Marcia Rose on Living with Uncertainty and Impermanence

A reflection on practice by Marcia Rose

At the bottom of article you will find REAL-LIFE PRACTICES to help deepen your understanding.

A SUMMER OF TEACHINGS ON IMPERMANENCE

Over the course of the next few months, we plan to offer a series of articles by Guiding Teacher Marcia Rose based on her recent on-line course “Immersion in Life & Death with Presence & Wisdom,” which offered teachings & practices rooted in the observation, acknowledgment, & acceptance of Anicca/change/impermanence. As Marcia shares, “I want to begin this series of articles with an experience that inspired me to offer the recent on-line course, and now these articles for the Mountain Hermitage e-newsletter...”

Three years ago immediately after a relatively simple emergency surgery, all my bodily systems shut down & went into sepsis, and my lungs quickly contracted serious bacterial pneumonia. After a month in the hospital, I was sent home & entered into hospice care. I was not able to move my body at all & barely able to eat and needed to have my adult diapers changed 3 or 4 times each day. All that I was able to do was to be present with the tiny in & out breaths that I was able to take… which was very OK & quite enough to do. There was an overall sense of mental, physical & spiritual peace, quiet & ease most of the time. There was no fear, longing or hoping for things to be different than they were. In retrospect, there was a deep sense of presence in peacefully & simply letting go. For unexpected & mysterious reasons, I gradually began to be able to move my body, and my month in hospice came to an end. I learned to sit up & eventually learned to walk again. As this evolved, boundless gratitude for all the prior years of Dhamma teachings that I was offered & for the many years of practice that I engaged in arose in my heart/mind & sustained.

LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY AND IMPERMANENCE

One of the most prevalent myths that we live with, often quite unconsciously, is the myth that we can control this constantly changing experience we call life. The Buddha said that the most powerful, fruitful & life-changing experience one can have is beginning to clearly & deeply observe, acknowledge & accept the constant process of change that always & relentlessly happens within us & with EVERYTHING around us. The seed of liberation, the seed of inner peace that is filled with vitality, compassion & love, lies in this clarity of seeing & knowing.

As the Buddha said, ‘What is born will die. What had been gathered will be dispersed. What been accumulated will be exhausted. What been built up will collapse. And what has been high will be brought low. All conditioned things are transitory. Those who realize this are freed from sorrow. This is the path to freedom.’

So I suggest that you consider this… the only thing that we can really know for sure is the constancy of change. It’s the most basic fact of our existence. Nothing lasts… nothing stays the same. So paradoxically, the only thing we can hold onto is the realization, the intuitive insight of impermanence/Anicca.

This year because of warm temperatures coming early, the bright yellow crocus & tiny deep purple Chinese iris joyfully bloomed in early March & soon disappeared. Three years ago, I was just moments away from death & here I am with you today, basically healthy & strong.

Circumstances/conditions constantly change. We just simply don’t know what’s going to happen next. We come to ‘presence’ knowing that what we can actually do is just what is right in front of us. This is what’s meaningful to me now, so I’m making my clearest & most caring best effort here, now. I don’t know what will come of it, but this is what life is offering in this moment. This is what is to be done right now.

DAILY-LIFE PRACTICES

Here are some reflective daily-life practices that can be helpful towards the realization of Anicca. I suggest spending 20 to 30 dedicated minutes a few times each week during your daily life with these observational reflective practices. We begin by bringing mindful awareness to changes happening in the world. The practice works best via picking one of the following to stick with for one 20 to 30 minute reflective practice period, and then go on with picking another observational reflective practice… one by one each day.

1. Changes from day-light to night… Changes from morning darkness to day-light. Intentionally observing the movement & brightness changes of the stars at night
2. Depending on where you live… sitting with mindful awareness in relationship to the constant changing nature of bodies of water: the ocean, lakes, rivers, streams… or intimately observing the changes in the mountains around you
3. Mindfully with great interest taking in the changes of trees, plants, flowers, grasses
4. Mindful observation & reflection of changes with animals, maybe pets or other animals, birds & insects.
5. Observing the constant changes in weather… even in a 20 or 30 minute period of time
6. Observing & letting in without commentary or judgment… changes big & small in our human society… countries, governments
7. Other changes that you mindfully take note of in the world around you…

You may find it helpful to keep a notebook handy to write down some of what you are observing & reflecting on. Refrain from commenting judgmentally on what you are observing. We are exploring, getting to intimately know & moving towards the acceptance of the ongoing, constant ‘river of change’ that is life. Combining this observational, reflective practice with a daily 20 to 45 minutes silent sitting meditation practice can be very helpful.

Thank you for your interest in & practice of the Dhamma.

With love, Marcia

Find audio recordings of dharma talks & all At Home Practice Documents
from this program at TMH webpage for Guiding Teacher Marcia Rose.