IMPERMANENCE · DHAMMAPADA 148

What Time Changes

This body is wasted, full of sickness, and frail; this heap of corruption breaks to pieces, life indeed ends in death.

Dhammapada 148 · Chapter 11, Old Age · trans. F. Max Müller · Read the full text at Project Gutenberg

Reflection

The verse begins, “This body is wasted, full of sickness, and frail.” In its chapter, this image points toward the body, time, and the inevitability of change. Rather than using change to create fear, the passage can sharpen tenderness for a life that cannot be held still. Because this is a historic English translation, test the teaching in experience rather than treating its wording as a demand for belief.

Practice prompt

Notice one change you usually overlook.