Zen and Impermanence

Zen encompasses everything in the Universe, you may meditate on it for a few minutes, or for hours on end, or for the rest of your life and still not fully understand its entire principles.

The reason is Zen has a huge magnitude of the principle of impermanence. You, your loved ones, your home, even the entire planet is impermanent.

 From a Zen point of view it is important to understand that holding on to things whatever they may be is why you suffer.

It’s not about letting go, it’s about not holding on in the first place, and being aware that change is a part of reality. If you can understand and appreciate this you will experience peace every day.

Today may not be as good or as bad as you think because there are so many things that can affect each day of your life.

In the world of Zen don’t forget there is also yin and yang and a balance that keeps both good and bad connected.

If things seem perfect to you, they’re not. If it seems like everything is a disaster, it isn’t. Every minute change occurs and at some point your day will change also.

The wisdom of Zen philosophy can help you to let go of all the things influenced by your ego and bring you peace and unlimited freedom in your life every day. This is called nonattachment and isn’t it interesting how the word ‘ego’ has the word ‘go’ in it?

Nonattachment is often misunderstood meaning not attached to all things physical but ultimately it is the realization of your true self that you are in the Universe and the Universe is in you.

So when you have an image of someone close to you in your mind and when that image changes problems occur and you are no longer free to accept them for who they are in that moment no matter what changes take place.

This doesn’t mean you stop caring for them, in fact it is quite the opposite, you know they won’t last forever so you appreciate them so much more.

In Zen philosophy nonattachment isn’t really about physical things or locations, it’s about the thoughts and ideas you have in your mind, and what you believe about yourself and the world around you.

All attachment, physical and nonphysical, starts with the ego. It is fostered through years of conditioning and it is not really a part of you at all.

Your ego is what convinces you that you’re a separate entity and disconnected from all things including the Universe.

It is important to understand that nonattachment is an attitude or state of mind. New attachments will always creep into your thoughts and sometimes you won’t even be aware of it.

So to realize nonattachment is to realize that you must go with the natural order and flow of all things and to respect the impermanence of all things that make up your life.

It is only by realizing and accepting the fact that your ego is an illusion created by your mind and by realizing this you may be able to seek the true path of Zen.