Quotes & Sayings About Impermanence Buddhism

Men have been wise in many different modes; but they have always laughed the same way. — Samuel Johnson

If we seek the permanence of an object as something existing from its own side, we discover something inexpressible. If we take three sticks and place them together in a certain way, they will all stand up. If each of the sticks could stand under its own power, it would remain standing even if the others were removed, but they cannot. In this way we must understand dependent arising precisely.
Another way of thinking about it is to consider clothing. Only when cloth is of the correct color, shape, and so forth is it labeled "clothing." Or think of a clock. Whenever we see a clock, we label it a clock, but if we were to separate the component pieces, then the "clock" would cease to exist, because no basis of imputation would remain. In actuality there was no truly existent clock in the first place - only the causes and conditions fit to be labeled a "clock. — Zongtrul Losang Tsondru

Impermanence and selflessness are not negative aspect of life, but the very foundation on which life is built. Impermanence is the constant transformation of things. Without impermanence, there can be no life. Selflessness is the interdependent nature of all things. Without interdependence, nothing could exist. — Thich Nhat Hanh

You are as the yellow leaf.
The messengers of death are at hand.
You are to travel far away.
What will you take with you?
You are the lamp
To lighten the way.
Then hurry, hurry.
When your light shines
Without impurity or desire
You will come into the boundless country.
Your life is falling away.
Death is at hand.
Where will you rest on the way?
What have you taken with you?
You are the lamp
To lighten the way.
Then hurry, hurry.
When your light shines purely
You will not be born
And you will not die. — Gautama Buddha

The only stupid question, my cullies, is the one you don't ask. — Stephen King

By identifying impermanence as a fundamental characteristic of existence itself, rather than a problem to be solved, the Buddhists are encouraging us to let go our hold on illusory solidity and learn to swim freely in the sea of change. — Andrew Olendzki

Nostalgia is an illness
for those who haven't realized
that today
is tomorrow's nostalgia. — Zeena Schreck

I can only write one novel at a time. The author of the Perry Mason novels, Erle Stanley Gardner, often worked on four novels simultaneously, and produced a million words a year. I'm envious. — James Thayer

When you're 20 you can put a ton of old-age prosthetics on and be an old guy, but when you're 70 you can't play a 20-year-old. — Bob Odenkirk

The thing about Barack Obama, just from being around him, is he's cooler than the other politicians, but just nerdy enough to do the job. Like you can't be really cool and be the president. — Chris Rock

I can't keep the sparrows from flying around my head, but I can keep them from making a nest in my hair. — Martin Luther

If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. [It is] the dubious luxury of normal men and women. — Stephen King

The bells of the Gion monastery in India echo with the warning that all things are impermanent. The blossoms of the sala trees teach us through their hues that what flourishes must fade. The proud do not prevail for long but vanish like a spring night's dream. In time the mighty, too, succumb: all are dust before the wind. — Heike

Sometimes it takes a miracle to remind us that the only permanent condition is that of impermanence. — Eric Micha'el Leventhal

What is the happiness ? Is it really happiness ? Nothing stable, just happen, stay and decay ... Everything is impermanence, dissatisfaction and nothing can ever belong to itself — Gautama Buddha

Writing is very different to having your photo taken. You are exposing yourself more, not physically but emotionally. — Sophie Dahl

Your body is like a dew-drop on the morning grass, your life is as brief as a flash of lightning. Momentary and vain, it is lost in a moment. (From 'Fukan zazengi') — Dogen

Be present, from moment to moment, right in the middle of the real stream of time. That gives you spiritual security. That is why in Buddhism we don't try to escape from impermanence; we face time itself in our daily living. — Dainin Katagiri

Whenever ego suffers from fear of death & your practice turns to seeing impermanence, ego settles down. — Tsoknyi Rinpoche

To know yourself you must know the transience of your self. — Ilyas Kassam