Universal Truth...
To change your life now and prepare for the inevitable, says Pamela Ayo Yetunde, regularly contemplate these five home truths. I first encountered the five remembrances when I was a chaplaincy student at the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies. Diana Lion, one of the teachers, handed us an altar card with five statements from the Upajjhatthana Sutta . Here they are in their blunt simplicity and undeniability: I am of the nature to age. I am of the nature to become ill. I am of the nature to die. I will be separated and parted from all that is dear to me. I am the heir to my actions. While at Sati, and later as a volunteer at the Zen Hospice Project (now Zen Caregiving Project), I reflected silently on each line, feeling the emotions that arose with each statement while trying to remain as still as possible with the agitation. Reflecting on the five remembrances is a fact check, and this helped me become more authentic with people who were in their last days of living. Authenti...