Learning to let go – Mindfulbalance
The teaching on impermanence (anicca) is not a morbid fixation on decay but a clear-eyed recognition of the way things are. Everything that arises passes away – this is the nature of all conditioned phenomena. The body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness are all in a state of continual flux.
When we resist this truth, we suffer. We grasp at relationships, possessions, even our own identities, as if they could be permanent. But the tighter we cling, the more pain we feel when they inevitably change.
The path to liberation lies in fully realizing anicca – not just as an idea, but as a direct experience. Through meditation, we watch the breath come and go, sensations shift, thoughts dissolve. Over time, the heart learns to let go. We see that because all things are impermanent, nothing is worth clinging to.
This is why the Buddha said: ‘All conditioned things are impermanent—when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.’ (Dhammapada 277)
Ajahn Amaro, The Island
