This morning I decided to do a guided meditation session from the Insight Timer app. I recently started reading the book “Open Awareness Open Mind” by Karma Yeshe Rabgye, and I knew he conducts a lot of live meditation sessions on his Facebook page.
So, I took a chance and searched his name in the Insight Timer app and turned on this 9-minute long meditation about impermanence. In this particular meditation, he mentions 5 principles of impermanence that help the practitioner learn detachment in life.
Karma Yeshe Rabgye is a Buddhist monk and a meditation trainer. He teaches this principle of impermanence from Buddhism, focusing on the fact that human existence is impermanent.
According to the google search-
Impermanence is the state or fact of lasting for only a limited period of time.
The core principle of Buddhism mentions, “Attachment is the root cause of all evil.”
Even Shakespeare wrote about this,
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
Here are 5 timeless principles of impermanence that will help you practice detachment in life —
You Are Sure to Grow Old
We can not stop aging, no matter how much we try to. Our bodies will grow old. All the muscles we build in the gym will fade up.
Humans have a definitive life span. And we will not stay the same all the time. Our cells grow, our tissues grow, and ultimately our bodies will grow as well.
Fighting unnecessarily with the natural phenomenon will only cause suffering to us. Embracing that we can’t avoid growing old will help you see the truth and raise your conscious awareness.
This life-truth is a reminder for us to enjoy every moment we are living in. A life lived in the present moment is often a regret-free life.
You Are Sure to Get Sick
This, however, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take care of ourselves. Over-attaching ourselves with our bodies will bring unhappiness and pain to us.
Maybe you will stay away from sickness and illness for a very long time. Staying healthy forever doesn’t sound like being human.
A lot of times, our physical sickness will appear to convey our body’s message to us. According to the book “You can heal your life,” all the physical illnesses are a mere representation of your psychological issues. E.g. getting a cold means you’re confused in making some decisions in your life.
Jamie Lannister (Game of Thrones) said,
“It’s a strange thing, the first time you cut a man. You realize we’re nothing but sacks of meat and blood, and some bone to keep it all standing.”
This life-truth is a reminder for us to work on ourselves, and not attach ourselves to the uncontrollable obstacles we would face in our journey.
You Are Sure to Die
Death is inevitable. We all are here for a really short time. This universe is billions of years old. We have been here only for a few thousand years, and maybe a few centuries more.
Embracing this hard truth will help you let go of all the meaningless drama you are currently involved in.
Marcus Aurelius, in his book Meditations, has written — “Remember, you will die. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”
Likewise, I admire this quote from Mark Manson,
“You will die someday; create something that won’t.”
Meditate on your mortality, and let this be a constant reminder for the temporary nature of your existence.
This life-truth is a reminder for us to enjoy all the present moments, let go of the guilt of the past, and stop worrying about the future.
You Need to Part Away From What’s Beloved to You
We usually attach ourselves with possessions, people, and even our bodies. And all this attachment brings immense suffering in our lives.
Learn this from stoic philosopher Epictetus –
“When giving your child or wife a kiss, repeat to yourself, ‘I am kissing a mortal.’”
We try finding happiness in worldly possessions or other human beings. And none of them translate to true freedom or helps you avoid suffering and pain.
Practice stillness. Pause for a moment, and think about everything and everyone you have in life right now.
What or who is guaranteed to be here forever?
This might sound like a negative and depressing life-truth. On the contrary, this is a reminder for us to enjoy the life we are given, and not to long for everything we might never get.
You Are the Owner and Heir of Your Actions
We will reap the fruit of our actions, for better or worse. In the modern world, this is known as karma.
The general principles of karma are –
- positive thoughts, words, and actions create a positive impact in this world, ultimately leading to happiness
- Negative thoughts, words, and actions create negativity and bring unhappiness to this world.
A school of Buddhism, Nichiren Buddhism, focuses mainly on chanting a karma mantra as a form of meditation.
This mantra is — Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō
The literal translation of this mantra is — I bow down to the mystic law of cause and effect (karma).
Being conscious of our thoughts, words, and actions will help us detach from worldly desires and focus on spreading positive and empowering ideas in the world.
Even if you have been living a life of being toxic for others, we all have the power to turn around and improve our karma score any time we want.
Summary
Karma Yeshe Rabgye mentions 5 principles of impermanence that help the practitioner learn detachment in life.
Here are those 5 timeless principles of impermanence-
- You are sure to grow old. Our cells grow, our tissues grow, and ultimately our bodies will grow as well. It’s counterproductive trying to avoid aging.
- You are sure to get sick. Maybe you will stay away from sickness and illness for a very long time. Staying healthy forever doesn’t sound like being human.
- You are sure to die. Embracing this hard truth will help you let go of all the meaningless drama you are currently involved in.
- You need to part away from what’s beloved to you. We try finding happiness in worldly possessions or other human beings. And none of them translate to true freedom or helps you avoid suffering and pain.
- You are the owner and heir of your actions. We will reap the fruit of our actions, for better or worse.
Amazingly explained that too in a 10 min read.
thank you, Shikha 🙂 I am glad you liked it!