Dhammapada Verses on Impermanence

“Heedfulness is the state free of death; heedlessness is the state of death. The heedful do not die, while the heedless are like the dead.”

“Knowing this body’s like foam, realizing it’s all just a mirage, and cutting off Māra’s blossoming, vanish from the King of Death.”

“As a mighty flood sweeps off a sleeping village, death steals away a man even as he gathers flowers, his mind caught up in them.”

“When the teaching is well explained, the people who practice accordingly will cross over Death’s dominion so hard to pass.”

“Better to live a single day seeing the state free of death than to live a hundred years blind to the state free of death.”

“Not in midair, nor mid-ocean, nor hiding in a mountain cleft; you’ll find no place on the planet where you won’t be vanquished by death.”

“All tremble at the rod, all fear death. Treating others like oneself, neither kill nor incite to kill.”

“Creatures love happiness, so if you harm them with a stick in search of your own happiness, after death you won’t find happiness.”

“Creatures love happiness, so if you don’t harm them with a stick in search of your own happiness, after death you will find happiness.”

“As a cowherd drives the cows to pasture with the rod, so too old age and death drive life from living beings.”

“Not nudity, nor matted hair, nor mud, nor fasting, nor lying on bare ground, nor wearing dust and dirt, or squatting on the heels, will cleanse a mortal not free of doubt.”

“This body is decrepit and frail, a nest of disease. This foul carcass falls apart, for life ends in death.”

“In this city built of bones, plastered with flesh and blood, old age and death are stashed away, along with conceit and contempt.”

“Look upon the world as a bubble or a mirage, then the King of Death won’t see you.”

“It’s hard to gain a human birth; the life of mortals is hard; it’s hard to hear the true teaching; the arising of Buddhas is hard.”

“Make an island of yourself! Swiftly strive, learn to be wise! Purged of stains, flawless, you’ll not come again to rebirth and old age.”

“All conditions are impermanent— when this is seen with wisdom, one grows disillusioned with suffering: this is the path to purity.”

“As a mighty flood sweeps away a sleeping village, death steals away a man who dotes on children and cattle, his mind caught up in them.”

“Let go of the past, let go of the future, let go of the present, having gone beyond rebirth. With your heart freed in every respect, you’ll not come again to rebirth and old age.”

“Whenever they are mindful of the rise and fall of the aggregates, they feel rapture and joy: that is freedom from death for one who knows.”

“They have no clinging, knowledge has freed them of indecision, they’ve arrived at the objective, freedom from death: that’s who I declare a brahmin.”