What Gathers Must Disperse
All formed things lack permanence. What conditions gather will, in the end, disperse; what arises must pass away.
Am I straining to hold the changing, wishing it would not change?
📝Reflection
The word impermanence sounds sorrowful at first — that all changes and passes: good times, loved ones, my own body and mind. But seen deeply, impermanence is not despair but another name for hope. Because all things change, the present suffering, too, is not eternal. Today's sorrow, helplessness, illness — all will one day disperse. If nothing changed, the good would be eternal, but so would the bad. Because things change, we can grow, improve, recover. The true teaching of impermanence is at once "so do not cling" and "so treasure this present moment." Because today will not come again, because we know it will disperse, this very moment shines so brightly.
🌱Apply It Today
In a hard moment today, recall "this too will disperse"; in a good one, "this too will not come again." Impermanence lightens pain and deepens joy.
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
