Facing Life's Truths: A Guide To The Five Remembrances

So today I want to talk about the five remembrances.

So these are five things that we should keep in the forefront of our minds.

So if people,

A lot of people say to me that,

You know,

What is Buddhism about?

Well really these five things is what Buddhism is all about.

This is what really caused Buddha to start searching,

Start meditating,

Start trying to find a better way to live.

So these five remembrances are things that we should read,

We should memorize,

And we should recite on a daily basis.

Because the more that we do that,

Then the more that they become part of who we are,

Part of how we live our life.

So they're not just five things that we look at and think,

Oh yeah,

That's okay.

There are five things that we really have to try to memorize and make part of our life.

So the first one is,

I am of the nature to grow old.

There's no way to escape growing old.

So of course all of us want to stay young,

We want to stay fit,

We want to stay healthy.

But actually as human beings,

We are of the nature to grow old.

It doesn't matter,

You know,

If you try to get a facelift or you use special creams or whatever you want to do to try to make yourself look younger.

The truth of it is,

Is that we are growing old.

So instead of trying to fight that old age,

We should start to embrace it and understand that is my nature.

My nature,

My true nature,

Is one of growing old.

The more we accept that,

Then the better we are that we live our lives.

It means that we're not going to constantly,

You know,

Try to get attached to youth or try to keep reliving our youth.

We accept that,

Yeah,

I'm growing old.

So the first three of these five remembrances are things that we need to hold on to so we don't get attached to ourselves,

So we don't get attached to this body.

Because we are going to grow old and there is nothing we can do about that.

So face up to it.

Every morning when you wake up,

Just simply recite these five things and say to yourself,

I am of the nature to grow old and I accept that.

And the more that we do that,

The less we're going to get attached to this body.

Remember,

This body is only a vehicle that takes us through life.

It will end,

So we are growing old.

The second thing to remember is that I'm of the nature to have ill health and there is no way to escape ill health.

Again,

Of course,

We don't want to become sick and unwell,

But we're of that nature.

That doesn't matter.

You know,

You see people who run marathons and then they die of heart attack young.

We are going to get ill.

We need to be looking after our bodies.

Of course we do.

And when we look after them,

Then,

You know,

We're going to live a good life.

But it doesn't matter how much you look after your bodies,

You are still going to get ill.

So instead of fighting that when we are ill,

Instead of trying to,

You know,

Push it away and things like that,

We have to accept that,

Yeah,

I am going to become unwell.

It's part of my nature.

I'm growing old and I'm going to become unwell.

These things are not negative things.

Don't think of them as,

Oh no,

I'm old and I'm ill.

I mean,

There's just natural things that if we accept them,

Then we don't fight them.

And if you're not fighting them,

Then you're truly starting to live life.

And especially the third one.

So the third one is I'm of the nature to die and there is no way that I can escape death.

So again,

As humans,

We try to not think about this and we get really upset when people around us die.

But we're of that nature.

There is no escape in that nature.

We are going to die.

We will grow old.

We will become unwell.

We will die.

If we can try to think of these things in a more positive way and not see them as negatives in our life,

But see them as part of our actual nature.

They are things that are going to happen to us.

So I'm not going to get attached to this body.

I'm not going to get completely disturbed,

Mentally,

Emotionally disturbed when I become unwell.

And I'm not going to spend my life in fear of death because that death is going to come.

And we don't know when,

But we know it will.

We don't know how long we're going to live,

But you know,

As we live longer,

We become older.

We don't know how much sickness we're going to have in our life,

But it's inevitable.

There are going to be times when we're going to become sick.

So these things are going to help us to start to live our life.

If we're in fear of growing old,

If we're in fear of becoming ill,

If we're in fear of becoming,

Of dying,

Then that means that we're not living our life.

We are just going from moment to moment in fear.

When you accept these three things,

It means that you start to live your life.

You start to live your life without fear.

Now,

If you are a type of person that becomes attached to other people,

Like parents or friends or partners or children,

Even your pets,

Then this is a good practice to use as well.

Instead of saying,

I am of the nature of growing old,

I am of the nature of becoming unwell,

Or I'm of the nature of dying.

You can actually look at these people you're attached to and mentally say to yourself that you are of the nature of growing old,

You are of the nature of becoming unwell,

And you are of the nature of dying.

Because again,

It starts to break down that attachment,

That attachment that we have to things,

To people,

Possessions.

If we understand that everything has these three same natures,

It means that we're not going to get attached,

We're not going to have fear,

And then we start to truly live our lives.

So these three things are great things to use on yourself,

So you don't get attached to yourself,

Or this sense of self.

And they're also good things to look and project onto other people,

That they are also of exactly the same nature.

So,

You know,

When we say that,

You know,

You are of the nature of dying,

It doesn't,

Shouldn't make us depressed.

It should make us feel that,

Okay,

That's true,

They are going to get old,

They are going to get unwell,

They are going to die.

So then now,

While we're together,

Let's enjoy ourselves.

Let's have the best possible life without fear,

Knowing that sooner or later,

These three are going to come along.

But I accept that.

So the first three are really important for you to understand,

To stop attachment in your life.

So then the fourth one,

All that is dear to me,

And everyone I love,

Are of the nature of change.

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

So again,

We are talking about attachment.

There is no way that we can actually not have change in our life.

The things that we have in our life will change,

The people that we have in our life will change.

So change doesn't mean that everything will die,

But things move on.

Maybe the people we have in our life move on.

We lose them that way,

Or maybe we move on.

But the very nature of life,

And the very nature of everyone in the world,

Is change.

And again,

If we can accept that,

If we can understand that everything in life is just going through a phase of changing,

Making ourselves change,

Making the world change,

Everything is moving,

Everything is flowing.

If we go with that flow,

If we understand that this is the world,

The world is its whole nature,

And everything in it is of change,

And I go with that change,

I accept that change.

There are going to be times when things are uncomfortable for us,

And things that are going to upset us,

And things that,

You know,

Change,

And we didn't want them to change.

But the more that you hold on tightly to things,

And hoping that don't change,

Don't change,

They will change.

And if you're holding on too tightly to things,

It means that when they do change,

Then you're going to suffer,

Because you're holding on to something that is flowing.

It's like trying to hold on to a fast flowing river.

It's impossible.

But we do it on a daily basis.

We don't like to think that things are going to change.

Of course,

There's some things we love to change,

The things that we don't like,

We're wishing them to change,

But the things that we like,

We try to hold on to,

And we don't want them to change.

But they will change.

So we are going to get old.

We are going to become unwell.

We are going to die.

The people and possessions around us are going to change.

This is not,

You know,

Something that should be looked upon as negative.

All these things are just natural things.

Whether you like them or not,

Whether,

You know,

You follow this path or not,

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter if you think,

No,

I'm not going to accept this.

You will grow old,

You will become unwell and die,

And everything around you will change.

The point of just keep reciting these things to yourself,

Keep them in the forefront of your mind,

Is that you're not going to suffer from them.

They are there.

They are going to happen.

So accept that.

And once you accept that,

Then you start to live your life fully,

Without fear of them.

So the fifth one is my actions are my only true belongings.

So I can't escape the consequences of my actions.

My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

So actions have consequences.

This is what is being said here.

It doesn't matter.

Again,

It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree.

Your actions are always going to have consequences.

So this is about cause,

Conditions and effects,

Or about karma,

That what you do will have a consequence.

But it says that your actions are the ground that you stand upon,

Which means that your actions,

You have complete control over your actions.

Consequences,

You have no control over your consequences.

Those consequences will come,

But they can be different.

So just because you do this,

It doesn't mean that this will happen.

Something will definitely happen.

There will definitely be a consequence of your actions.

But we don't know that.

That's not within our control.

But what is within our control are the actual actions that we're going to do.

So then we have to be mindful and aware of our actions,

And what those consequences may be.

So it means we are constantly looking,

Constantly being,

Trying to keep our awareness and our mind on,

What am I doing?

So the actions are of our bodies,

Our speech and our mind.

And the key one here is your mind.

Because first we think,

Then we act.

So that means that if you're thinking negative things,

Then almost certainly your actions are going to be negative.

If you're thinking negatively about somebody,

Then maybe your speech is going to be negative,

Or the way that you act towards them with your body is going to be negative.

So everything we do,

Everything we say,

Everything we think has a consequence.

Now maybe,

You know,

We don't know what those consequences are.

Maybe the consequences are in the future.

Or maybe they're,

You know,

Pretty certain that they'll happen straight away.

But everything will have a consequence.

If we keep that in our mind,

If we realize that,

The next time we go to open our mouth to say something harsh or something cruel,

Look,

There will be consequences.

I'm not going to say this.

If we are going to take something that has not been given to us,

Or if we're going to harm somebody with our body in a physical way,

Again,

If we have this in the forefront of our minds,

We're not going to do it.

We're going to stop ourselves.

So every time we think negative thoughts,

We're going to answer,

Oh dear,

These negative thoughts are not going to lead us down a good path.

I'll change my mindset.

I'll change the way I'm thinking.

So it is so important that we understand,

Not just understand,

But also implement into our lives that every action that we do,

There is going to be a consequence.

So if you look at physics,

Physics will tell you as well,

That every action,

For every action,

There's a reaction.

But every action that we do,

There is a consequence for that action.

So these five things,

Simple things,

Really sum up the whole of Buddha's teachings.

And they also help us to live a life without fear,

A life where we can live it to the full,

Without harming somebody,

Helping if we can,

But without disturbing our minds and the minds of the people around us.

So they are simple,

Simple things.

So when I was in the monastery,

I used to have them printed out on my door.

So every time that I left my room,

I would see them and it would remind me that,

Yeah,

I am of the nature of growing old.

I am of the nature of becoming unwell.

I am of the nature of dying.

I remember those five things before I step out,

Before I leave my room.

I also understand that everything around me,

Everything that I hold dear to me,

Everything that means a lot to me,

Is going to change.

It does that nature of change.

And all of my actions are going to have consequences.

So these five natures are a human nature.

It's the way that we are made.

We are made to grow old,

To become ill,

To die.

We are of the nature to change and we're of the nature to understand that everything we do is going to have a consequence to us.

The more that you can understand them,

Write these down,

Try to memorize them,

Try to recite them.

You don't have to recite them fully.

You can just say to yourself,

When you wake up in the morning,

The first thoughts in your head is that I am of the nature of becoming old,

Unwell,

Dying.

I am of the nature of having change in my life and all of my actions have consequences.

It's just like a one-minute thing to recite when you get up in the morning or when you go to bed at night or during the day when you find your mind all over the place,

You're getting yourself attached,

You're getting upset about being unwell or whatever it is.

Then just try to keep these five things in your mind.

They are five just excellent things.

You know,

If this is your only practice in life,

Just reciting these in the morning and in the evening and trying to implement them and keep them in the forefront of your mind,

If that is your only practice through life,

Then it is such a wonderful practice to do.

So try to write these down,

Memorize them and recite them because then once you start reciting them,

You'll implement them into your life.

You'll start being able to fully live your life without that fear and it means that we start to appreciate our life.

But yeah,

I know I will come old and sick and die,

So now I'm not.

So appreciate that and then live your life fully instead of getting yourself all mixed up with things that are of no relevance or getting negative about things or you know,

Becoming attached to things.

Think of these five remembrances,

They're going to help you through the whole of your life and they're so simple to remember.