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**Averti$ingGuru** · 06-17-2011, 03:25 PM

Hey guys, I have been having a little trouble with the concept of impermanence so help is appreciated. I get how feelings, perceptions, consciousness, and mind-objects are impermanent, I can see that through meditation. But it is hard for me to see the impermanence of matter. I mean on a large scale I can see that form changes all the time, but what about atoms, don't they last forever? Someone please help shed some light, or maybe even some advice so I can help let go of this. Its another hinderance to my meditation. Thanks!

Hi sonofzeus,

One fairly simple way is to modify the time scale at which you are looking. If you are looking at the moment to moment impermanence then it may be difficult to have success. However, if you increase the time scale to months, years, decades, then the impermanence becomes obvious. Depending where you live, if the maintenance is not kept up, then impermanence becomes very obvious. Basically solid objects have longer periods of impermanence, whereas liquid and gaseous have shorter periods of impermanence.

Without prior cultivation it is very difficult to see the momentary impermanence of solid matter. For one thing, direct perception is filtered by your belief system. Possibly you could try the meditation that is called wall gazing, maybe you can pick up the impermanence there. It depends on the stability of your tranquillity, if you try a narrow focus (such as a fixed point on a wall) you will likely find your senses or mind moving away from the object of meditation. If this is the case you could try a rational approach.

One way is a scientific approach to the issue of impermanence. According to science the wall is made of atoms and the majority of the atom's volume consists of an electron cloud. This electron cloud is mostly space and continually moving, so how does this matter made up of mostly space end up being a solid wall?

Hope this helps somewhat,

Cheers, WK

06-17-2011, 03:25 PM	#5
Averti$ingGuru Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 413 Senior Member	Hey guys, I have been having a little trouble with the concept of impermanence so help is appreciated. I get how feelings, perceptions, consciousness, and mind-objects are impermanent, I can see that through meditation. But it is hard for me to see the impermanence of matter. I mean on a large scale I can see that form changes all the time, but what about atoms, don't they last forever? Someone please help shed some light, or maybe even some advice so I can help let go of this. Its another hinderance to my meditation. Thanks! Hi sonofzeus, One fairly simple way is to modify the time scale at which you are looking. If you are looking at the moment to moment impermanence then it may be difficult to have success. However, if you increase the time scale to months, years, decades, then the impermanence becomes obvious. Depending where you live, if the maintenance is not kept up, then impermanence becomes very obvious. Basically solid objects have longer periods of impermanence, whereas liquid and gaseous have shorter periods of impermanence. Without prior cultivation it is very difficult to see the momentary impermanence of solid matter. For one thing, direct perception is filtered by your belief system. Possibly you could try the meditation that is called wall gazing, maybe you can pick up the impermanence there. It depends on the stability of your tranquillity, if you try a narrow focus (such as a fixed point on a wall) you will likely find your senses or mind moving away from the object of meditation. If this is the case you could try a rational approach. One way is a scientific approach to the issue of impermanence. According to science the wall is made of atoms and the majority of the atom's volume consists of an electron cloud. This electron cloud is mostly space and continually moving, so how does this matter made up of mostly space end up being a solid wall? Hope this helps somewhat, Cheers, WK
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