{"id":1952,"date":"2020-03-02T10:31:26","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T00:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/?page_id=1952"},"modified":"2020-03-02T11:20:30","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T01:20:30","slug":"impermanence-and-death-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/index.php\/impermanence-and-death-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Is Impermanent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We might think, \u201cIt is right; I have to practice Dharma in\nthis lifetime because human life is precious and hard to obtain. But first I\nshould make some money, travel, wait until my children grow up, or wait until\nanother day for whatever reason.\u201d Of this the Buddha said that life is\nimpermanent. It is as impermanent as the clouds of autumn; they appear in the\nsky one moment and disappear the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a very beautiful parable by Gongthang Tempe Dr\u00f6nme.\nOne day a man fell off a cliff. Halfway down the steep, rocky slope there was a\ntuft of grass growing, which the man was able to grasp to stop his fall. He\nhung onto the grass with all his might, for if he were to let go, he would die.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, as he clung to it, a white mouse came and started to\nnibble on a bit of the grass. Later, a black mouse arrived and ate a bit more\nof the grass. Gradually, the mice kept nibbling at the grass that the man was\nclutching\u2014first the white mouse, then the black, then the white again\u2014until\nfinally, when one of the mice gnawed through the last blade of grass, the man\nslipped off the rock and fell down the cliff to his death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this parable, the white mouse represents day, the black\none night. The man is really dying from the beginning and is just temporarily\nhanging on. Day comes and exhausts itself; then night comes and exhausts\nitself. Then, at last, death arrives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same way, we too are just waiting or hanging on until death comes, since that is our ultimate destiny. We are here not to live, but to die. But even so, we do not really think or care about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like a shooting arrow, the speed of life is moving very fast\ntoward its target, which is death. We do not even realize this truth. While it\nis not obvious that there are such things as karma, rebirth, and realization\nbecause we cannot readily see or know them, the certainty of death is right in\nfront of our eyes, yet it is still shocking for us to realize it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Buddha said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three worlds are impermanent, like the clouds of autumn.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The births and deaths of beings are like watching a dance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speed of human lives is like lightning in the sky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It passes swiftly as a stream down a steep mountain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we watch a dance, first we can see the dancers\u2019 faces,\nnext their backs, and then their faces again. In the same way, today we die,\ntomorrow we take rebirth, and the next day we die again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our lives are moving so fast that we are not able to\npostpone even a single moment as we go straight from birth to death, without\nrealizing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we think we will wait until tomorrow to practice we are fooling ourselves, since we are just hanging on a cliff. So we must start our practice today, and not even today, but right now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Source: Thondup, Tulku. Enlightened Journey: Buddhist Practice as Daily Life<\/em>. Shambhala. Kindle Edition.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Impermanence
Reflection:
Death has a way of focusing the mind as practically nothing else does. When we contemplate our mortality and the impermanence of life, it is hard not to feel a sense of urgency to make the most of our precious human life. Understanding the principle of impermanence makes us realistic about life\u2019s true characteristics and inspires us to improve without wasting a moment.
(Tulku Thondup) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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