Impermanence

(2) The impermanence of life.

Many people are afraid to speak about death. They do not want to hear this word. As soon as they hear about death they feel sad or afraid. This just means that they have not mastered death within their own minds and they are scared to face it. Death is unavoidable, irrespective of whether we talk about it or not. Death is drawing closer moment by moment. No matter who we are, when we near the time of death, even if we try to escape it, try to avoid it, we will be unable to hide from it. During our lifetime, since we know that death is unavoidable, it is advisable to understand more about death and learn how to face it. If during this life we do more to prepare for death then when the time of death dawns we will not become alarmed and panic. We have to be sufficiently mentally prepared, so that we may cross through the Bardos smoothly and begin an even better next life. If we always have the stubborn attitude that death is a faraway future event, or that it is just something that is only going to happen to other people, then the day that death actually does arrive, it may be a very miserable experience. It is like a cow or sheep being sent to the abattoir. At a loss as to what to do and without any freedom, we wander through the Bardos, according to our karma, into our next life, suffering endlessly in samsara.

As for a Dharma practitioner, the fear of death is not negative in itself. Rather, it is the concern about how to successfully navigate the process of dying and how to attain a better next life. For this we must prepare properly. By means of long periods of practice and visualisation of the impermanence of life, we can encourage ourselves to diligently practice the Dharma and to actively prepare for death and life thereafter.

The advantages of practicing the impermanence of life

The advantages of often contemplating the impermanence of life can be summarised in the points below:

  1. If we often observe the impermanence of life and understand that every life will eventually come to an end, then we will long to have a greater understanding of life and we will find the best possible way to make this life meaningful. Within Buddhism, no matter whether it is Theravada, Mahayana, or secret Vajrayana, successful practice depends on using the impermanence of life as a motivation. It in turn serves as the foundation for entering the path of Bodhicitta. In the Great Nirvana Sutra it states that amongst the footprints of all the animals, the elephant’s is the largest, and amongst all of the Dharma a thorough understanding of the impermanence of life is most important!
  2. Apart from the practice of emptiness, the practice of the impermanence of life is the best antidote for our afflictive emotions.
  3. Practicing the impermanence of life before practicing any other teaching of the Dharma will encourage us to practice Dharma properly. Bringing to mind the impermanence of life while in the process of practicing any other Dharma will encourage us to persist calmly with our practice. In the future it can be the impetus in helping us finally attain liberation.
  4. As a result of diligently practicing the impermanence of life, one will already be prepared for the time of death. When facing death it will not feel as though death has suddenly arrived unexpectedly. As a result we will not be full of fear or regret and we will be able to calmly, or even happily, face death.

The disadvantages of not practicing the impermanence of life

The disadvantages of not practicing the impermanence of life are many and are summarised in the following points:

  1. We procrastinate, waiting until tomorrow to practice Dharma, and then the next day, continually busying ourselves with worldly affairs. The reason for this is that we have not carefully contemplated that one day we will definitely die and that it may happen very suddenly. Since our practice of the impermanence of life is insufficient, the urgency for renunciation does not arise. We spend most of our time and energy pursuing success in worldly affairs and have no intention to practice the Buddha Dharma. Since we do not have true renunciation, we just practice a little Dharma with the purpose of attaining some benefits for doing good deeds in this life, without the wish to be completely liberated from the suffering of samsara. As a result, we do not practice conscientiously. How many thousands of eons has it taken to accumulate the merit to have this precious human life for it only to be wasted due to ignorance and laziness.
  2. Some people practice occasionally and superficially, but do not contemplate sufficiently on the impermanence of life. The result is that their practice remains at an insignificant level. What they say sounds good but their mind is still involved with the eight worldly concerns. For example, some people spend their whole life building a monastery, doing compassionate deeds, and so on. Such deeds appear good on the surface. Their precious life is spent on stone, cement and steel reinforcements. They themselves believe that they are benefitting sentient beings but in reality their motivation may actually be to earn a living. The result will just to be sent into the three lower realms in the future. Of course, positive actions are beneficial. This is not a criticism of people who do beneficial deeds with pure motivation. Indeed, for those practitioners who really want to attain liberation, facing death and the practices based on this are most important.
  3. We regress as soon as afflictive emotions and negative habits arise. Our practice lacks perseverance and willpower, since our practice of the impermanence of life is insufficient. As soon as we meet setbacks or difficulties we want to give up.
  4. We regress because our practice of the impermanence of life is insufficient. We will be reluctant to give up our worldly lust or desire. We protect friends and attack enemies and break our vows, continuously creating negative karma.
  5. By not practicing the impermanence of life sufficiently, we might spend our lives in laziness and increase our negative karma. And then at the time of death we may experience great regret.

Quote

“Impermanence is everywhere, yet I still think things will last.
I have reached the gates of old age, yet I still pretend I am young.
Bless me and misguided beings like me,
That we may truly understand impermanence.”

Patrul Rinpoche

This chapter is part of: Introduction Course - Part 1: Renunciation