Episode 93 – Contemplating Impermanence

Of all the contemplative practices of Buddhism, it is said that the contemplation of impermanence is the most useful • dealing with change isn’t easy: we’d like to put things together and have them stay together • we tend to see change as disruption rather than as the way things are • but in reality, change is not a disruption, it is fundamental • change just is; it is the nature of everything • trying to hold onto the non-reality that one can prevent change creates a burden that depletes our strength and energy • traditionally, four different ways are presented to contemplate the truth of impermanence: every birth leads to a death | every meeting leads to a parting | everything created eventually is destroyed | every gathering eventually disperses • each of these contemplations brings us back to immediate experience, to a deeper understanding of what impermanence is really all about • we begin to not only accept change at a deeper level, but to actually appreciate and even celebrate the the vivid, life-filled reality of constant change that marks our existence.