Buddha's Five Remembrances

A Buddhist friend recently reminded me of these 5 principles of Buddhist thinking.  On the one hand, they can seem daunting and even pessimistic or at the very least unpleasant.  But as I think further about them, they are oddly reassuring to me.  The absolute worst IS going to happen to all of us.  That doesn’t mean that we should start sucking our thumbs and crying “It isn’t fair!” just now.  It means recognizing that we are all caught in the “inescapable web of being” as we UUs like to say.

This is not say that these truths are easy to swallow… but since they are true, it seems that we must at least taste, if not accept them.  How would you live differently if you embraced these 5 remembrances from the Buddha?

1.   I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.

2.   I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape having ill health.

3.   I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.

4.   All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.

5.   My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

If we accept these remembrances as true, it seems to somehow allow me some freedom.  Since I am going to die, get ill, lose everything,   why not choose to live loud and proud and joyfully RIGHT NOW?