Impermanence Reduces Stuffering

How Impermanence can reduce suffering

Justin Rutty

We are inherently sentimental, it seems to be a part of our society. We save albums full of photos, keep our keepsakes in boxes, and spend hours reminiscing with friends. How often does that end up making you sad? Personally I've seen people almost at the verge of tears over a walk down memory lane.

In the book, Thich Nhat Hanh writes, "Buddha only wants us to recognize suffering when it is present and to recognize joy when suffering is absent" (21). This means that we must recognize that our attachment is the source of our suffering in this case. For example how often do we become attached to a lost loved one? We keep them around in every way possible, Their pictures, their things, their memories seems to fill our homes and our minds. I know at least in my family that most of the time a simple thing such as a fond memory of a tradition handed down from a loved one can quickly turn to a somber remembrance. It is like they cannot let go of the past. Which then causes suffering.

This can also apply to loved ones that are still with us. We often don't realize that things are impermanent and take them for granted. How quickly the things and people we take for granted can easily be gone. Take this bus crash picture shown to the left. There were 16 kids on that bus and one adult. Everyone who knew them took for granted the fact that they would see them on Monday. The teacher took for granted the fact he would be able to care for his horses and a family took for granted the fact that they would see their son when he got home. they failed to realize the impermanence of life and the lives of those around them and through this there was great suffering that Monday when they returned to classes one short. sadness as friend embraced knowing the other was lucky to be there and it could have easily been the other and there was something different as the students who were on the bus returned to their meetings and tried to carry on with their season. This is another way that not having a sense if impermanence in  our loves can cause suffering.


Not being able to let go and the concept of impermanence applies to other parts of our lives as well not just the memory of a loved one. Not being able to let go of something that happened to you whether good or bad, take my example from above with the bus accident. to this day there are some people who still have not moved on from the incident. Instead of just accepting what happened they continue to dwell on it causing great personal suffering. If someone accepts this impermanence into their life they can live a life with less suffering therefor more joy. This works by allowing the person to enjoy the moments they have and making the fullest of them then allowing them to still be happy when they pass.

Source:

      Nhá̂t, Hạnh. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy & Liberation : The Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and Other Basic Buddhist Teachings. New York: Broadway, 1999. Print.