Impermanence
Filed in: Quotes 51-75 Authors S-Z
The Buddhas teaching points to the fact that all conditions are impermanent. By the word “condition” we mean a formation of the mind, such as a thought or opinion.
Men and women are conditions. Similarly, Jews and Gentiles, Buddhists and Christians, Asians and Europeans, Africans, the working class, the middle class, the upper class; all these are only formations that go through the mind. They aren’t absolutes. They are merely conventions that are useful for communication.
We must use these conventions, but we must also realize that they are only conventions - not absolutes. In this way, our minds are no longer fixed in our views or opinions. Views and opinions are seen simply as conditions that arise and case in the mind, because that’s what they really are.
All conditions are impermanent; they arise and cease.
Ajahn Sumedho
Men and women are conditions. Similarly, Jews and Gentiles, Buddhists and Christians, Asians and Europeans, Africans, the working class, the middle class, the upper class; all these are only formations that go through the mind. They aren’t absolutes. They are merely conventions that are useful for communication.
We must use these conventions, but we must also realize that they are only conventions - not absolutes. In this way, our minds are no longer fixed in our views or opinions. Views and opinions are seen simply as conditions that arise and case in the mind, because that’s what they really are.
All conditions are impermanent; they arise and cease.
Ajahn Sumedho