The Buddha recommended reflecting on five essential truths that, when performed daily, and subject to contemplation, reinforces our awareness of impermanence and leads to our freedom from greed, hatred and delusion. Only when we embrace the fact that all things are subject to change can we truly grasp how precious this moment (this life) is. This understanding can transform our relationship to death … and, of course, to life as well. Here are the five daily recollections to be contemplated each day.
from AN 5.57 PTS: A iii 71
Upajjhatthana Sutta: Subjects for Contemplation translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
“There are these five facts that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained. Which five?
“‘I am subject to aging, I have not gone beyond aging.’ This is the first fact that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained.
“‘I am subject to illness, have not gone beyond illness.’ …
“‘I am subject to death, have not gone beyond death.’ …
“‘I will grow different, separate from all that is dear and appealing to me.’ …
“‘I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir.’ …
“These are the five facts that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained. …….
We don’t know how much time there is in this life. But we can take responsibility for how we live each day. The future doesn’t exist. When we put off our peace, contentment and happiness for a later time we act foolishly! There is no tomorrow. There is no “next” life. As the venerable Theravada teacher Ayya Khemma said:
“When the next life comes, it’s this life; actually this is our next life. Finding lots of reasons not to practice today is always possible: the children, the weather, the husband, the wife, the business, the economy, the food, anything will do. What kind of priorities we have is strictly of our own making. If the future does not exist and the past is completely gone, what do we have left? A very fleeting moment indeed, namely this one. It passes quicker than we can say it. But by using each moment skillfully, we can eventually have moment-to-moment awareness, which results in deep insight.”
And this can be applied to any “past” life as well. There is no past life either! Your past life is this life too! This life is where it’s all happening and to be oblivious to its preciousness is to waste it! Tomorrow morning when you wake up, maybe that’s your next life! But it’s also this life too isn’t it?
So here’s a simple practice to do each and every day:
When you awake in the morning, the first thing to do is to be mindful and be grateful. Notice that you have regained consciousness. When you open your eyes, begin your mindfulness. And if you forget to do this, close your eyes again and start over again! From this simple exercise we gain an understanding of how precious this human life is. We have another day at our disposal, for one purpose, to draw nearer to letting go of all greed, hatred and delusion. And it all begins at that moment we awaken and open our eyes. If we are grateful and mindful at this moment, our mind is in a state of receptivity. We can then ask our self “How can I make this day be part of my practice and benefit all beings? We can reflect on these five daily recollections, and then go about our day.
At that moment we directly experience all our past and future lives embodied in this present life! Isn’t that enough enlightenment for one day?
May you be well, happy and peaceful. Floyd
