The disintegration of all things in their current or original state is inevitable. Every change contains within it an element of death. Today is the death of yesterday. Most people accept that everything born must eventually die; however, our definitions of “everything” and “death” may differ. For Siddhartha, birth refers to all creation — not just flowers and mushrooms and human beings, but everything that is born or assembled in any way. And death refers to any kind of disintegration or disassembly.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

from the book What Makes You Not a Buddhist

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