One learns the art of dying by learning the art of living: how to become master of the present moment.
S. N. GoenkaRead
Every sensation shares the same characteristic: it arises and passes away, arises and passes away. It is this arising and passing that we have to experience through practice, not just accept as truth because Buddha said so, not just accept because intellectually it seems logical enough to us. We must experience sensation’s nature, understand its flux, and learn not to react to it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of personal experience in understanding the transient nature of sensations.
S. N. Goenka highlights the core Buddhist principle that sensations are impermanent; they emerge and fade away. Instead of merely accepting this notion intellectually or because it is stated by an authority, he encourages practitioners to engage directly with their sensations through mindful experience, promoting a non-reactive awareness and a deeper understanding of flux in our perceptions and experiences.
Themes
SensationImpermanenceMindfulnessExperienceBuddhism
In practice
Example use cases
During a mindfulness workshop to illustrate the concept of impermanence.
More from S. N. Goenka
All quotes →Rather than converting people from one organised religion to another organised religion, we should try to convert people from misery to happiness, from bondage to liberation and from cruelty to compassion.
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The mind spends most of the time lost in fantasies and illusions, reliving pleasant or unpleasant experiences and anticipating the future with eagerness or fear. While lost in such cravings or aversions, we are unaware of what is happening now, what we are doing now.
S. N. GoenkaRead
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