Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:11] Speaker B: Hey, everyone, and welcome back to the Breathe and Release podcast.
My name is Jillian Rose and I'm.
[00:00:19] Speaker A: So glad that you're here with me. Today.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: On this session, we're going to contemplate a nicha, or impermanence, which is one of the three marks of existence in Buddhist teaching.
These three marks are the characteristics that the Buddha said define all of conditioned.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: Reality, impermanence, suffering, and non self.
[00:00:46] Speaker B: Now, impermanence might seem like a pretty obvious truth, of course. Things change, and we see it everywhere.
The seasons turn, our bodies age, relationships evolve, and circumstances shift.
But the Buddha was inviting us to look deeper, to really feel into the truth that nothing, absolutely nothing, stays the same, even for a moment.
This teaching comes directly from the Buddha's.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: Own awakening under the Bodhi tree. He saw with perfect clarity that all.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: Phenomena arise due to causes and conditions.
And when those causes and conditions change, the phenomena change as well.
Nothing has a permanent, unchanging essence, and everything is a process, a flow, and a constant becoming.
The Buddha says all conditioned things are impermanent.
[00:01:49] Speaker A: When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.
Now, this is the key.
It's not impermanence itself that causes suffering.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: It'S our relationship to it.
We suffer when we try to freeze moments in time, when we grasp at pleasant experiences and we try to make them last.
And when we resist painful experiences and try to make them go away immediately.
We suffer when we act as if things are permanent, when we know that they're not.
But when we truly understand and accept impermanence, something shifts. We can be more present with what's here now, because we're not spending all our energy trying to control what's uncontrollable.
We can appreciate the precious, fleeting nature of each moment, and we can let things come and go with much more ease.
Bhima Chodron teaches that impermanence is actually.
[00:02:55] Speaker A: A cause for joy, not despair. It means that nothing is fixed, including.
[00:03:01] Speaker B: Our suffering and including our limiting patterns, including our sense of who we are.
[00:03:07] Speaker A: Everything can change, including us.
So today we're going to sit with.
[00:03:13] Speaker B: Impermanence, first by stabilizing our minds through Shamatha meditation, and then by looking directly.
[00:03:20] Speaker A: At the changing nature of all experience.
So, with all that said, let's begin.
Now, slowly start to find a posture that supports both alertness and ease.
You might sit cross legged in a chair with feet flat on the floor.
You can also lie down if sitting doesn't feel right today.
And allow your spine to be upright, but not rigid or strict.
Sort of like a Tree that's both strong and flexible.
Shoulders are relaxed, hands resting comfortably.
Close your eyes or perhaps lower your gaze.
Before we begin this practice, we just acknowledge why we're here.
We're here to tend to our hearts and minds.
To create a little sanctuary of peace in a very busy world.
This is a radical act of self care.
If there's any other intention you'd like to place for your meditation today, feel free to do so now.
Sa, begin to notice your breath.
No need to change it, just feel it.
The body already knows how to breathe.
It's been doing it your whole life without your help.
Just simply notice the breath.
Notice the inhale, the brief pause at the top, the exhale and the pause at the bottom.
The rhythm that's been with you always.
Sa, feel the air coming in and out from your nostrils, noticing the temperature of the air.
Notice the rise and fall of your abdomen with each inhale and each exhale.
And then remain with this attention on your breath, either focusing on the rise and fall of your belly.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: Or the.
[00:08:25] Speaker A: Air coming in and out from the nostrils.
Just choose one of these places to focus your attention on.
Your mind will wander, thoughts will come about planning, remembering, judging, fantasizing.
This is not a problem, nor is it a failure.
This is just what minds do.
The practice isn't about having a perfectly still mind.
It's about noticing when the mind has wandered and bringing it back again and again, either to the flow of air at the nostrils or the rise and fall of the abdomen.
Keep coming back with kindness.
You can think of yourself as a shepherd gently guiding wandering sheep back into the fold.
No frustration here, no force, just very gentle guidance.
As you rest with your breath, begin to expand your awareness slightly.
Notice the whole body breathing.
Chest, the belly, the shoulders, even the space behind your eyes.
All participating in this act of breathing.
The body is breathing you.
You're being breathed by life.
Its if you notice any areas of tension or discomfort, bring a quality of kindness and compassion to those places.
You might imagine breathing into those areas or simply acknowledging them by saying to yourself, I see you.
It's okay.
This is the foundation of our practice, this basic friendliness towards our own experience.
Begin now to deepen your breath slightly.
Feel yourself becoming even more present more here.
We're going to transition from this settling practice into a contemplation on impermanence.
Maintaining your posture and the quality of gentle awareness.
Keep your eyes closed or softly gazing downwards.
Today we're going to explore one of Buddha's most essential teachings on impermanence.
The Truth that all conditioned things are constantly changing, arising and passing.
This might sound abstract or philosophical, but impermanence is actually happening right here, right now, in your direct experience.
So let's discover it together.
Bring your attention to your breath once again.
Notice how each breath is different from the last one.
Some are deeper, some are shallow, some are smooth, some are a bit ragged.
Each breath rises, exists for a moment, and then passes away completely.
That particular breath will never come again.
The breath that you're taking right now, it's here.
And now it's gone, replaced by the next one.
Within a single breath, there is constant change.
The sensation at the beginning of the inhale is different from the middle, is different from the end.
Nothing holds still.
Everything is in motion.
Sa now expand your awareness to sounds.
Listen to whatever sounds are present, near or far, pleasant or unpleasant.
Notice how sounds arise out of silence.
They exist for a moment and then dissolve back into silence.
A car passes.
The sound swells, peaks and then fades.
A bird calls. The sound appears and disappears.
Even continuous sounds, like a hum or drone, are actually changing moment to moment.
If you listen closely enough, nothing is solid.
Everything is a process, a flow.
Notice the sensations in your body.
Maybe there's a tingling, warmth, coolness, pressure, tension.
Whatever you find, just watch it closely.
Is it exactly the same from moment to moment?
Or is it shifting, pulsing, changing in intensity or quality?
Even pain, when you look at it closely, isn't one solid thing.
It's a cascade of sensations, constantly changing.
One moment sharp, one moment dull.
One moment here, one moment there.
The body itself is impermanent.
The body you had as a child is now gone.
The body you had last year is different from this one.
Cells are dying and then being born every second.
Your hair grows, your nails grow, your skin renews itself.
Scientists tell us that most of your body is replaced every 7 to 10.
So where is the permanent you?
What is solid and unchanging?
Notice your thoughts and your emotions.
See how they rise, seemingly out of nowhere. Sometimes they appear in consciousness, hang around for a bit, and then they dissolve.
One thought gives way to another, then another.
A moment ago, you might have felt peaceful.
Now, maybe there's a restlessness or doubt, or maybe curiosity.
Emotions come and go like weather moving across the sky.
The Buddha said, all conditioned things are impermanent.
When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.
Now, why does understanding impermanence help us suffer less?
Because so much of our suffering comes from wanting things to stay the way they are. When they're pleasant or wanting things to change. Immediately when they're unpleasant.
We are constantly fighting against the river of change.
Sa.
Think about something difficult that you're experiencing right now.
Maybe a challenging emotion, a difficult situation, or a conflict, or a loss.
As hard as it is, this too is impermanent.
This too will change.
It feels permanent when you're in it, but it's not.
It can't be.
Can you feel the relief in that?
Even this painful moment is passing.
And here's the other side.
Think about something wonderful in your life right now.
Someone you love, a success you've had, or a moment of joy.
It's so beautiful.
And it's also impermanent.
This too will change.
This is really where the practice gets tender.
We want to freeze the good moments, hold on to them forever, but we can't.
They're already changing even as we try to grasp them.
Sa.
But here's what Bhima Chowdhran teaches.
When we truly accept impermanence, we can be more fully present with what's here now.
When we're not trying to make the sunset last forever, we can actually see it more clearly.
When we're not desperately clinging to a moment of love, we can actually feel it more deeply.
Impermanence isn't the enemy.
Our resistance to impermanence is what causes suff.
Sa, you.
Let's sit for a moment with this reflection.
What if you could meet each moment as it is, knowing that it will change, and allow yourself to be changed by it?
What if you could open your hands and let things calm and go, arise and then pass away?
This doesn't mean not caring.
It means caring fully while also releasing your grip.
It means loving deeply while also accepting that all things are in flux.
It's said that impermanence is the doorway to freedom.
Not freedom from change, but freedom from the suffering that comes from fighting change.
Take a few deep breaths here.
Notice what's alive in your body and your heart right now.
Notice how even this meditation is impermanent.
It's almost over, and soon you'll move back into your day, into the next moment, into the next experience.
So as you prepare to transition, you might set this intention.
May I remember that change is the nature of all things.
May I meet each moment with openness, knowing that it won't last forever.
May I hold life lightly, with wonder and appreciation, letting things be as they are.
Place your hand on your heart, if that feels right.
And just feel your heartbeat, another reminder of impermanence and the constant rhythm of life moving through you.
Whenever you're ready.
Slowly, slowly start to come back into your body, back into your space, softly blinking the eyes open, and come back.
Thank you so much for joining me in this guided meditation on impermanence.
Until next time.
