In the blog category “Guided Meditations”, I will provide detailed explanations for all the guided meditation tracks that I will place in the Resources section of this website. These blog posts will be hyperlinked from the “Guided Meditations” page under “Resources” menu option where these meditation tracks in mp3 format will be placed for streaming or for downloading.
Buddhist doctrines state that there are three basic facts of all existence:
Impermanence or Change
Suffering or Unsatisfactoriness
Not-self or Insubstantiality
Within these three facts, it is very easy to understand why impermanence or change is an essential characteristic of all existence. We cannot say of anything, animate or inanimate, organic or inorganic, that lasts forever. The meditation entitled “Impermanence Looking Deeply”, as it appears in Chapter V of “The Blooming of a Lotus” by Thich Nhat Hanh, helps us acknowledge this essential characteristic. It leads us to a deeper view of life.
It is important to understand that impermanence is not a negative aspect of life. It is the very basis of life. If what exists were not impermanent, no life could continue. This form of meditation will also help us look after our own bodies and minds because they will lose their flexibility and agility as we grow older. Thay describes in the book, “When we accept that all things are impermanent, we will not be incapacitated by suffering when things decay and die. We can remain peaceful and content in the face of change, prosperity and decline, success and failure”.
In this meditation, the in-breath is to touch a certain part of the body: eyes, ears, heart, lungs, and so on. The out-breath acknowledges its impermanence. In the third last verse in this meditation, we become aware of the planet Earth and acknowledge its impermanence. In the last verse of this meditation, we become aware of governments and acknowledge its impermanence as well. In these days of political partisanship and bitter divisiveness, it helps to acknowledge its impermanence too.
This meditation track is available in the “Guided Meditation” page that can be accessed from the “References” menu option. Please feel free to either stream these exercises or click on the “Download” button to download the mp3 files to your computers.
May you be happy !!!
May you be peaceful !!!
May you live with ease !!!
If you would like to share your experience, ask questions or provide helpful suggestions on this or any other blog post, then please fill out the contact form below. In a blog category entitled “Website content feedback” I will publish my answers to your questions as well as your suggestions wherever appropriate. I will be also delighted to publish your experience, if you would like me to do so. Thank you !!!
