Impermanence
Last Sunday I got to attend the Sunday Sitting Group in person at InsightLA for the first time since the center re-opened in the spring. It is a place I’ve spent so much time since the beginning of InsightLA in the early 2000s. It was my home Sangha for years where I practiced, got trained to be a facilitator, and where I met a whole community of people to practice together.
A fellow teacher, Lisa Kling, presented the topic of “impermanence (anicha),” which hit home for me rather profoundly. Things are constantly changing. This community was certainly a part of it. When the world came to a halt more than four years ago, all the offerings including my Friday lunchtime practice group went online. InsightLA let go of the lease for both centers in Santa Monica and the East side at the end of 2020. Then as the pandemic eased, the in-person offerings have gradually returned utilizing other spaces.
Since I no longer live in the city, I have not been able to attend the in-person events here, which made it particularly poignant to be able to sit in the space with others. And the topic on impermanence — on how we, humans, might feel the anxiety when we cling to something we have that we don’t want to lose — was so appropriate. I didn’t necessarily feel like I was “clinging” to the community, but the impact of not having the access to it as i did before was surprisingly profound, especially once I got to come back to have a taste of what it was like.
As the teachings point out, the suffering (“dukkha”) comes from “clinging” to some things, persons, situations when they’re not how we want them to be. And watching our mind and observing the cause and effect between our thinking mind and reactions we experience is the key to liberating ourselves from dukkha. It is actually a simple concept yet can be very difficult.
My visit to InsightLA last Sunday was a powerful reminder of the ever-changing nature of life and the importance of embracing impermanence. Although my relationship with the community has transformed over the years, the sense of connection and the lessons learned remain profoundly impactful. Being back in that familiar space, I was able to fully appreciate the teachings on clinging and suffering, recognizing the subtle ways in which change has shaped my own journey. This experience reinforced the importance of mindfulness and the practice of letting go, not just as a philosophical concept but as a lived experience that continually shapes our path towards liberation and inner peace.