Impermanence
The three worlds are impermanent like the clouds of autumn.
The birth and death of beings are like a drama you are watching.
The life of beings passes like a flash of lightning in the sky.
It goes quickly, like water tumbling down a steep mountain.
Meditation:
First contemplate the progression from birth to old age and death. The people who have come and gone, changing possessions, changing scenery, changing phenomena. See the universe in constant motion, the subatomic particles in our own bodies, moving so fast, so subtle. Contemplate death – the countless deaths we have already experienced, and the ones to come, the uncertainty of the time and place of death, the sudden separation from friends and family. Eventually we realize that what we think of as the cohesion and continuity of life is a transparent illusion. Reflect, then rest the mind. When thoughts arise, we turn our minds to compassion, remembering how normally we all try to deny impermanence. We rely on things as solid and lasting, but they disintegrate and disappear. Remember the suffering at the time of death – the fear, the separation from loved ones and possessions, and the experiences in the bardo after death.
Remember how beings suffer because they deny impermanence. Reflect, then rest the mind.
When thoughts arise pray– may all beings gain such a deep realization of impermanence that it purifies their tendency to think of things as real. May their realization of impermanence reduce their attachment and aversion to phenomena. May I maintain recognition of the mind’s true nature while going through the transition of death and may my realization become so strong that I can rescue others from the difficulties of the bardo. May I always live and practice with recognition of impermanence, and realize the true nature of all phenomena, positive or negative. Rest.