The Five Remembrances

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. This is our fourth season, Feel. In this season, we’ll attempt to showcase methods of prayer and meditation that facilitate feeling, embodiment, and direct perception of reality, beneath the web of our conditioned thought patterns.

This one is called The Five Rememberances.

Transcript

Hello, And welcome to Methods, An exploration in guided prayer and meditation. This is our fourth season, Feel. In this season, We'll attempt to showcase methods of prayer and meditation to facilitate feeling, Embodiment, And direct perception of reality beneath the web of our conditioned thought patterns. This one is called the Five Remembrances. The Five Buddhist Remembrances are great reminders for people from any orientation. This version comes from Thich Nhat Hanh. It's amazing how much time and energy we give trying to escape our problems, Or what we think are our problems, Even running away from the necessities of existence. Our careers, Our obsession with smartphones, With constantly having noise on from the radio, Or yes, Even podcasts like this one. These can be an attempt to lull ourselves to sleep rather than wake ourselves up. But the realities of life in themselves are not good or bad. They just are. There is not an alternative to them. If we could actually deny them, We would be denying the very nature of our existence, Because at some point everything is connected. Part of our problems lie in the rejection of our bodies and the conditions that come with them. The method goes like this. Find your sitting posture, Or however you feel comfortable. Try to keep your feet flat on the floor, And take a few deep breaths. As best you can, Just relax. Feel the rise of your breath in your chest or your belly, And feel it fall with the exhale. With your next inhale, Think the first remembrance. I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old. And as you exhale, Embrace this reality. You might feel the pulling of resistance or the prickling of anxiety. As you think of the remembrance again with your inhale, I am of the nature to grow old. Maybe growing old is a sign of weakness to you, A stigma, A loss of certain faculties that you once had, Or certain achievements or positions, Certain authority, Certain abilities, Certain appearances. But this is the nature of your very existence. As best you can, As you exhale, Release this tension and embrace the reality of the first remembrance. With your next inhale, Think the second remembrance. I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health. This remembrance is bound to have resistance as well, Because we all like to be healthy. We all have our various health ailments, And we all know someone who has health problems, And we see the suffering it can cause. But we also know this too is our nature. As we grow older, Or because of various things that happen in our lives, We are of the nature to have ill health. For the exhale and the next breath, Embrace this reality. With your next inhale, Think the third remembrance. I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death. If you didn't have any resistance to the first two remembrances, I'm sure you'll have resistance to this one. No one wants to die. But in reality, Death is in the mail for us all. It's already on its way, And we don't know when. We don't know where, And we don't know how. But as we know birth is the way that we all enter this world, We know that death is the way that we all leave it. Accepting this can be very freeing. So release any tightness in the body that you might have to this remembrance. I'm of the nature to die. Recognize this is true. With your next inhale, Embrace the fourth remembrance. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them. Often we try to resist change at all costs, Sometimes even by destroying the things that we wish to keep. But change, Or as the Buddhist scriptures say, Impermanence, Is the only constant. Everything is in a state of flux and flow. And the fourth remembrance invites us to participate in that flow, To not try and stop the river or push it or pull it, But to enter into it ourselves. As you exhale, Accept this reality. With your next inhale, Acknowledge the final Buddhist remembrance. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand. Everything we do carries karma. There's a cause and effect to this life that means everything is tied together. We reap what we sow. As you exhale, Accept this truth.