“Impermanent are all component things,
They arise and cease, that is their nature:
They come into being and pass away,
Release from them is bliss supreme.”
-Mahaparinibbana Sutta (Sutta 16 in the Digha Nikaya)
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It is in the teachings of the Buddha that we are in a constant state of change, and that death is a part of life’s journey. In Buddhism, this is understood as the natural process of birth, old age and death, otherwise known as impermanence. It is defined that, “all temporal things, whether material or mental, are compounded objects in a continuous change of condition, subject to decline and destruction.” Buddhist teachings encourage the awareness of this idea not only because we could die at any moment, but also that more significantly it “helps us to maintain awareness of the preciousness of life and encourages us to sort out our priorities.”
According to early tradition, Prince Siddhārtha, also considered the Buddha left his home to seek enlightenment after encountering the four sights, or four encounters described in the account of Gautama Buddha’s life. This led to his realization of impermanence and dissatisfaction of the human condition. Once living a luxurious and lavish life during his younger years, Prince Siddhārtha ventured out of his palace for the first time at the age of 29, according to the Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. On this journey, “he first encountered an old man, who revealed to Prince Siddhārtha the consequences of aging.” His second encounter was that of a sick person suffering from disease. The prince again became troubled by the fact that the mind cannot remain healthy and live suffer free. And, the third sight was of a dead body.
Following the three encounters, Prince Siddhārtha came upon the fourth sight: an ascetic, who renounced all of life’s pleasures, devoting himself to finding the root of human suffering. “The first three epitomize the sufferings to which ordinary beings are subjects and the last indicates that one can transcend them through meditation and religious practice,” reads Chapter 10 in the Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism.
From its inception, Buddhism has stressed the importance of death, since awareness of death is what prompted Siddhārtha to perceive “the ultimate futility of worldly concerns and pleasures.”
In Jim Hagan’s words, “[Human beings] have this wonderful opportunity, but it doesn’t last forever.” For many people, death is a negative experience. Why? The most common answer is that death is unknown. Yet, the Buddha accepted the fact that the world is impermanent and that all sentient beings are in constant change.
We cannot remain in our state of being forever. And, it was shortly after the beginning of this lecture that I, too came to this realization. Everything that surrounds us, whether material or sentient is impermanent. And so, this is what made me realize how critical this concept is to being able to fully comprehend the precious human life as a Buddhist.
Buddhism takes the normal negative experience of death, and changes it into a positive experience. “Death meditation is the third most important teaching of Buddhism,” according to Hagan, “because you can take it on many different levels.” It is understood that impermanence provides an insight into the nature of reality.
Death is often unspoken and even taboo to some. While it is no easy undertaking, the Buddha would suggest that we must accept it. We can aim to cherish and wish to hold on until our very last second, but we cannot because at some point due to the natural process of life, it is evident that death will come.
The importance of mindfulness of death plays an important role in the roots of Buddhism. “Teachings on death and impermanence are found in every facet of Tibetan Buddhist teaching, and any student who tries to overlook them is soon reminded that dharma practice requires a poignant awareness of death,” said John Powers in Chapter 10 of Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism.
As early as the fourth century B.C., the teachings of the Buddha have permeated northeastern India and much of Asia, emphasizing the idea that “although one’s destiny is always influenced by past karma, every person has the ability to exercise free will and influence the course of both life and death.” Since life presents us all with the opportunity to shape our own destinies, in every moment there are more and more opportunities for spiritual advancement.
According to many Buddhist texts and research, death presents human beings with an abundance of significant possibilities for progress towards reaching nirvana, or the ultimate cessation of suffering. In Buddhist meditation text, for example, it is often outlined that human beings have sufficient evidence of death all around us, since all things material and sentient are changing from moment to moment. “A person wishing to ponder death need not go to a cemetery or a funeral home: death is occurring everywhere and at all times,” writes Powers. “Even the cells of our bodies are constantly being born and dying.” As mentioned above, this is referred to as the natural process of life. We are all relentlessly moving toward physical death through every action we make. “There is nothing to hold onto, nothing that remains unchanged from moment to moment, and so anyone who tries to find happiness among transient created things is doomed to disappointment,” said Powers. Since impermanence encompasses all created thing, all that we see, touch, taste, hear, love, despise or even desire is in the process of expiring.
“This transiency is the reason why we are prone to unhappiness and suffering, since everything we desire eventually breaks down, and we often have to put up with things that we find unpleasant.” The concept of impermanence is also essential for understanding one’s own liberation from any form of suffering because of the evolving nature of life. Each moment we take in presents us with the opportunity to “train the mind in the direction of enlightenment, and since there is no fixed element to personality, every person,” according to Chapter 10 of the Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism.
While it is simple to fall into patterns of behavior, and at the same time it is easy to become caught up our very own negative habits, every moment is a rebirth, form my understanding of the Buddhist point of view. There is never not a moment to initiate change, positive or otherwise. “A wise person,” according to Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, a teacher of the Nyingma School of Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism, “understands the imminence of death and plans ahead.”
In my life, I am unsure of how to perceive death. Growing up in a religious family, my perception of death has evolved as I have matured and progressed through my education. My maternal grandparents were devout Catholics, and my paternal grandparents were not religious at all, yet I found myself a practicing Catholic since the day I was baptized. As far back as I can remember, I never had a strong grasp on the concept of death. What happens after I die? When will I die? How will I know when I die? Will it hurt? These were just a few of the questions that ran through my mind whenever I had come across death in some form or another. Even to this day, I am not really sure I understand it. But, I do accept it. While it has now been two months since my Wisdom Tour to India and Bhutan, I have re-shifted my understanding and perspective on the subject.
Sogyal Rinpoche, a Tibetan Dzogchen lama of the Nyingma tradition once said, “Reflections on death and impermanence are the very cornerstone of all spiritual paths.” It is not too often that Western cultures express acceptance on this chapter or even dwell on it, but rather avoid it all costs.
From the Buddhist’s perspective, “the root cause of all our suffering is the fact that we do not take enough time through prayer and meditation to come to know ourselves-our true nature, our enlightened, ‘Buddha’ mind.” Beyond our everyday mind is our true mind, “which radiates the qualities of tremendous light or brilliance, or wisdom and great warmth, or love and compassion.” In his teaching, Sogyal Rinpoche uses an analogy of the sky to “contrast this state of enlightenment to our everyday mind,” according to the Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on Death and Impermanence.
One of the key principles of Buddhism is this idea, that ceaseless change from life’s unending chain of causes and effects has “become one of our stereotyped and oversimplified truisms, reduced, both in its formal and substantial significance, to a mere rudiment of conventional word-meaning.”
Now, in order to fully understand the Buddhist’s concept of impermanence and death, I must first address the three marks of existence, or the three characteristics of existence: impermanence, (Sanskrit: anicca), suffering (Sanskrit: dukkha), and non-self (Sanskrit: anattā).
The concept of anicca is understood as “impermanence is an undeniable and inescapable fact of human existence from which nothing that belongs to this earth is ever free” is at the root of Buddhist practice and meditation. This is among the five processes in which no human being has control and which none can ever change. These five processes are: “the process of growing old, of not falling sick, of dying, of decay of things that are perishable and of the passing away of that which is liable to pass.” While some may think there may be no end or no destination in life, but there is. Buddhism suggests that escape from these is possible, and it is attained through Nirvana, or the “ultimate cessation of suffering,” said Jim Hagan in a lecture on Impermanence and Death.
The first and the third marks of existence can apply to non-sentient being existence, too, and the second is, of course, only an experience of the sentient. From my understanding, the inanimate or the non-living object can be, and very often is a cause of suffering. Lets take the advancement in technology, for example. Today, in a society where technological advancement is at the forefront of our development, we are subject to conglomerates, where much of our pleasure revolves around our material, mobile devices.
As the reading states, “A falling stone may cause injury or loss of property may cause mental pain. In that sense, the three are common to all that is conditioned, even to what is below or beyond the normal range of human perception,” writes Nyanaponika Thera in the preface of a document called, “The Three Basic Facts of Existence.”
Existence can only be understood if these three basic facts or marks are comprehended correctly. Now, this not only logically, but in confrontation with one’s own experiences in life. The concept of insight-wisdom, according to Buddhists is the “ultimate liberating factor in Buddhism, consists just of this experience of the three characteristics applied to one’s own bodily and mental processes, and deepened and matured in meditation.”
It is important to following in the light of the three characteristics. Self-deception, or the ignorance of these three can be the cause of suffering. “Ignoring or distorting these three basic facts can only lead to frustration, disappointment, and despair,” writes Nyanaponika Thera. Three Basic Facts of Existence is a vital for understanding the cause of samsara, clearing one’s mind during meditation and to eventually reach nirvana.
Buddhism is not the only religion that believes in this concept. Hinduism also believes in the impermanent nature of life, but according to Hinduism, “impermanence can be overcome by locating and uniting with the center of permanence that exists within oneself.” This center is the Soul or what is called Atman, which ultimately is defined as the immortal self or “the fundamental truth that exists in every being.” However, according to the Buddhist’s view, “apparent and verifiable about our existence was the continuous change it undergoes,” as opposed to the understanding of a permanent self or soul. Early Buddhism declares: “In this world there is nothing that is fixed and permanent. Every thing is subject to change and alteration.”
It is this single and simple word which is the very core of the Buddha's teaching, being also the basis for the other two characteristics of existence, Suffering and No-self. “In his teaching of dynamic reality, the Buddha gave us the master key to open any door we wish. The modern world is using the same master key, but only for material achievements, and is opening door after door with amazing success.”
Impermanence means that reality is never static, but dynamic throughout. Modern scientists are realizing this concept to be the basic nature of the world without any exception. “Change or impermanence is the essential characteristic of all phenomenal existence.” We cannot say of anything, animate or inanimate, organic or inorganic, this is lasting"; for even while we are saying this, it would be undergoing change. All is fleeting; the beauty of flowers, the bird's melody, the bee's hum, and a sunset's glory.”
“The idea of impermanence can keep you in a very healthy state of mind,” said Hagan, further explaining that having an understanding or insight into this concept helps mitigates one’s mental suffering. It is my understanding that if you become conscious of your own suffering, you can become more present in the moment of life.
Realizing that death and change is inevitable for a person who is caught up in all of life’s pleasures, you then able to renounce the world and find a devotion to finding a solution to this “most basic of existential dilemmas.” After many years of diligent and difficult practice the Buddha himself became enlightened, and through this he transcended death. We can focus on his life as the model example for understanding renunciation and the role of suffering to discover the causes and effects of the human condition. “His life provides his followers with a model to emulate,” writes John Powers, “and even today Buddhist teachers strongly advise their students to meditate on death and impermanence, since they are powerful counteragents to short-sighted concern with the present life and one's own transitory happiness.”
Mahayana Buddhism highlights instructions concerning death. Take Tibetan literature for example. “It is full of admonitions to be aware of the inevitability of death, the preciousness of the opportunities that a human birth presents, and the great value of mindfulness of death.” The chapters goes on to read, “A person who correctly grasps the inevitability, of death becomes more focused on religious practice, since he or she realizes that death is inevitable, the time of death is uncertain, and so every moment counts.”