Things Keep Changing

Venerable Thubten Chonyi gives a short talk and leads a guided meditation offering more ways to reflect on impermanence in our daily lives, focusing on the processes that are constantly taking place in the human body.

Transcript

Well,

Here we are at towards the end of a whole month on impermanence.

And I don't know,

It would be really interesting to understand or hear how people's perceptions on this topic have changed.

Because sometimes it's a little confronting to actually start looking at the nature of impermanence as a basic reality of our existence.

You know?

And my case is that once we actually start to make friends with this concept,

It benefits us a whole lot.

A lot.

So I want to go back and review just a little bit and touch on some things and then lead us through a meditation that will help us get friendly and familiar.

We need to do this again,

Again,

Again,

Again,

And again.

Why?

Because one of the most basic things that,

And it's very fundamental to the Buddhist teachings really,

One of the things that he recognized that causes us so much pain is that we apprehend and grasp at things that are in the very nature of change to be permanent.

We think ourselves are permanent.

You know,

We know intellectually we're not.

But even as we age,

Aging becomes a really difficult process for us.

Maybe physically,

Maybe we're experiencing pain,

But the idea of it kind of shocks us.

When people die,

Which is the most example of gross impermanence,

We are shocked and terrified sometimes.

And as we approach our own death,

We have such terror about it,

And our culture absolutely wants to deny this,

Wants to put it away.

So we're grasping at something,

Expecting ourselves to be permanent,

Expecting the people around us to be permanent,

Expecting our relationships never to change,

Expecting the buildings we live in never to change,

Expecting our jobs,

Our careers,

Our everything not to change.

We just live with this sort of,

Honestly,

Fantasy.

Because the reality is,

If we just analyze a little bit,

Every moment,

Change,

Change,

Change,

Change,

Change,

Change,

Change.

So my case for this is that the more familiar we get with this idea,

The more we begin to really accept that this is how things are,

Rather than fighting it,

We then kind of move into alignment with this idea.

And think,

I mean,

Wouldn't it be lovely to think that when someone dies,

Even though you care about them very much,

You're not destroyed by grief.

You can send them off with love,

Send them off with a wish for their journey to be good,

Knowing your own life will be okay.

Of course we'll miss them,

But we don't have to be destroyed,

Because we know that this is coming.

The same thing with our own death.

And this,

Of course,

Is the most powerful reason to really reflect on the quality of impermanence.

Because when we are aware that things are changing moment by moment by moment,

And we have no idea when we'll die,

But we know we will,

Then our life starts to take on a kind of meaning because we have an acute sense that I want to do what's meaningful,

I want to do what's important,

I want to do what's of benefit,

And I don't have time to waste.

Not in an urgent,

Kind of crazy,

Desperate way,

I've got to get everything done before I die.

Not that sort of mind,

But a mind that is simply,

Calmly aware of things change.

I change,

My body will change,

My body is changing moment by moment,

My life will end,

It is the nature of things.

So given that,

What's important today?

Really?

Is it really continuing the feud with my neighbor over how loud their dog barks?

Is that really important given that they're going to die,

I'm going to die,

Our lives are meaningful?

How important is that?

Is it so important that I run to every grocery store in town to see who still has mangoes at the end of mango season?

Is that how I want to spend my time today?

Or is there something more meaningful?

And we have to decide what's meaningful for us.

In terms of Buddhist practice,

Of course,

We're looking to cultivate our wisdom,

Our love,

Compassion to benefit others,

And so forth.

But we decide where is meaning,

But it takes,

Given the idea that life is,

Or that death is certain,

The time of death is unknown,

That things are changing moment by moment,

And really at the time of death nothing goes with us but the mind,

The heart that we've cultivated during this lifetime.

Given that,

Then we determine what's important for me.

We can spend some time really analyzing how do I want to use this life?

And then,

When it's over,

I'm prepared,

I'm ready,

I've thought about it.

This doesn't have to freak me out either.

And we practice with the other little deaths or the changes throughout our life.

When we suddenly get laid off,

Boom,

Well,

That's a practice for things change.

When our children leave home,

Planned or not planned,

That's a practice for things change.

When we fall and twist our ankle,

That's a practice for things change.

So rather than having these situations become a freak out that make our lives go like this,

It becomes a fuel for supporting our understanding of the nature of reality,

And an opportunity to really rehearse for the big change that's definitely going to come.

And contrary to what we might initially think,

Which is like,

Oh,

I think about death,

This is really depressing to think about death all the time,

It actually makes our life and our mind more even and smooth.

And it really accentuates the opportunity that we have now,

Helps us appreciate what we have and to use it well.

So I want to continue.

A couple of weeks ago,

I introduced some meditations or ways of reflecting from the great Indian master Asanga from many centuries ago,

Who talked about some ways to cultivate a familiarity with this quality of change.

And so to do some meditation on that,

Again,

As I said before,

Familiarity,

Well,

Makes us friends,

Right?

We get familiar with it,

We get comfortable with it,

We get familiar with it,

It gets easier.

And so cultivating a familiarity with this quality of impermanence and change,

And a familiarity with the basic truth that we are part of,

Of change in this body is leading us to our death.

From the moment of our conception,

From the very moment of our conception,

That's where we're headed.

There's no other way out of here.

Nobody doesn't die.

And so we can use that as fuel for our practice.

So for our meditation tonight,

Get situated in your meditation posture.

If you're on a chair,

Make your back straight,

Your feet flat on the floor.

In our tradition,

Your hands are left on the bottom,

Right on top with the thumbs touching,

So that you see that it's in your lap.

Other traditions do different ways,

So do it the way that you've been taught.

If you're on a cushion,

Of course,

You'll have your legs crossed and you're mainly,

The most important thing is that you're feeling stable,

Comfortable,

Supported,

And that your spine is straight.

And just for a moment,

Be aware of the sensations as your body makes contact with the chair,

The cushion,

Or the floor.

And then slowly bring your attention into the bottom of your feet.

Lower your eyes so there's a little light coming in,

But that you're not focused on anything external,

So that they're soft and things are a little fuzzy or maybe even just focusing on a piece of carpet on the floor.

And then from your feet,

Slowly move your attention up your body,

Up your legs,

Being aware of sensations.

Then into your hips,

Up your spine,

Noticing sensations along the way.

If you find any tightness,

Soften into that.

And then move your attention up the front of your body,

Muscles and skin,

But also aware of the organs.

Noticing any tightness,

Tension,

Movement.

It's tight,

Breathe into it,

Let it go.

And move your attention into your shoulders,

Neck,

Jaw,

Adjusting as you need to,

To find a very relaxed and firm pose.

Then moving your attention into the muscles of your face,

Right up to the crown of your head.

Lips closed,

But teeth not touching.

And then move your attention to your breathing.

No need to change the rhythm,

Or not trying to achieve any kind of breath,

Just be aware that you are breathing,

And rejoice that you are.

Also stay just a moment with the breath to allow the mind to continue to settle,

And to really focus on the sensations of breathing,

To focus on the sensations of the body.

Secondly,

Try not to GP out of focus and feel into the mind.

Boredom.

Again.

And let's set a motivation that as we do our meditation together tonight,

That the understanding that we come to helps to plant the seeds for us to have a greater happiness in this life.

Helps us to overcome the obstacles to achieving that happiness.

And creates the causes for future happiness that is free of clinging to things as permanent,

Free of clinging to others as permanent.

And in that freedom,

Deepening our wisdom,

Growing our compassion for the very fact of our tendency to that clinging.

And helps to grow our capacity to benefit others until we completely cultivate all of our potential to become of the most benefit.

So we begin this exploration of the change of inner and outer phenomena to get familiar with this quality of impermanence.

By just focusing on our breathing and noticing what changes in the body with every breath.

So there's that gross level where you can see the body shape change as the lungs fill and so forth.

And then whatever you may know from sixth grade science or from your medical degree,

Whatever range of knowledge you have about what's happening with the oxygen as it enters the body and enriches the bloodstream.

What happens if the waste going out?

Just reflect on that with every breath for a moment.

And see that every breath is about change.

If we look deeper into the change that's happening in our body right this minute,

Then think of that bloodstream,

How the blood is circulating throughout the body,

Pumping from the heart,

And returning moment by moment by moment.

Be aware that the last meal you had,

Or maybe the last few,

Are all in the process of digesting at the moment.

Moving through the digestive system,

Nourishing the body,

And then also getting sorted out into waste.

Moment by moment,

Changing.

All that.

.

.

And pause to think how remarkable is the impermanence of this body.

In fact,

What would be the case if it were not?

Nothing would work in this body.

And so these are changes that we can watch over,

You know,

Happen in a very short period of time.

Move your attention then to the body over a longer period of time.

How this body has changed from the time you were born to right now.

Maybe you can remember early memories of being a toddler or small child.

If not,

You've seen photos.

So start as far back as you can remember and just be aware of the continuity of change of the body up until now.

Changes in height,

Weight,

Health,

Skin quality,

Hair color.

How this body has changed from the time you were born to right now.

As you think about the change,

Think about scars,

Maybe broken limbs that change the shape.

Many different things affect the change of the body.

And when you arrive at this moment,

Just think how remarkable is the impermanence of this body,

This conditioned phenomena.

In other words,

This body is made up of causes and conditions that change.

So we take this further.

As far as your imagination will go,

Another 10 years,

20 years,

30 years,

40 years,

Imagining the change,

The natural change that the body undergoes over the course of time.

Imagine yourself very old.

And go ahead and imagine having a peaceful,

Happy mind as a very old person.

Imagine on your deathbed,

Letting go and thinking how remarkable is the impermanence of this changing body,

This changing phenomena.

And then simply make a determination to appreciate,

Get familiar with the impermanent nature of our bodies,

Therefore our lives,

And to make our life meaningful then,

To really determine what matters in the light of this remarkable impermanence that is the nature of our existence.

And in the meantime,

To comment that when we spend time getting familiar with this quality of impermanence,

Then it's not that we don't get to enjoy things.

In fact,

We actually can enjoy them more because we're not hanging on to them desperately afraid we're going to lose them.

How much of our clinging blocks our experience of what we most are trying to get.

So it's a useful way to begin to let go a little bit and really enjoy what we have.

And when it naturally changes or naturally leaves us,

Then we can rejoice that we had it and let it go without a lot of suffering.

Okay,

So let's just dedicate the merit of spending this time to reflect on the impermanence of our bodies,

The impermanence around us,

The nature of phenomena in this way.

And by doing so,

May our wisdom grow,

Our compassion grow,

And may that be of benefit to all beings.

Reviews

Beautiful and just what I needed to remember today. Thank you.

🤩 Awesome!! Thank you!

Very interesting facts that we don’t often consider. Thank you for sharing this practice. Namaste 🙏🏼

A very helpful view of life and the end of life. Thank you for your insight.

A useful way to engage with change as a truth of our existence .

This brought such ease to my evening. I appreciate investigating impermanence through very simple, personally-known experiences.

Beautiful. Thank you

I have never before realized the wonder of impermanence. It puts everything into position. Thank you so much.

Excellent. Thought provoking and very well presented. Thank you 🙏

Thank you for the beautiful talk and meditation and words
Impermanence is breathing
Impermanence is freedom
Impermanence is happiness

Wonderful way and very skillful practice of looking at impermanence.

One of the most grounding meditation and discussions I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to.

Thank you 🙏 This was good , as there is change all over , everywhere, I need to accept .sending gratitude 🙏

Incredibly powerful and timely. Namaste 🙏

The right meditation at the right moment. What a blessing. Thank you 😇🦋🙏