Impermanence
On the drive out from Burning Man, reflecting on the lessons I’d experienced there, I wrote notes to myself. The first, most important lesson was “Impermanence.”
Immolation as a reminder of Impermanence
What would motivate people to create great works of beauty only to destroy them? Why would they place reminders of loved ones and their own past in a temple only to see them burn? It is that the act of destruction is a reminder or manifestation of impermanence. It reminds us that we too can change, and that every experience is precious, as our experience is necessarily impermanent.
Contrary to our perception of normalcy and continuity, every moment is a transitive, impermanent state, impermanent in every temporal and local context, impermanent at every scale.
And awareness of this impermanence, for me, leads to two conclusions:
- Every experience is precious
- Every door is open to change, as change is all-consuming
Immolation of objects as Self-Immolation
Those who attend call themselves “burners” and ask one another, “how was your burn?”, and for me these words refer not to those who burn things, but those who burn away aspects of themselves. That witnessing and embracing the destruction of beauty enables one to release aspects of themselves which have been stubbornly perceived and held as permanent.
Impermanence and Buddhism
Fresh from this awareness, I was surprised to discover that impermanence is a core concept of Buddhism, and as such they have plenty to say on the matter. So I’ll end with some of their words:
Nothing remains the same for two consecutive moments. Heraclitus said we can never bathe twice in the same river. Confucius, while looking at a stream, said, “It is always flowing, day and night.” The Buddha implored us not just to talk about impermanence, but to use it as an instrument to help us penetrate deeply into reality and obtain liberating insight. We may be tempted to say that because things are impermanent, there is suffering. But the Buddha encouraged us to look again. Without impermanence, life is not possible. How can we transform our suffering if things are not impermanent? How can our daughter grow up into a beautiful young lady? How can the situation in the world improve? We need impermanence for social justice and for hope.
If you suffer, it is not because things are impermanent. It is because you believe things are permanent. When a flower dies, you don’t suffer much, because you understand that flowers are impermanent. But you cannot accept the impermanence of your beloved one, and you suffer deeply when she passes away.
If you look deeply into impermanence, you will do your best to make her happy right now. Aware of impermanence, you become positive, loving and wise. Impermanence is good news. Without impermanence, nothing would be possible. With impermanence, every door is open for change. Impermanence is an instrument for our liberation.
- Thich Nhat Hanh
And when the Buddha had passed away, Sakka, the chief of the deities, uttered the following:
Impermanent are all component things, They arise and cease, that is their nature: They come into being and pass away, Release from them is bliss supreme.
