Five things to remember often
Today, say one of the five reminders to yourself slowly and see what it changes.
- Read · about 2 minutes
“Mendicants, a woman or a man, a layperson or a renunciate should often review these five subjects.What five?‘I am liable to grow old, I am not exempt from old age.’ A woman or a man, a layperson or a renunciate should often review this.‘I am liable to get sick, I am not exempt from sickness.’ …‘I am liable to die, I am not exempt from death.’ …‘I must be parted and separated from all I hold dear and beloved.’ …‘I am the owner of my deeds and heir to my deeds. Deeds are my womb, my relative, and my refuge.I shall be the heir of whatever deeds I do, whether good or bad.’AN 5.57 · The Five Remembrances · “Subjects for Regular Reviewing” · tr. Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0)
From the text
The passage says that anyone, woman or man, layperson or renunciate, should often review five subjects: that they are liable to grow old, to get sick, and to die; that they must be parted from everyone and everything they hold dear; and that they are the owner and heir of their own deeds, good or bad.
In everyday life
These five sentences are blunt, and the passage is clear that they are for everyone, not only for monks and nuns. 'Renunciate' means someone who has left home life for practice; 'layperson' means everyone else. Why review such things often? One way to take it is that the facts we most avoid are the ones that quietly run us. Pretending we will not age makes us impatient; pretending we cannot lose people makes us careless with them. Said calmly, the reminders need not frighten. They can make the present hour more precious and the people in it more visible. The fifth reminder turns the same honesty toward your own conduct: what you do is what you keep. Today's sit with the breath is a good place to try one sentence, held lightly, while the breath continues. If it stirs something, let it be there and keep breathing. If it does nothing today, that is fine too.
- Sit · 3, 5 or 10 minutes
Breath Awareness
Sit comfortably upright, hands in your lap or on your knees. After reading a cue, you may close your eyes and rest with the breath until the next one appears.
- Live · during your day
Choose one of the five sentences and say it to yourself slowly, once, while looking at something ordinary in front of you. Then notice how you treat the next person or task.
- Reflect · this evening
Which of the five reminders was hardest to say, and what did it change, if anything?
Answer on paper, or in the app’s journal, which stays on your iPhone.