- I am subject to old age.
- I am subject to illness.
- I am subject to death.
- I must be parted and separated from everyone and everything dear and agreeable to me.
- I am the owner of my karma.
3 thoughts on “The Five Daily Recollections”
Comments are closed.
cafebedouin.org 
I’ve been trying to incorporate the Five Remembrances into my life for a couple years, now. Really succinct, and increasingly helpful, although I think I’ve internalized them maybe 15% successfully. 🙂 Baby steps.
I am really fond of Thich Nhat Hahn’s translation.
——————————————-
The Five Remembrances:
I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.
I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.
The Thich Nnat Hahn translation is nice, particularly the last two, although I do like the brevity of this one too. New to me, but it struck me an just the facts of life that we frequently forget. I saw it mentioned by Ayya Khema in _Be an Island_.
Yeah, think it might take a long time to internalize. Might need enlightenment too.