Lesson 1: Na Mo Ta Mo Ta Mo Da Ra Houng – Impermanence

Poem: Stream of Impermanent Mind

Our minds drift, entangled in a flood of information,
Forgetting the past, forgetting the lessons of life.
But with contemplation — looking deeply into each moment --
The luminous stream of mind reveals endless experience.
A supermarket of data overwhelms our brains,
Old memories fade beneath the pressure of the new.
Yet in truth, the mind becomes clouded and confused,
As fresh impressions sweep away the traces of the past.
Look back — a month has already slipped away,
So many feelings, countless passing moments.
Can you recall them clearly? They’re hard to grasp.
But with steady meditation, the mind will shine bright.
Strange reactions arise in daily life,
Not born from anything present here and now --
They spring from past-life causes and momentum,
And meditation illuminates them all.
Sustain your contemplation — observe the mind each moment.
Past experiences return in clear awareness.
Consciousness stretches continuously across lifetimes,
And the practitioner sees wisdom naturally unfold.
​Each sensation, each extraordinary reaction --
Through mindful observation, the impermanent flow is known.
In deep meditation, all phenomena are illuminated,
And from this timeless stream, Nirvāṇa is revealed.

Reflections on the Poem

1. The Nature of the Mind as a Stream

• The Buddha compared the mind to a flowing river — always moving, never the same twice.
• Like water that carries leaves downstream, the mind carries thoughts, sensations, and impressions — each arising and passing moment by moment.
• We often mistake this flow for something solid (“This is me, this is who I am”), but it is in constant flux.

2. The Overloaded Mind in Modern Life

• The poem likens modern consciousness to a “supermarket of data,” where constant input overwhelms awareness.
• As new stimuli bombard us, old experiences fade, and the mind grows restless and confused.
• This highlights the Buddhist concept of sankhāra — the conditioned tendencies that shape how we perceive and respond, often without awareness.

3. Memory, Conditioning, and Karma

• “Strange reactions” in daily life often arise not from the present, but from past experiences or karmic seeds.
• This echoes the teaching that habitual patterns (saṅkhāra) and latent tendencies (anusaya) shape perception and behavior.
• Mindfulness allows us to trace these reactions back to their roots, freeing us from automatic, conditioned responses.

4. Continuity of Consciousness

• The poem points to a deeper insight: consciousness “stretches across lifetimes.”
• In Buddhism, mindstream (citta-santāna) is not a fixed self but a continuum — influenced by past causes and creating future effects.
• By observing the impermanence of each thought, we loosen attachment to a “permanent self.”

Guided Meditation Practice (15 min)

Practice: Observing the Stream of Mind

1. Sit comfortably, close the eyes, and bring attention to the breath.
2. Without trying to control them, begin observing thoughts as they arise.
3. Notice how they form, linger briefly, and dissolve — like ripples on water.
4. When a reaction or memory appears, silently note: “arising… passing.”
5. Reflect: If each thought is impermanent, who is the “I” that thinks?

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Optional Contemplation:
Recall a strong emotion from a month ago. How vivid is it now? Can you find where it “exists”? This helps reveal the emptiness (śūnyatā) of mental phenomena.

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Discussion & Reflection Questions (10–15 min)

• What kinds of thoughts or impressions most frequently “sweep away” your awareness?
• Can you remember clearly the feelings you had a month ago? What does this teach you about the mind’s impermanence?
• Have you ever noticed a strong emotional reaction that didn’t match the situation? Can you trace it back to a past cause?
• How does seeing thoughts as impermanent change your relationship with them?
• What might it mean that “from this timeless stream, Nirvāṇa is revealed”?

Key Takeaways

• Impermanence is not just in the world around us — it is the nature of mind itself.
• Through mindful observation, we begin to see that no thought, memory, or identity is fixed.
• As attachment loosens, wisdom (prajñā) arises naturally, revealing the peaceful, unconditioned nature of mind — Nirvāṇa.