Christian Life 12 - On Impermanence

 Now that we have created a few good meditation habits, let us begin to take some control of our minds so that we might reach that state of peace and enlightenment for which we started all this in the first place.  Remember that we exist as three entities - our bodies, our minds and our spirits.  Until now, the mind has controlled the body and suppressed the spirit.  We're hoping to change our priorities a bit and give our spirits a chance to come out and play.  Remember, too, that we're not talking about self-hypnosis, mysticism, or any other "weirdness."  Poets, artists and musicians do this all the time.  By the nature of their occupations they are constantly in touch with their spirits.  We're just trying to remind ourselves of what they've never forgotten.

To discipline our unruly minds, it's very helpful to spend time pondering three immutable facts.  I list them here in no particular order other than the level of difficulty my own mind has had in accepting them.  In Buddhist teaching, they are Impermanence, Suffering and Emptiness.  We shall examine them individually.  I have found thus far that they are best pondered as such.  Each of the three can and likely will be met with resistance by the mind.  As one begins to consider these facts, one will likely find oneself going through the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) over each one.  I strongly suggest maintaining one's meditations on a single fact until one has reached the point of acceptance for that one before moving on.  As I type this, I am currently struggling with the fact of Emptiness.  I'll post updates on my progress by and by.

IMPERMANENCE

I found Impermanence the easiest of the three to accept.  Simply put, impermanence refers to the fact that nothing lasts forever.  The very Western idea that "life goes on" simply isn't true.  All lifeforms die.  Left unattended, buildings eventually crumble.  Iron rusts.  Stone erodes.  Planets, stars, galaxies, even the universe itself is incrementally hurtling toward its own demise.

I found this to be the easiest of the immutable facts to accept because on a rational level I already knew it; always had known it.  But things start to change when we begin to really ponder and internalize it.  Within the spacetime that binds us all together, we continuously move toward not only our own deaths, but the ultimate death of our entire reality.  The longer one considers this fact, along with its myriad implications, the more difficult it becomes to accept.  For example, we have all, at some point in our lives, had disappointing love affairs.  We somehow always believe that we will find a love that is eternal, that never changes, that will feel fresh forever, and are always saddened when it proves otherwise.  But, as impermanent as the universe is, nothing is more fleeting than our feelings.  And yet, no matter how often this scenario is repeated, we are constantly surprised, hurt and disappointed by it.

Some of the best quotes I have found on the subject of impermanence come from Richard Bach.  In his novel Illusions (Dell, 1977), Bach introduces the idea of The Messiah's Handbook that serves as a guide to the main characters for living, loving and understanding reality.  In 2004, he assembled the quotes from the book along with others and published them under the title Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul (Rainbow Ridge Books, 2004).  Here are a few quotes from that publication that address the idea of Impermanence:

"When you look back on your days, they've passed in a flash.  Time doesn't last, and nobody here's got long to live."

"Mortalhood is a fine state to visit, but you'd better not call it home."

"Take your dying with some seriousness.  To be delighted on the way to your death is not generally understood by less-advanced lifeforms, and they'll call you crazy."

As we sit and meditate, as we count our breaths, as we touch-and-go with our monkey minds, as we start learning to listen intently, let us consider the fact of impermanence.  Let our minds go where they wish as we ponder death.  We will quickly learn to discern which thoughts are godly and which are mortal.  We allow ourselves to pass through the five stages of grief.  We don't question or fight ourselves through the process, we merely accept our thoughts for what they are and move on.

In a few weeks, we will be ready to consider the second immutable fact: Suffering.

Pax