The changes of the seasons are also impermanent. We see the buds and flowers in spring, the green grass and green forests in summer, and in autumn, when the flowers are gone, the grass is withered, and the earth begins to change color. When the cold wind and snow come in winter, the green mountains and forests are all dried up. In the spring of the following year, the plant has regrown its young leaves. This is how nature cycles throughout the year, just like the cycle of birth, old age, sickness and death.

Most people are afraid to talk about death, and in areas where religion flourishes, death is considered a part of life, and everyone has to face such a process in their lives.

It is useless to be afraid of death without preparing for it. Therefore, the key to facing death is to be able to understand life and death, and to be able to practice.

Nowadays, the material is very advanced, and many difficulties can be solved, but until now, there is still no scientific cure for death. Many religions in the world talk about death and believe in reincarnation, but each religion has a different way of dealing with death. The Buddha realized 2,500 years ago that life is a sea of suffering, and then pursued liberation and fulfillment of life. There is no such mellow talk of death as in Buddhism.

In history, there is no immortal person in the world, no matter how smart, capable, and powerful he is, he cannot not die. And the nirvana that the Mahasiddha shows is only physical death, and for them there is no real thing to die. The monks face death with joy, and for them, death is an opportunity for liberation. His Holiness Milarepa said, "Death is a small Buddhahood. "Death is coming, just like normal life, there is no particular tension and fear.

When the five great (earth, water, fire, wind, and air) are broken down at the end of life, and the devotion is still the same, Amitabha Buddha will come to greet us. However, if you are afraid at this time, the Buddha will also become a demon when he comes. If you don't have a true understanding of the actual state of your dying, you will be confused when you die. How can we face death with a normal mind like a monk? In ordinary times, we have to experience impermanence, because death is impermanence. The Buddha said, "Only by understanding suffering can we truly want to be free from it." "Only those who know the real pain can truly eliminate it. The causes of suffering are karma and afflictions, and the way to liberate suffering is to "rely on the path" to attain the state of silence and eternity.

The way for us to generate renunciation, to change our minds, to move towards spiritual practice is to contemplate the impermanence of life. Having a deep awareness of impermanence really makes us aware and cherish what we have now, and at the same time lets go of attachment to samsaric things and generates renunciation.

From a spatial point of view, the earth we live in, the sun, the moon, the planets that we are familiar with, and many planets in outer space, all started from a speck of dust. These external worlds, operating in the great cycle of becoming, dwelling, destroying and emptiness, can exist for several eons, and in the end they will experience impermanence of earth, water, fire, and wind, and will naturally disappear and be destroyed. In the universe, there is no real and eternal entity, and there is no matter that is eternal and unchanging, and that we can rely on forever.

In the process of every sentient being from birth to death, life disappears in the process of change bit by bit, and no sentient being is constant. From childhood to now, no matter whether we know or don't know people, I don't know how many have passed away! When impermanence comes, they are carried away by death one by one, but we don't feel it. These people just quietly went away and disappeared from our memory.

What we can see with the naked eye is the death of humanity and the way of life, in fact, all beings in the six realms have the moment of dying at the end of their lives, and there is never only life and immortality. No matter how brave, beautiful, rich, or powerful a being is, once it has no breath, there is no life, and there are no exceptions.

Not only does the flesh of ordinary people not have an eternal existence, but even the flesh of a saint is not eternal. You see, the greatest Shakyamuni Buddha, Guru Padmasambhava, Guru Loangchenpa, Guru Jigme Lingpa, His Holiness Milarepa, Lama Tsongkhapa, and so on, as well as the masters of Han Zen Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, and many great practitioners in India, all of them have attained nirvana in the end, and none of them have survived until now. As for some eminent monks, they cannot continue to preach the scriptures and teachings, but only for future generations to admire. The physical lives of these great achievers ultimately show the nature of impermanence. We are mortal bodies with deep habits, and we are not sure when they will be destroyed, so we should grasp the present and practice diligently.

This is true not only of the great cultivators of the world, but also of the emperors and kings of the world. From ancient times to the present, great monarchs such as Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and Genghis Khan will also pass away when impermanence comes. In the history of ancient and modern times, what king is immortal? Such powerful and prestigious people cannot rely on their power to prolong their lives, and in the end they are all destroyed in impermanence, let alone us ordinary people? From the perspective of national history, the solemn palaces built by each dynasty, the territories conquered, and the people ruled by each dynasty have become a thing of the past with the change of dynasties, and the great empire has left only monuments and historical relics for us to study, appreciate, and rely on.

The circumstances of an individual's life are just as impermanent. People spend their lives in joys and sorrows, bitterness and uncertainty. In this life, some people are rich in the first half of their lives, and they are depressed in the second half of their lives; Some people are poor in the first half of their lives, but they are very happy in the second half of their lives. With the change of karma and merit, a person's life has ups and downs. If you think about it, the wealth, houses, dependents, and power we have now, although we think we are richer, are not comparable to those of the ancient monarchs. At the same time, we should also meditate, because these are unstable and not eternal.

In the ever-changing life, our parents, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, relatives, and friends around us will all change with impermanence, gathering and scattering and separating and merging with us. If we don't cherish these causes, the happy time we have together will be very short.

There are those who were our enemies but have become our friends. Originally, a person who did a lot of evil, but later he became a great achiever with a good thought and diligent practice, such as the Venerable Milarepa.

There are different factors that cause death to all beings. Some people die because of old age, some people die because of disease, some people die because they suffer unexpected disasters, some people are executed because they commit crimes, some people die by suicide without sparing their lives, and the causes of death are unpredictable.

Human beings are also unpredictable about the length of their lives. Some die in their mother's womb before they are born, while others die as soon as they are born. The place of death is also unpredictable, some crash in the air, some are shipwrecked, some are in a car accident on the road, and some are dead in other places. All kinds of unpredictable causes of death are always waiting for us!

The cause of death is so impermanent, and when you die, you have to face it alone. Whether it is a great and famous person or an obscure peddler and pawn, they are all equal in the face of death!

Since the cause of death will come at any time, no matter how much fame and wealth we enjoy now, and how much warmth and happiness we enjoy, if we know that the impermanence of death is so rapid and uncontrollable, then we must always remind ourselves that everything we have is only temporary, and we are not worthy of arrogance for wealth and power, and we do not need to indulge in the happiness and joy of the world.

The impermanence we are talking about here includes the impermanence of the external universe planets, the impermanence of the physical bodies of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the impermanence of saints, the causes and conditions of the human world, and the impermanence of all things on the earth. There are many theories about impermanence that can be said here, but many of these theories are not as profound as the experience brought by a major earthquake: many houses have collapsed, roads and bridges have broken, hills have collapsed, and the usually beautiful scene has suddenly become a hell on earth, and many people have died in an instant and disappeared around us! Impermanence doesn't need to be explained, it doesn't need too many theories, you can deeply understand it from daily life, isn't it?

Shakyamuni Buddha once said that if you practice impermanence all the time, keep the concept of impermanence in your heart, and think about impermanence, it is equivalent to having made offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Ten Directions, and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will be happy because you practice impermanence. Those who practice impermanence all the time will receive the blessings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Buddha said that of all the Dharma practices, the practice of impermanence is the most special.

If you have already entered the Buddha Gate and consider yourself a practitioner, you should always remember impermanence, visualize that all the actions of living, sitting, and lying down are the last actions of this life, and what you say in your mouth is also the last thing you can say in this life, and everything you think in your heart is also the last thing you can think about in this life. In the past, Kadampa practitioners would warn against impermanence every night before going to bed: I don't know if I will wake up tomorrow. And when you wake up in the morning, you will be glad that you are still alive and have life to practice!

People who have a thorough understanding of impermanence and death will naturally let go of their greed and attachment to everything in the world in this life, and will develop an unrelenting belief in the Fa-rectification, and will continue to practice diligently. All attained beings are also able to attain full attainment because they have a clear understanding and practice of impermanence.

The Diamond Sutra says: "All things that have a way of doing things are like dreams and bubbles, like dew and electricity, and should be viewed as such." The essence of all the laws in the world is that they arise and perish due to causes, so impermanence is a reality. But because of our attachment to the self and our obscured heart and discernment, we are reluctant to admit the existence of impermanence, thinking that everything can be within the control of the self. But impermanence is always very equal, it will not agree with us at a time or place that everyone thinks is appropriate to happen again, so when we face impermanence, we often have a lot of unpreparedness and suffering. In fact, impermanence has been very polite to us, and we have repeatedly reminded us to establish a view of impermanence at all times, but we have always been too opinionated, still speculating about impermanence, and unwilling to face reality.