Living with the Fundamental Truth of Impermanence

In this Wednesday Night Dharma Talk, Roshi Jan Chozen Bays provides a grounded and practical reflection on the teaching of impermanence. She explores impermanence (anicca) as one of Buddhism’s three fundamental marks of existence and guides us through both the challenges and gifts of impermanence. Drawing on personal stories and examples from music to cherry blossoms, and engaging with comments from participants, Roshi Chozen discusses how our suffering often stems from fighting reality by perpetuating the thought “this shouldn’t be happening.” Chozen suggests that rather than anxiously anticipating when things will break or go wrong, we take up the perspective of seeing “everything as already broken”—which allows us to savor what is currently in our life, transforming attachment into appreciation. Chozen examines the pace of impermanence in current events and global conflicts, suggesting that accepting the truth of impermanence can open our hearts to compassion for others facing this rapid change in more acute ways, helping us recognize the privilege and stability that exists in our lives. Through practical meditation techniques, including working with pain and cultivating “just now mind,” we are encouraged to see how we can balance thinking and awareness to find stability within change. Essentially, seeing the inherent fragility in all things paradoxically allows us to appreciate their preciousness more fully, allowing for peace in the tension of opposites. Roshi Chozen offers the promise that through practice, we can maintain a baseline of equanimity while remaining engaged with the world’s suffering and transformation.