This is Lesson 37 from A Comprehensive Commentary on the Words of My Perfect Teacher, covering the sixth and seventh meditations on the Impermanence of Life — the uncertainty of the circumstances of death, and the cultivation of an intense, ever-present awareness of impermanence. The lesson opens by stressing that causes of death vastly outnumber causes of life, drawing on teachings from Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, and Shantideva, as well as vivid modern examples including disease outbreaks, dietary dangers, and road accidents. The teacher shares a moving account of a 26-year-old woman with terminal cancer who, having heard the Dharma, faced death without fear and wished to dedicate her remaining resources to elderly nuns. A substantial portion addresses the health consequences of meat consumption, drawing on both Buddhist scripture and scientific research to advocate for vegetarianism. The seventh meditation urges practitioners to maintain a constant awareness of impermanence in every activity — walking, sleeping, sitting — citing the Kadampa Geshes who turned their bowls upside down each night as a symbol of readiness for death. The lesson concludes by emphasising that genuine renunciation arises only when impermanence is truly integrated into the mind, not merely understood intellectually.
Practice Guide
To practice the meditation related to this teaching, please refer to:
