Practicing With The Five Remembrances

The Five Remembrances are five statements that summarize the heart of Buddhist teaching and practice. They are a powerful reminder of impermanence and an invitation to refocus attention on your actions. These statements are meant to be memorized and recited to yourself as a daily practice.

Transcript

Practicing with the Five Remembrances.

The Five Remembrances are five statements that do a pretty good job of summarizing Buddhist teaching and practice.

And they can be memorized and recited to yourself every day as a powerful reminder of impermanence,

An invitation to stop struggling with things that you can't control,

And also to refocus your attention and your effort on your actions.

So here are the five remembrances.

Number one,

I'm of the nature to grow old.

There is no way to escape growing old.

Number two,

I'm of the nature to have ill health.

There is no way to escape having ill health.

Number three,

I'm of the nature to die.

There's no way to escape death.

Number four,

All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change.

There's no way to escape from being separated from them.

Number five,

My actions are my only true belongings.

I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.

My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

So as you can see,

The Five Remembrances get right to the point.

And you might try reciting them to yourself once a day.

And to see what impact that has on where you're focusing your attention and awareness,

And as a way to refocus your efforts on your actions,

Rather than struggling with things that you can't change.