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This too shall pass

This article is about one of the key conceptsThe younger brother was curious as to why the
of  Buddhism,father had preservedthe silver ring, which
had very little value. He took out the
Impermanence.ringand examined it. One the ring was written
the words "This too willpass". The younger
Vipassana meditation as taught by Mr. S Nbrother said "Oh this was the motto of my
Goenka stresseson the experience offather
impermanence within our own bodies toattain
Nirvana the state beyond suffering.This too will pass. He replaced the ring on
According  tohis  finger.
Sayagyi U Ba Khin, Mr. Goenka's Guru TheTime passed. Both brothers went through the
awareness of Aniccais the actual meditationalups  and  downs  of  life.
experience of impermanence withinour own
bodies. . This is a purification process,The elder brother used to get highly
which leadsthe meditator to experience thedelighted when spring came andhe was
nirvanic  peace  within  himself.prosperous. He lost his balance and developed
greed andattachment. When the good phase went
Impermanence is central to Buddhism, and inaway and winter approached hebecame highly
fact can be made thecentral point of anyone'sanxious. He needed to medication and sleeping
personal philosophy as he or she goesthroughpillsto be able to sleep. When that did not
life. If we take the time to think - thehelp he completely lost hisbalance. He needed
world that weknow is impermanent. In fact wevisits to the psychiatrist and electric
ourselves are impermanent. We arenot the sameshocktreatments. This was the brother with
persons that we were 20 years back. All thethe  diamond  ring.
cells in ourbody, our appearance, our
personality, our feelings and emotions,The younger brother when spring came, enjoyed
ourproblems all have changed. Thich Naht Hanhit but remembered hisfather's motto This too
- the Zen Buddhist master -encourages us towill change. He did not get attached tohis
think of ourselves as waves in the ocean.circumstances but enjoyed them while they
Thechief characteristic of a waves is itslasted. When springpassed he said to himself
transitory nature - it lastsbut a moment andIt was inevitably going to pass and nowit has
so do we. We will all die one day and then itdone so. So what? Similarly when winter
willbe  as  if  we  had  never  existed.approached andcircumstances became bad he did
not  become  agitated  but  remembered
The importance of impermanence - anicca - and
how it can beintegrated within our lives is- This too will pass. Thus he was able to
illustrated  by  the  following  story:  -preserve his sense ofbalance through all the
ups and downs of life and lived his life
A rich old man died leaving two sons. Theyhappily.
decided to separatedividing all the
properties  between  themselves fifty fifty.The  Buddha  himself  said  once:  -
After all the matters related to propertyWhen faced with all the ups and downs of
were settled the twobrothers came across alife,
small packet carefully hidden by thefather.
The packet contained two rings one was anStill  the  mind  remains  unshaken,
expensivediamond ring and the other was an
ordinary silver ring costingonly a fewNot lamenting, not generating defilements,
rupees.always  feeling  secure,
Seeing the diamond ring the elder brotherThis  is  the  greatest  happiness.
developed greed anddesired the ring for
himself. He explained to the youngerbrotherAll of us would do well to remember this
This packet is obviously a family heirloomlesson and apply it so as tolead a happy
and notpart of the joint family property. Ourlife.
father evidently desiredthe diamond ring to
be passed on from generation to generationandFor more such meaningful articles straight to
stay within the family. Being the elderyour email box sign up for the free
brother I will takethe diamond ring. You hadnewsletter  at
better  take  the  silver  one.
The techniques and concepts here will
The  younger  brother  smiled  and  agreed.transform your life.



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