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6.1. Anicca

Everything that is constructed and conditioned has come into being at some point, and, when the conditions for its existence no longer exist, will stop being.

Even things as seemingly permanent as the sun and the earth did not always exist, they came into being when the conditions assembled, and will cease to exist when those conditions no longer hold.

But even with these cosmic examples, with their incredibly long lasting nature, are only known to use through brief, fleeting experiences. That's all we ever have of them. The same goes for everything which we assume persists for years and decades, but all we ever have of them is an accumulation of temporary moments.

When all we have of anything, in reality, is a few fleeting moments of experience, it seems ridiculous to rely on them, take them as a stable foundation, expect any permanent gratification out of them, base our hopes, dreams, expectations and future happiness on them. Everything constructed and conditioned is extremely unreliable in this regard.

But, of course we forget this all the time, even when we know it in theory. So, it's a wholesome and practical exercise to frequently remind ourselves of this basic fact existence—the impermanence, fragility and instability of everything that we experience.

There are some well documented benefits to cultivating aniccasaññā, the perception of impermanence, mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.

"cha, bhikkhave, ānisaṃse sampassamānena alameva bhikkhunā sabbasaṅkhāresu anodhiṃ karitvā aniccasaññaṃ upaṭṭhāpetuṃ. katame cha? ‘sabbasaṅkhārā ca me anavatthitā khāyissanti, sabbaloke ca me mano nābhiramissati , sabbalokā ca me mano vuṭṭhahissati, nibbānapoṇañca me mānasaṃ bhavissati, saṃyojanā ca me pahānaṃ gacchissanti , paramena ca sāmaññena samannāgato bhavissāmī’ti.

Monks, seeing six benefits, it is suitable for a monastic to establish the perception of impermanence in all conditioned things, without exception.

What six?

  1. All conditioned things will appear unstable to me.
  2. My mind will take no delight in the entire world.
  3. My mind will rise above the entire world.
  4. My mentality will incline towards Nibbāna
  5. The bonds will be abandoned
  6. I will possess the ultimate goal of the monastic life.

-- AN6.102 anavatthitasuttaṃ

It's important to understand that we cultivate the perception of impermanence and instability, not for its own sake, but so that the mind can disentangle itself from its painful relationship with conditioned things. Recognising impermanence is not an end in itself, merely a means to an end.

With this in mind, we are going to practice one of the excellent meditations, taken directly from the Saḷāyatana Saṃyutta, part one of a three part series.

"yaṃ kho, rādha, aniccaṃ tatra te chando pahātabbo. kiñca, rādha, aniccaṃ tatra te chando pahātabbo? cakkhu aniccaṃ, rūpā aniccā, cakkhuviññāṇaṃ… cakkhusamphasso… yampidaṃ cakkhusamphassapaccayā uppajjati vedayitaṃ sukhaṃ vā dukkhaṃ vā adukkhamasukhaṃ vā tampi aniccaṃ.

Whatever is impermanent, Rādha, right there, the interest in it should be abandoned.

And what is impermanent, such that, right there, the interest in it should be abandoned?

The eye is impermanent... forms ... eye consciousness ... visual experience ... whatever vedanā arises dependent on visual experience, that too is impermanent.

-- SN35.76 rādhaaniccasuttaṃ

The Rādha Anicca Sutta brings attention to the instability of every aspect of experience, and encourages us to abandon the interest in such things. Through seeing this inherent nature of experience, we give up the interest in and desire for it, knowing it cannot provide us with the stability that it seem to promise.

This idea is echoed in the famous Dhammapada verse:

"sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā"ti, yadā paññāya passati, atha nibbindati dukkhe, esa maggo visuddhiyā.

Everything fabricated is impermanent, When one sees this with understanding, Then one gets disenchanted by suffering, This is the path to purification.

-- DHP20 Dhammpada, maggavagga, verse 277

Meditation on Impermanence

Transcript Whatever is impermanent, give up your interest right there. And what is impermanent? The eyes are impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Forms are impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Eye consciousness is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. The experience of seeing is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever *vedanā* arises from the experience of seeing is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever is impermanent, give up your interest right there. --- The ears are impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Sounds are impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Ear consciousness is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. The experience of hearing is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever *vedanā* arises from the experience of hearing is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever is impermanent, give up your interest right there. --- The nose is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Smells are impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Nose consciousness is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. The experience of smelling is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever *vedanā* arises from the experience of smelling is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever is impermanent, give up your interest right there. --- The tongue is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Tastes are impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Tongue consciousness is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. The experience of tasting is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever *vedanā* arises from the experience of tasting is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever is impermanent, give up your interest right there. --- The body is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Physical sensations are impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Body consciousness is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. The experience of feeling physical sensations is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever *vedanā* arises from the experience of feeling physical sensations is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever is impermanent, give up your interest right there. --- The mind is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Mental phenomena are impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Mind consciousness is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Mental experience is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever *vedanā* arises from mental experience is impermanent. Give up your interest right there. Whatever is impermanent, give up your interest right there. --- Whatever is impermanent, give up your interest right there.

Continue with this meditation as long as you need to.

Q&A

Q: Do you have any questions or doubts at this point?

References

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