This Too Will Pass

One of the core teachings of the Buddha is that everything that has the nature to arise will also pass away.

Everything.

Every good thing and every bad thing.

Every experience, every mental state, every situation, every stable seeming thing.

If something appears at any point in time, it will, by the very nature of its coming into being, eventually disappear.

This is a deep truth about our world, and it has many implications. In particular, it reveals why the ultimate wisdom of meditation can't be a matter of producing any new experience.

There's no feeling of peace or bliss, there's no peak experience that ultimately matters because everything that has the nature to arise will also pass away.

The real purpose of meditation is to recognize the implications of this in this moment and to feel beyond any doubt that holding on to experience isn't even possible.