tibetan poet and yogi Milarepa, contemplate the fact that your life is impermanent and someday you will die.

The third thing that is good to remember is that there are so many causes of death, even things we thought were good for us can cause our death. Food can kill us. We can be killed for money. We can die in a burning house. We can die in a car wreck. Strangely enough, anything can be the cause of our death, and at this time, we cannot know what will be that cause.

The fourth thing to consider is that we cannot know what will happen to us as we are dying and at the moment of death. Right now, many of us might feel we can handle any kind of pressure. But dying can be a hard task. We can be in severe pain. It may be very difficult to breathe, to eat, to urinate and defecate. We may be confused and weakened. We may be overwhelmed with fear and despair. We just cannot know how it will really be when we are dying until it is happening. We then ask ourselves what will help us.
In certain difficult circumstance, little can help us but a trained mind. This is where studying and practicing, atoning and purifying can make a difference. Remembering this, and resolve to deepen your practice.

The fifth and last aspect of impermanence to contemplate is what will happen after death. When we die, the body will cease to function. But what of the mind? In Buddhism and other traditions, it is felt that the mind might continue in some way after the moment of death. We need to prepare for this possibility now, for if this is the case, then we will not be able to turn away from what is happening on the mental level. Our mental habits and causes of the past could well be the factors determining our course after our physical death.

When we consider the reality of impermanence, we begin to see how clinging to the things of this world is quite futile. In the end, at the moment of death, we will lose everything. We see that grasping, possessing, and clinging will only cause us to suffer more in this life and as we die. This realization can inspire us to practice with greater commitment, so that we can not only have a peaceful death, but also so that no matter where we are, the mind is clear, calm, and free of conflicts.

At the end of this contemplation, dedicate the merit to the well-being of others.