Melting like snow

[RedLantern]

Time passes relentlessly.The Buddha compared us with cattle that are being pulled to slaughter.Everyday time passes.Our lifespan is like a dewdrop resting on the tip of a blade of grass -or like the fallen snow that one makes into a snowball- if it exposed to the sun it melts away,and when the wind comes it vaporizes and  disappears.
The Buddha wanted us to reflect on our lives in this way,so we don't get overpowered by unwholesome qualities - our defilements and desires- so we don't have to live in a way that restricts our freedom,and can't  be our own masters.

[vajrastorm]

Yes, as is said in Pabongkha Rinpoche's "Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand" -
"There s no telling which will come first:
Tomorrow or your next rebirth".

Or as Nargajuna says:".......this life, more impermanent
                                    Than bubbles on water blown by the wind.
                                     How amazing that we wake up breathing
                                     After we have gone to sleep!"


Yet it's sad that we don't heed the Truth of Impermanence.

"Go into the charnel grounds:
Other people's skeletons and my own body
Are subject to decay.
When will I see that they are the same?"

[pgdharma]

All that exists is impermanent; nothing lasts. Therefore nothing can be grasped or held onto. When we don’t fully appreciate this simple but profound truth we suffer; if we do, we have real peace and understanding.

Because nothing is permanent, everything is possible. Liberation is possible. Enlightenment is possible.

As Thich Nhat Hanh wrote:

"We have to nourish our insight into impermanence every day. If we do, we will live more deeply, suffer less, and enjoy life much more. Living deeply, we will touch the foundation of reality, nirvana, the world of no-birth and no-death. Touching impermanence deeply, we touch the world beyond permanence and impermanence. We touch the ground of being and see that which we have called being and nonbeing are just notions. Nothing is ever lost. Nothing is ever gained."  - The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching

[yontenjamyang]

Permanence is a fallacy that arises out of our ignorance; mundanely from our perceptions of things. When we observe a chair, we think that it is there before, now and in an hour, the next day and perhaps in a month. The human mind than simply assume that the chair is permanent albeit on a certain time scale. We think that the chair is not important; whether permanent or not, how does it affect our lives? Hence, we say the chair is permanent! The same applies to the bubble, the dew drop, the lightning flash and the dreams or shadow, How does this apply to our lives?
If we examine our own lives closely, we can then relate the "permanency" of our bodies, our possessions, our friends, family, our thoughts, events in our lives and finally our lives. Then we can say that in reality things are impermanent. That is the truth because we experience it and we suffer because of it.
By realizing impermanence, we can change of expectations of things and events in our lives. Expect things to change, that the good and become bad and the bad and also become good and everything in the middle.  We can choose to be very pessimistic or we can choose to become optimistic. We can take the necessary action to  lead us to ultimate happiness. Practice the Dharma.
This realization has to lead one to take some action. Otherwise, what is the point?

[Big Uncle]

Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche was famous for his death reminders and he often reminded his audience that within x number of years, everybody would be dead. Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche often 'spiced' up his teachings by instilling a deep sense of fear of what would happen to us once we are dead. His explanations were often practical and down-to-earth as it hits home with the audience. Many who sat in his teachings often leave with at least a sense of regret and dreading over their future. Hence, many great lay and monastic students transformed and became great masters, meditators and practitioners.