When Shakyamuni Buddha was residing in the Jeta Grove Anathapindika monastery, there was a Brahmin whose only daughter was fourteen or fifteen years old. Her dignified deportment, intelligence, and eloquence were unmatched throughout the kingdom. However, impermanence struck. She fell gravely ill all of a sudden and passed away.

       Her parents had cherished this only child more than their own lives. Her mere presence could dispel all their worries and woes. Upon her unexpected death, her father’s grief was beyond words. He wept daily until he lost his sanity, wandering aimlessly day after day.

       One day, the grieving Brahmin roamed to where the Buddha dwelled. Upon seeing the Buddha, his mind instantly cleared, and he prostrated to the Buddha. With profound sorrow, he said, “I had no son, only this daughter whom I cherished like a precious jewel. She could make me forget all my sorrows. Yet, out of the blue, she became seriously ill and died right before my eyes. She lay there still, silent to my calls. Her eyes were shut tight, her body turned cold, and she stopped breathing. All my desperate pleas couldn’t bring her back. The pain in my heart is indescribable. I can’t bear it any longer. I beg you, World-Honored One, to relieve me from this anguish.” His voice broken with emotion, tears streamed down his face, moving all those present to weep.

       The Buddha taught him to understand the following four impermanent phenomena in this world.

1. All that exists will not last.
2. No riches and rank stay forever.
3. All those who come together must part.
4. Even the strongest can’t escape death.

       First, “All that exists will not last.”

       This means that nothing in existence can remain forever unchanged or maintain its original form. Everything is in constant flux, its essence gradually transforming until it finally perishes. Take our bodies, for instance - they undergo constant metabolism, going through birth, aging, illness, and death, and finally vanish from this world. Even the natural landscape, the Earth itself and the entire universe are constantly going through cycles of formation, continuation, decay, and disintegration, a perpetual process of arising, enduring, changing, and ceasing.

       Second, “No riches and rank stay forever.”

       Even those of great wealth and high position will eventually fall. As the saying goes: “Rags to riches to rags in three generations.” Only through continued acts of goodness and virtue across generations can family fortune and honor continue down the line. Yet, as ordinary beings, we are prone to greed. When we have something, we want more, and when we have more, we want it to last forever. Without generosity, prosperity cannot last.

       Third, “All those who come together must part.”

       Families and friends are bound to drift apart over time. As they say: no family remains whole forever, no nation endures perpetually. This is especially true in modern times, when grown up children often move away to build their lives elsewhere, leaving aging parents behind in their hometown. And even for those who stay together, separation - whether through life's journey or death - is certain.

       Fourth, “Even the strongest can’t escape death”

       No matter how young, strong and healthy a person may be, he must meet death some time. Even those blessed with longevity cannot escape the grasp of death. From the moment we draw our first breath, we are all sentenced to death with no fixed date - with Death lurking ever at our side.

       Therefore we must, while we still can, address the important issue of what lies in our afterlife. Only then can we find peace both in this life and beyond. As the saying goes: “If a person hears of and understands the Way in the morning, he has no regret if he dies in the evening.”

       The Buddha then recited a four-line Gatha: 

All that exists will not last,
Even the mighty will fall,
All those who come together must part,
And all who live must die.

       Upon hearing the teachings from the Buddha, the Brahmin had an epiphany. He became a monk, deeply contemplated the impermanence of all things, and eventually attained enlightenment as an Arhat.

(Translated by the Pure Land School Translation Team;
edited by Housholder Fojin)