We are transitioning now into a new season. This new season will also change and cycle. The seasons remind us of impermanence and the transience of things. 

Often, we think of impermanence as something disadvantageous. The samsaric enjoyments that we have dissipated, they decline, depart from us, or we separate from them, showing us that we cannot hold onto anything at all. Such a way of viewing impermanence really gives rise to renunciation, the wish to be free of cyclic existence. 

Impermanence can also indicate our potential. It is because things change that we can become Buddhas. It is because our afflictions are impermanent, as they are produced by causes and those causes can be eliminated. We have what is called the evolutionary Buddha nature that gives us the ability to progress along the various stages of the path to complete awakening. 

How we relate to impermanence depends on our minds. If we are trained in the Dharma, then even the impermanence of separating from samsaric pleasures can be a very positive teaching for us, as well as the impermanence of the defilements and the opportunity to progress along the path to full awakening. This can produce much joy in the mind. If we have a mind that is clinging to samsara and desiring worldly pleasure, impermanence is interpreted by our minds in a very disastrous and miserable way. As with everything, it all depends on our attitude, and we are the ones who have the ability to determine what our attitude is and how we relate to things such as impermanence. It is actually the impermanence of our mind that gives us the ability to go from an unhelpful view of impermanence to a very inspiring, helpful view of it. 

“365 Gems of Wisdom” e-book is out now!