Impermanence and Mortality

Because of ignorance and misperception, we become attached to permanence and solidity. We habitually deny the fact of our mortality, acting as if we will live forever. This misperception of reality only brings more confusion, stress, dissatisfaction, and suffering. However, when we face the inevitability of our death, then we start to wonder what to do about it and how to deal with the uncertainty of life.

When thinking about impermanence, the mind goes straight to negative experiences of impermanence, and you immediately want to make your life better in the time you have. Many of you say that you need to reduce fear of death so you can enjoy life more. You say, “I understand impermanence and death. They are some of the elements of life I’m not so happy about. But I don’t want to think about them, really. They’re scary, so I’m going to accept them without investigating them. That way I won’t be scared and can enjoy this life more before it ends.” But for authentic Dharma that is not the point, really. Until the Dharma seeds have taken root, fear of death is useful. You need this fear as motivation to learn about death and the bardos because you’re shaping your future life right now. When you appreciate this, you will take karma and practice more seriously.

You say that you feel the meaninglessness of this life and so you practice Dharma and compassion to bring meaning to this life. That is still not good enough. It’s 50% OK, but not 100%. You are still trying to make this life perfect…this life, this life, this life. Still, it’s OK. Understanding Dharma this way will make this life juicier, so it’s OK. But this is what is called “healthy human being Dharma.” So far in the West, 90% of Dharma is devoted to this life, to making this life happier. Becoming a healthy human being is a very good place to start, but it could become a trap. If it were your main purpose for practice, you would be called a “California Dharma Practitioner” because there is so much interest in self-improvement in California. Such a practitioner uses Dharma to make life more pleasant and emotionally comfortable. But there is no reduction of attachment, no reduction of anger, no reduction of jealousy, no reduction of pride, no reduction of ignorance. No reduction of ego, really. In fact, you are simply making ego feel more “spiritual.” Whenever ego suffers from fear of death and your practice turns to seeing impermanence, ego settles down. This actually makes ego more comfortable, more established. The symptoms of the five poisons subside, but Dharma didn’t go to the root. It didn’t purify the five poisons and uproot the dominance of ego. But in this contemplation, we’re talking about going beyond ego, not making it stronger. Dharma is about transcending samsara, not making it a nicer place to be. That is the tough part. Very, very tough.

The actual wording in Tibetan for the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind is “Turning the Mind from Samsara.” With practice you’re reversing the mind’s interest in perfecting this life by turning it away from samsara. Sometimes in the West, practicing with this contemplation on impermanence and death leads only to improving the quality of this life, but not to motivating you to attain liberation.

So what we are talking about is change. Changing the mind, turning it away from its strong attachment to this life. Live life by thinking this way: “If I need some medicine and it helps, I will take it. If yoga or tai ji helps, I will do it. If Dzogchen or Mahamudra or Theravada helps, I will practice it. If music or dancing helps, I will make music, dance and sing. If something helps my life, that is good, but I’m not doing any of this to make this life 100% happy.”

The contemplation of impermanence and mortality (death) is an essential aspect of Dharma practice. Because of ignorance and misperception, we become attached to permanence and solidity. We habitually deny the fact of our mortality, acting as if we will live forever. This misperception of reality only brings more confusion, stress, dissatisfaction, and suffering. However, when we face the inevitability of our death, then we start to wonder what to do about it and how to deal with the uncertainty of life. In this way, contemplating impermanence and death brings great insight and benefit. We purify our ignorance and delusion and we develop a correct understanding of reality. In addition, our attachment to pleasure, possessions, trivial activities, and other material pursuits subsides. We realize that the temporary pleasures of this life can never provide us with lasting happiness or satisfaction.

Everything in this material world, including our own body, is impermanent. Everything changes constantly. Even our state of mind and our feelings are constantly changing and are therefore impermanent. Assuming the permanence of anything except our essential Buddha nature, awakened awareness, will bring dissatisfaction and suffering. We must contemplate the fact that death is inevitable. At some time death will come to each of us. Death is the inevitable result of birth, the natural display of impermanence. With each passing moment we are closer to our death. We will have to leave our body eventually, and death will come regardless of whether we have made time to practice Dharma. Death is certain. The time of our death is uncertain—we do not know when death will occur. Each day we encounter numerous dangers that could cause death at any moment. At the time of death, our wealth, possessions, and even our most cherished friends will not be able to help us. Money cannot buy us more time nor will it buy us happiness or peace. Our friends can offer their love and support, yet they cannot hold us back from death. Our body, no longer able to support us, will be of no assistance at the time of death. Only the wisdom we have developed by practicing the Dharma will remain with us continually. Nothing but the Dharma, our inner spiritual wealth, can be of benefit to us at the time of death. By understanding impermanence and death we realize the preciousness of life and we can choose to embrace what is truly of value. We will wisely discern how we spend our valuable time and energy and will make a determined effort to practice the Dharma, cultivate virtue, and serve the welfare of all living beings.

A Talk by Tsoknyi Rinpoche