Part of the reason I wrote the above article: "Good Friends and Relatives Passing" was I realize the importance of the meditation on impermanence. It is important because we need to realize our physical state being impermanent in order to get beyond arrogance and pride as humans. Once we can do that then we can be compassionate to both ourselves and all other beings.
For example, I was moving some wood logs that I am curing for firewood that came from tree trimmers taking down a large tree that was no longer safe because it was dead. As I moved some of the 2 foot to 3 foot sections I noticed sow bugs and several red centipedes there. I was sort of impatient and sort of wanted them all to move quickly because I was in a hurry to move the wood as I try hard not to kill anything I don't absolutely have to. The only things I almost always kill around my house are black widow spiders (because they can be fatal to a human that they bite) and rattlesnakes around anywhere people live regularly. If you live in a big city likely you might only deal with rats and mice. But, where I live on the west coast of northern California all forms of wild life still exist from insects: frogs, centipedes, salamanders, sow bugs, wood rats, mice, raccoons, skunks, deer, hawks, eagles and all types of birds like blue jays, woodpeckers, seagulls cormorants etc. There are even foxes, (at least two types of foxes) and mountain lion and even bears within 10 miles of where I presently live and mountain lions and bear sometimes show themselves in nearby areas.
So, often there is carrion on the road (road kill) which is a good time to meditate on impermanence for humans. Because in India for example, for thousands of years humans who were training to become adepts of one kind or another would meditate on a human corpse for up to a month to learn impermanence. But, because of our western culture I don't think this is a good idea for 90% of people in the western world because they might go mad doing this.
Our culture tends to separate people from death in every way possible. Someone comes and picks up a body the moment it has deceased and takes it suddenly out of sight. However, in other countries this often isn't the case. For example, in India in the mid 1980s often human bodies would die in a street and just be left there for days. It is a different culture there and likely might be changing now some but this is the way it was then.
Meditation on impermanence is important in Buddhism because seeing an old confused dying man for Guatama Buddha was the first step in moving in the direction of his enlightenment for the betterment of all mankind. So, he went from a young adult Prince of Lumbini which was a kingdom on the border of India and Nepal to eventually (about 15 years later) to becoming the Buddha we all know of today. So, if one meditation on impermanence could turn a Prince into a Buddha what could it do for us?
Impermanence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impermanence
Impermanence
is one of the essential doctrines or three marks of existence in
Buddhism. The term expresses the Buddhist notion that all of conditioned
...
Impermanence - Practical implications ... - Quotes - In arts and culture
Though many might be horrified to deal even with the concept of impermanence just remember for example, that literally everyone I knew as a child up to age 12 throughout the 1950s until I was 12 in 1960 is now dead. Every single adult. Maybe 50 percent of all adults I knew in the 1960s are still alive today. (in 1969 I was 21). Maybe 60 percent of all the adults are still alive that I knew in the 1970s. And if I add about 10% to each decade of adults I knew then it will take us up to about 90% of the adults I knew since 2001 are still alive today. This gives one a better feeling for the impermanence of life, especially when each meaningful person in your life whether they are dead or gone from your life in some ways is no difference in the end. Since each relationship we have with others helps define who we are each person we lose changes to some degree who we are: therefore impermanence, until we too are gone from other's lives.
Looked at in this way we see how valuable each of us is to the other each moment we share. From this compassion is generated and gratitude for each and every precious being.
Though many might be horrified to deal even with the concept of impermanence just remember for example, that literally everyone I knew as a child up to age 12 throughout the 1950s until I was 12 in 1960 is now dead. Every single adult. Maybe 50 percent of all adults I knew in the 1960s are still alive today. (in 1969 I was 21). Maybe 60 percent of all the adults are still alive that I knew in the 1970s. And if I add about 10% to each decade of adults I knew then it will take us up to about 90% of the adults I knew since 2001 are still alive today. This gives one a better feeling for the impermanence of life, especially when each meaningful person in your life whether they are dead or gone from your life in some ways is no difference in the end. Since each relationship we have with others helps define who we are each person we lose changes to some degree who we are: therefore impermanence, until we too are gone from other's lives.
Looked at in this way we see how valuable each of us is to the other each moment we share. From this compassion is generated and gratitude for each and every precious being.
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