18 /108 Gates of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

29 Quaint gate.jpg
一百八法明門
IPPYAKUHACHI-HOMYOMON
One Hundred and Eight Gates of Dharma-Illumination

[18] Reflection on inconstancy is a gate of Dharma-illumination;
for [with it] we reflect upon the desires of the triple world.

The Buddhist concept of or impermanence is one of the "three characteristics of existence." Along with suffering and no-self it refers to the idea that all compounded phenomena, including our bodies, emotions, and thoughts, are constantly changing and subject to dissolution.

Once you realize the existence of Impermanence, how does that make you feel ?? And, how do you resolve that feeling in your day-to-day practice.


合掌,生開
gassho, Shokai
stlah
仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai
"Open to life in a benevolent way"

[Shokai]

bumping this up

[Ryūdō-Liúdào]

Impermanence used to really get under my skin. I’d find some nice, easygoing spot to live a nice, easygoing life, and then, inevitably, the tides would shift. Tourists, moneymen, noise, change. Cue frustration.

Eventually came the "duh" moment. The tides were never mine to manage (obviously). Things rise, things fall, and no amount of grumbling is going to stop the ocean. Seeing impermanence clearly softened that edge and took the sting out of it. I learned to match my choices to my options, and found life could be much better for all around if I just played it all by ear.

These days, practice looks like adapting rather than resisting. When change shows up, I notice the old habit of judgment and let it pass without feeding it. Who am I to decide what “should” be happening anyway? Life moves on, and I try to float with it—less paddling, more ease.

Gasshō,
流道-Ryūdō-Liúdào
Satlah

[Tairin]

Thank you Shokai

I used to be very resistant to change. This has been perhaps the largest impact of this Path on my life. Recognizing that change is inevitable and being at peace with that.

All things are impermanent. Fighting that just leads to Dukkha.

I often come back to the expression “A man can not step into the same stream twice” as a reminder that even apparently static things are changing.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[dorgan]

The realization of impermanence (無常, mujō) can evoke a complex emotional response that evolves through practice. Craving (taṇhā) arises from not accepting impermanence. The "triple world" (desire realm, form realm, formless realm) represents the totality of conditioned existence subject to suffering and rebirth, where even a desire to be desireless, a desire for enlightenment, is a form of craving that ensnares.

For me, I confronted death when I arranged for my cremation and purchased a niche where a little jar of ashes will reside. I looked at the niche; I looked at the little jar I had purchased in which my ashes will be placed; I saw at once the importance of “now”. I do not become ash. Ash is ash, self is self; when I consider both together, I can let go of self as permanent, an enduring entity, and lose attachment to the ephemeral illusion that I call ‘David’. If I take experience one moment at a time, there is no ‘David’, just the moment in its totality; no experiencing self, no experienced nature. Each moment is complete and undivided; non-duality. Birth doesn't become death; birth is the entire universe expressing itself as birth, death is the entire universe expressing itself as death. This contemplation encourages me to embrace the present and find meaning in temporary experiences, which all are, and not dwell on any wistful feelings that may arise with awareness of their inevitable passing.

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
- From William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

Mono no aware (物の哀れ) is a Japanese term for the poignant awareness of life's impermanence, a gentle sadness or wistfulness at the fleeting nature of beauty and existence, combined with a deep appreciation for those transient moments. It's the bittersweet feeling of recognizing that beautiful things, like cherry blossoms (sakura) or a perfect moment, are temporary, finding profound beauty and grace in their inevitable passing. In accepting impermanence, even wistfulness is Joy (喜, ki ).

Dogen teaches that when we realize impermanence completely, we're not paralyzed by it, we act with "dropping off body and mind" (Shinjin datsuraku 身心脫落), a freedom that comes from no longer defending a fiction of permanence, signifying a release from ego-clinging and fixed self-concepts to achieve liberation, not as a single event but as an ongoing process within zazen (just sitting).

The more deeply one realizes impermanence, the more passionately one can engage with life, precisely because nothing can be saved for later. This moment is it. This moment is everything.

gassho, david
stlah

[FlowingPastPatrick]

Reflecting on impermanence doesn't make me uneasy; it makes me more present. Death has never felt like an abstract idea to me. I've encountered it often enough through losses, through people leaving and returning, and through standing close to dying early on in my life. Because of that, impermanence feels familiar rather than frightening.

In daily practice, I don't try to resolve this by explaining it away or turning it into a belief. Sitting Zazen lets impermanence be felt directly, without needing to dramatize it. That naturally loosens clinging, especially around the desires of the triple world, such as wanting things to stay, to feel secure, or to be under control.

What's left is a quieter way of relating. Knowing that things pass doesn't make them less important; it makes me pay attention. For me, impermanence doesn't lead to distance, but to a more honest intimacy with what is here.

Gasshō,
Patrick
sattoday lah

[Choujou]

(I am not feeling well so I apologize if this makes absolutely no sense…) Impermanence is the state of the relative world, while the absolute is constant… and yet, the absolute is the relative, the relative the absolute, the absolute is also not the relative, the relative is not the absolute, the absolute is also not NOT the relative…. And so on…
Desire is clinging to something in order to stop it from changing… to hang on to a feeling, a moment, an object, a person… impermanence makes me feel sad for losing things that I loved… friends and family that are gone, the good times we had, my kids when they were young… when they’d scream “DADDY!” When I walked through the door…
Through our practice we learn to let go of the clinging and grasping. That doesn’t mean we forget, but we don’t allow those memories to become attachment; something we stay with at the expense of right here, right now. We embrace the change… which is also why practice is in every moment. Every moment is change…. AND every moment is ALL moments, or constant. Our practice to become and flow with both at the same time…

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[Seikan]

Lately, I've been considering how we typically discuss impermanence (anicca) as being counterpart to suffering (dukkha, along with their third sibling, anatta). This is, of course, true. However, to always equate impermanence with suffering implies an exclusively negative connotation. I would argue that impermanence is equally capable of being aligned with joy or happiness when we consider that unpleasant experiences (a stressful work day, a bad case of the flu, etc.) are also impermanent.

Also, when I'm wallowing in a state of dissatisfaction with something in my life, I try (not always successfully) to consider how that state of dissatisfaction itself is also impermanent. It's the "this too shall pass" perspective, right?

By opening ourselves to the inevitability of impermanence, I feel that we can start to move through life with a greater sense of ease for we can more readily let go of the negative, allow the positive to come and go as it will, and discover a subtle sense of joy in the flow itself.

Gassho,
Seikan
stlah

[hibiscus]

I recently joined Treeleaf, and I just stumbled upon these daily Dharma Gate posts, and I'm really excited to tag along, and read all of your wonderful reflections!

Personally, the notion of impermanence is almost the "core" of buddhism to me, and something I reflect upon every day. Like most things related to zen though, I find it hard to articulate into words, so I feel like simply sharing this song, that pops up in my head often as I reflect upon this topic.


Gassho,
Gustav
sat/lah

Gustav; I re-inserted your link, the other video isn't available

[Chikyou]

Impermanence is a concept that has been really important to me. There is a koan about a bird, flying through the sky, leaving no trace as it cuts through the air (please someone remind me of which one this is! I know someone recognizes it.) I often find myself dwelling on some past activity or interaction, that is now gone but my mind is still clinging to it. I endeavor to be like the bird, leaving no trace (as much as is wise and practical!)

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō

[FlowingPastPatrick]

There is a koan about a bird, flying through the sky, leaving no trace as it cuts through the air (please someone remind me of which one this is! I know someone recognizes it.)

Are you thinking of the Pāli Canon’s Dhammapada (vv. 92–93)? "Like the track of birds in the sky, the path of the awakened cannot be traced."
If not, Dōgen later takes this up as a metaphor in the Shōbōgenzō. He talks a lot about birds…

Gasshō,
Patrick
st&lah

[Chikyou]

Are you thinking of the Pāli Canon’s Dhammapada (vv. 92–93)? "Like the track of birds in the sky, the path of the awakened cannot be traced."
If not, Dōgen later takes this up as a metaphor in the Shōbōgenzō. He talks a lot about birds…

Gasshō,
Patrick
st&lah

I think it might have been a poem by Dogen! I like the Dhammapada verse too though.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō

[Tegan]

Not that long ago, impermanence made me feel very uneasy. But knowing how transient life is, it does make me appreciate the small things a bit more - the sunrise, a warm cup of tea, laughing with friends.

Gassho,
Tegan
satlah