The Importance of being Impermanence

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING IMPERMANENCE
All is impermanence, said Buddha and science. The difference between science and our common sense is that Buddhism goes one step further. Science and common sense say things change. Zen Buddhism says there are no things that change. “From the beginning not a thing is.” (Hakuin). Dogen called time being-time. You are not a thing that changes in time. You are Time itself. It is normal to change, it is abnormal to resist change because you are resisting time itself. Normal is when change is allowed in a controlled way, through diplomacy, compromise, inventions, or sex. The non-violent release of the tension created by time is the norm.
But the abnormal happens when change is blocked, and a lid is put on the pressure cooker through a fixed viewpoint of life and reality. The big problem with us humans is that we fix and stop change with our words and language. But don’t just listen to me. See for yourself. When we name something in the world or in our mind, we fix it. We believe our name is a real things that is permanent. Words can either liberate us to flow with change, or freeze us and block change.
The practice of Buddhism in any situation that is building up pressure will relieve the tension and avoid an explosion. The practice of Buddhism, especially Zen, is the practice of being impermanence.