The Five Remembrances

The Five Remembrances are what the Buddha offers to awaken us from denial, to cultivate gratitude and appreciation for the life we’ve been given, and to teach us about impermanence, nonattachment and equanimity.  This is one version.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, author, poet and peace activist, revered around the world for his pioneering teachings on mindfulness, global ethics and peace.

To work with the Five Remembrances, it helps to memorize and repeat them daily. Say them slowly and let the words seep in, without analyzing or interpreting them or your experience. just notice your reactions. Let them rest until they shift and pass away—as all things do, being impermanent. Stay with your breath and observe the sensations under all your thinking. You may experience huge relief as the energy you’ve spent denying and hiding from the truth is liberated to move freely through your body.  ~ Frank Jude Bocchio- Yoga Journal, 2007

Frank Jude Boccio is the author with Georg Feuerstein of Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body and Mind, 1993. He teaches yoga in New Paltz, New York, and leads Mindfulness Yoga sessions throughout North America.

We’ve created a text-only printable copy of the Five Remembrances in PDF or MSWord.