The Five Remembrances

In Thich Nhat Hanh's book The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, he writes, "The Buddha recommends that we recite the 'Five Remembrances' every day." They are...

(1) I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.

(2) I am of the nature to have ill-health. There is no way to escape having ill-health.

(3) I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.

(4) All that is dear to me and everyone that I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.

(5) My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.

The Five Remembrances are an excellent example of the relative truths taught by the Buddha*. When we read these Five Remembrances they are understood right away. This is true because it is common sense. Any one of us would come to the same conclusions if we looked honestly at our age, bodies, friends, lives and the world around us. But so often we kid ourselves in to forget these truths. Instead of forgetting, which brings suffering to ourselves and others, why not make an effort to remember? When we remember we are less likely to be surprised or disappointed when these truths arise in our lives.

My friendly challenge to all of you is to write the Five Remembrances down and keep them somewhere where they will be seen every day. Read them and take a moment to let it sink in. Examine deeply how it makes you feel and what arises in your mind. You will find that you will become more at ease with your life and world around you.


*Relative truths work as a kind of opening dialogue to the Buddha's teachings. The deeper/universal truths (such as non-self, non-duality, etc...) are realized as one continues in the practice. I can see why the Buddha liked to start with the relative truths, being that they influenced his listeners to put in to practice the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold Noble Path - which will lead to a deeper knowing of the universal truths than one would achieve by simply being told about them.