Sutra on Impermanence

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The Tibetan canon contains two sūtras with the title Sūtra on Impermanence (Skt. Anityatāsūtra, Tib.མི་རྟག་པ་ཉིད་ཀྱི་མདོ་ , mitakpa nyi kyi do, Wyl. mi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo), both found in the same section of the Kangyur (Wyl. mdo sde, Toh. 309 and 310).

The first one, which is translated into English,is a brief sūtra in which the Buddha reminds his followers of one of the principal characteristics of saṃsāric existence: the reality of impermanence. The four things cherished most in this world, the Buddha says — namely good health, youth, prosperity, and life—are all impermanent. He closes his teaching with a verse, asking how beings, afflicted as they are by impermanence, can take delight in anything desirable, indirectly urging his disciples to practice the path of liberation.

English Translation