My dear friends,

After contemplating death, it is natural to ask what, exactly, death takes away from us. The answer is: everything that we ordinarily regard as our security and happiness. Death is only the final expression of a truth that is already at work throughout our lives. Every day our bodies change, our circumstances change, our relationships change, and our fortunes rise and fall. Long before death arrives, impermanence is already carrying all conditioned things toward dissolution.

For this reason, the contemplation of death naturally leads to the contemplation of impermanence. If we see only that life ends, we may feel sadness or anxiety. But if we also see that all worldly conditions are constantly changing, we begin to understand why clinging to them can never bring lasting peace.

The Lutheran hymn Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig ("O How Fleeting, O How Empty [Worthless]") was published in 1652, in the aftermath of war, plague, and social upheaval. Yet its message reaches far beyond its historical setting. Verse by verse, it invites us to reflect on different aspects of impermanence and the wisdom that can arise from seeing them clearly.

1. O how cheating, O how fleeting, Is our worldly being! 'Tis a mist in wintry weather, Gathered in an hour together, And as soon dispersed in ether. Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14
Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig - hymn by Michael Franck, 1609-1667 Melody by J. Cruger (1661), harmonized by J.S. Bach (1724). Lyrics adapted from a translation in Hymns by Sir John Bowring (1825). Accompaniment by Andrew Remillard

The hymn begins where the previous lesson ended: with the fragility of life itself. Human existence appears solid and enduring, yet Scripture compares it to grass, a flower, a vapor, or a mist. Like morning fog that vanishes when the sun rises, our lives seem substantial only because we are standing within them.

Recognizing this is not meant to make life seem worthless. Rather, it encourages us to treasure the opportunity we have now and to use it wisely before it disappears.

2. O how cheating, O how fleeting, Are our days departing! Like a deep and headlong river, Flowing onward, flowing ever, Tarrying not and stopping never. Remaining neither day nor night, life is always slipping by, and never getting any longer. Why will death not come to one like me? - Shantideva, Bodhisattvacharyavatara, II(39)

The second verse turns from life itself to the passage of time. Every moment is different from the preceding moment, just as when we step into a flowing river, it is not the same water that we may have stepped into a moment before. Yesterday has already vanished; tomorrow has not yet arrived. The present moment alone is available to us.

This observation echoes the meditation on death. The wise response is not panic but diligence: making good use of the precious time that remains. Not only is death certain; the amount of time remaining before it arrives is uncertain. Therefore procrastination is one of the great obstacles to spiritual development.

3. O how cheating, O how fleeting, Are the world's enjoyments! All the hues of change they borrow, Bright today and dark tomorrow — Mingled lot of joy and sorrow! Not addicted to samsara's delights, fulfilling the mission of precious life pursuing the fully reliable path, listen with a clear mind, you fortunate one. - The 3 Principal Aspects of the Path (2)

The hymn now shifts from the impermanence of life and time to the impermanence of pleasure. Every pleasant experience changes. Success eventually fades. Praise is forgotten. Possessions wear out. Even our happiest moments pass away.

The Buddha summarized this reality in the teaching on the eight worldly concerns: gain and loss, praise and blame, success and failure, pleasure and pain. These come and go like changing weather.

Because pleasant experiences are temporary, they cannot provide the lasting happiness that we seek. The problem is not that pleasures exist, but that we expect more from them than they can deliver.

4. O how cheating, O how fleeting, Is all worldly beauty! Like a summer flow'ret flowing, Scattered by the breezes blowing O'er the bed on which 'twas growing. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. Psalm 103:15-16

Beauty is among the most powerful of worldly attractions. Yet flowers bloom and wither. Buildings decay. Bodies age. Even the most magnificent works of art eventually disappear.

Seeing beauty's impermanence need not diminish our appreciation of it. On the contrary, impermanence makes beauty precious. We learn to enjoy beautiful things without demanding that they remain unchanged forever.

5. O how cheating, O how fleeting, All — yes all — that's earthly! Everything is fading, flying; Man is mortal, earth is dying; Christian, live! — on Heav'n relying. My foes will become nothing. My friends will become nothing. I too will become nothing. Likewise all will become nothing. - Shantideva, Bodhisattvacharyavatara, II(35)

The final verse gathers all the previous reflections into a single insight. Not only individual things but the entire world of conditioned existence is marked by change. Everything arises, remains for a time, and passes away.

This realization is a turning point on the spiritual path. As long as we believe that lasting happiness can be found in changing things, we remain trapped in an endless cycle of hope and disappointment. But when we clearly see their impermanent nature, we become ready to seek something deeper.

The purpose of contemplating impermanence is therefore not despair. It is freedom. We cease demanding permanence from what is impermanent and begin looking for a happiness that does not depend upon the changing fortunes of the world.

The contemplation of death teaches that our time is limited. The contemplation of impermanence teaches that everything we ordinarily cling to is unstable. Together, these reflections loosen our attachment to the endless pursuit of gain, praise, success, pleasure, and other worldly rewards.

Yet another step remains. Seeing that worldly conditions are impermanent is one thing; understanding the consequences of building our happiness upon them is another. The next of the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind to the Dharma explores this insight more deeply. It asks us to examine the eight worldly concerns themselves and to discover why attachment to them inevitably leads to dissatisfaction. From the recognition of impermanence arises disenchantment: not bitterness toward the world, but freedom from the illusion that the changing things of the world can ever provide lasting fulfillment.