Life is something to be greatly cherished. It unfolds from moment to moment. Meditating on death and impermanence makes us aware of that fact, and teaches us to cherish each and every moment of our lives. If we make just one moment meaningful, that amounts to the same thing as making our whole life greatly meaningful. Our life is taking place in each moment.

Sometimes people think the traditional meditation on death and impermanence involves having the painful and frightening thought, “I am going to die! Oh, no!” That is not a correct understanding of what contemplating impermanence means. Rather, it means not letting even a tiny part of our life go to waste. By cherishing our life and earnestly applying ourselves to living it fully, we are accomplishing the purpose of meditating on death and impermanence.

17th Karmapa

Nurturing Compassion: Teachings from the First Visit to Europe

source: http://karmapafoundation.eu/kfe-publications/nurturing-compassion/


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