Breathe, You Are Alive by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh [Hanh, Thich Nhat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781935209263
Publisher: Parallax Press

SUBJECT SEVEN: LOOKING DEEPLY IN ORDER TO SHED LIGHT ON THE TRUE NATURE OF ALL DHARMAS

13.“Breathing in, I observe the impermanent nature of all dharmas. Breathing out, I observe the impermanent nature of all dharmas.”

14.“Breathing in, I observe the disappearance of desire. Breathing out, I observe the disappearance of desire.”

15.“Breathing in, I observe cessation. Breathing out, I observe cessation.”

16.“Breathing in, I observe letting go. Breathing out, I observe letting go.”

The thirteenth breathing exercise proposed by the Buddha aims at looking deeply to shed light on the impermanent nature of all dharmas. All phenomena, whether physiological, psychological, or physical, without exception, are impermanent. The meditation to look deeply at the impermanent nature of all phenomena is one of the basic practices. If we hear someone talking about impermanence, we may think we understand. But understanding impermanence is not a matter of words or concepts, but a matter of practice. Only through our daily practice of stopping and looking deeply can we experience the truth of impermanence.

Impermanent does not only mean, “Here today, gone tomorrow.” The meditation on impermanence is a deep, penetrating, and wonderful path of meditation. There is no phenomenon whatsoever with a separate, lasting individuality. All things are in endless transformation, and all things are without an independent self. To be impermanent is to be without self (anatman). This is a fundamental recognition in Buddhism regarding the nature of all that exists. “Breathing in, I am looking deeply at some object. Breathing out, I observe the impermanent nature of that object.” The object I am observing might be a flower, a leaf, or a living being. Looking deeply this way, we can see that change is taking place in every instant. The Sanskrit word for instant is kshana, the shortest unit of time. One second contains many kshana. The first kind of impermanence is called kshana-anitya, “impermanence in every instant.” When something reaches the end of a cycle of arising, duration, and cessation, there is a marked change. This second kind of impermanence is called “cyclic impermanence.” When we heat water, the water is getting hotter all the time. That is kshana-anitya. Then, suddenly, we see steam. The appearance of steam is a cyclic impermanence of water.

We have to look deeply at cyclic change in order to accept it as a necessary part of life and not be surprised or suffer so greatly when it occurs. We look deeply at the impermanence of our own body, the impermanence of the things around us, the impermanent nature of the people we love, and the impermanent nature of those who cause us to suffer. If we do not look deeply at impermanence, we may think of it as a negative aspect of life, because it takes away from us the things we love. But looking deeply, we see that impermanence is neither negative nor positive. It is just impermanence. Without impermanence, life would not be possible. Without impermanence, how could we hope to transform our suffering and the suffering of our

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