The Five Remembrances: A Buddhist Practice for Living with Wisdom

Last Updated on August 28, 2026 by Matthew Sockolov

One of the most foundational Buddhist teachings, the Five Remembrances come from the Upajjhatthana Sutta. In this discourse, the Buddha tells us that we all should reflect on these points often. It’s clearly important, yet something few of us do.

The Five Remembrances serve many purposes, but are founded on the reality that everything changes. This may be something we understand conceptually, but this practice of reflection encourages us to really investigate and experience it. For what it’s worth, I end my morning meditation every single morning with the Five Remembrances.

The Five Remembrances are (as translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu):

• I am subject to aging. I have not gone beyond aging.
• I am subject to illness. I have not gone beyond illness.
• I am subject to death. I have not gone beyond death.
• I will grow different, separate from all that is dear and appealing to me.
• I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that I wall fall heir.

We’ll cover what exactly each one means, why it’s a crucial teaching, additionall canonical context, and how to work with them. Remember, this is a mindfulness and wisdom based practice. The task is to tune into the experience of the remembrances and the mental reactions.

The Five Remembrances

When asking the question of how to practice Buddhism, the Five Remembrances offer a great starting point. It’s something you can do daily, quickly, and simply. They are a recognition of natural processes, and ones that cannot be avoided. They may be uncomfortable at first, but that’s okay! Attachment can make things uncomfortable.

Aging

The first surrounds aging. No matter how young or healthy we are, aging is a part of life. We don’t know what aging will look like for us specifically. The only way to truly avoid aging is through death. This is a reality we cannot avoid.

We forget about aging constantly. We have attachment to our current bodies, an innate assumption it will continue functioning as it does now, and suffer when abilities (physical and mental) change. Furthermore, the culture often values youth, further cementing our fear of aging.

We are not called to be excited about aging. The task here is to simply recognize this is a natural process. As long as we deny it, we cannot work with it. And in order for wisdom to arise, we need to face this truth.

Illness

Just as with aging, illness is a part of life. The body is vulnerable. Even when we feel healthy in a moment, that can change. No matter how hard we try, we cannot avoid getting sick. This also ties in with aging. As we age, illness is abound to arise.

We forget this, and take our health for granted. Even when we are healthy, we’re not above illness. We can of course care for the body, but this is another recognition that we are not alway in control. Can we appreciate our health while we have it, not just when we lose it? And can you recognize the impermanent nature of your health and the body overall?

Death

Much like aging and illness, death is inevitable. There’s an old Buddhsit joke that goes something like this:

A morgue hires a new Buddhist mortician. After a few weeks of work, the new mortician is called into their director’s office. They need to have a discussion, as he has written on each and every body tag: “Cause of Death: Life.”

Contemplation of death is a part of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness in the form of the cemetery contemplations. This is an intimate remembrance of the impermanent nature of this body and life. We feel as if we will always have more time, important conversations can wait, and we can practice later.

Remembering death leads to samvega, or spiritual urgency. For many, remembering death can lead to feelings of anxiousness or fear; these are generally signs of attachment to this body and life. It’s normal! This reflection can help us slowly break down the attachment and begin to see clearly.

Impermanence

The fourth reflection is a reflection on impermanence (and attachment). It’s phrased a bit harshly, but I believe for a reason. We can be separated by many things, such as changing relationships, distance, life transitions, and of course death. Furthermore, nothing stays the same anyway.

I look at my partner, Elizabeth. She is not the same person I married over ten years ago. Quite literally, the cells of her body have changed. Her personality has changed. Her interests have changed. Our relationship has changed! We were teenagers when we started dating. We’re now adults with two children.

At the end of the day, we lose everything. It may be a grand form of loss such as death (ours or another’s). Or it may be a subtle form of loss as people and circumstances change. This isn’t an encouragement to not love; it’s an encouragement to accept impermanence, work with attachment, and appreciate what is present without clinging.

Karma

The final of the Five Rembrances is perhaps the most confusing at first glance. Put simply, it’s a recognition of karma. The idea here is fairly simple: our actions have consequences. How we act, think, and speak impacts not just others, but who we create ourselves into.

Although the Remembrances aren’t necessarily in order, I think this final one can be deeply informed by the others. Knowing the impermanence of experience and these bodies, all we really have is our actions. It’s an encouragement to look at our habits, our character, our practice, and our relationships. The person that we become isn’t just an accident. We have some control via our intentional actions.

In a sense, the first four reflections encourage us to confront realities that we cannot change. The fifth encourages us to investigate how we want to live.

The Importance of Remembering These

We touched on why we work with the Five Remembrances, but I want to specifically name a few ways these reflections can help us. Like many Buddhist teachings, there are both pragmatic implications and deeper foundational implications.

Reduce Complacency

I have found in my practice that daily reflection of the Five Remembrances helps reduce complacency. With a recognition in my being of the impermanent nature of experience, I don’t take things for granted quite as habitually. Whether it’s people and relationships, experiences, my body, or whatever, the Five Remembrances support me in being present and grateful.

See Impermanence

Consistent remembering in this way can help lead us to a deeper understanding of impermanence. We are of course called to observe and know impermanence through the practice of mindfulness meditation. But these reflections can serve as an additional way to support our investigation of impermanence.

A lot of discomfort can arise when first beginning to work with the Five Remembrances. In my experience, this comes from us not truly knowing the impermanent nature of life and the body. As we begin to truly sense this impermanent nature, it can be a bit uncomfortable.

Develop Equanimity

Part of the Five Remembrances is a recognition of that which is outside of our control. We come to know and accept that there are things about existence that we just cannot change. And this is a calling for equanimity.

We aren’t called to meet life with apathy. We are called to meet it with the spaciousness that is equanimity. We rest in the middle of this reality, recognizing its impermanence, without clinging or aversion.

Encourage Wise Action

The fifth reflection very clearly relates to our actions. Life is uncertain and finite, and our actions matter. We can begin to look at how our actions shape our experience, how they impact others, and how they lead us toward or away from suffering in our lives.

Weaken Attachment

Finally, the Five Remembrances serve as a practice in weakening attachment. In my opinion, this is perhaps the core principle here. We are so attached to the body and this human experience. As we reflect on the true nature of these, it naturally weakens our attachment. As we build insight into the impermanent nature of experience, non-attachment arises naturally.

The Five Divine Messengers

There’s another related Buddhist discourse that is worth mentioning, the Devaduta Sutta. In this discourse, the Buddha speaks of “five divine messengers.” These are clearly related to the Five Remembrances. These five messengers offer a good way to look at the Five Remembrances in daily life, and offer a bit of a different perspective.

It’s important to note that when talking of these five divine messengers, the Buddha’s instruction was to “do good with body, speech, and mind.” This ties in to the fifth reflection and the karma we generate.

Newborn Baby

The first divine messenger is a newborn baby. This is meant to be a symbol of birth (and death), and the start of the cycle. As we are born, we are subject to life and all it has to offer.

An Old Person

The second is an old person, “eighty, ninety, one hundred years old…” This is quite clearly meant to represent old age, and the nature of all humans to age.

An Ill Person

The third is a person diseased, in pain, and severely ill. Again, this one is clear. It’s the Remembrance of illness.

A Dead Body

Once again, this is quite an obvious parallel to the Remembrance of death. The dead person serves as a reminder of our own impermanence.

A Punished Criminal

This final one is a bit complicated. The divine messenger is a man being punished for a crime. It’s meant to illustrate the final reflection and that there are consequences to our actions. I am not sure this is just, kind, or fair, but the point is that harmful actions have consequences. So do skillful ones!

Practicing with the Five Remembrances

We call it practicing Buddhism, not thinking about Buddhism. These are not just simple things to reflect on and leave there. There’s a calling to actually investigate, or to know them. We work toward experiencing them rather than just intellectually understanding.

Daily Reflection

The simplest way we can do this is with daily reflection. As mentioned, I take a moment at the end of my meditation period to recite these reflections slowly in my head. I do so with intention, not just mindlessly repeating the words.

I encourage you to do the same. If you have a daily meditation practice, incorporate these reflections in. If you don’t, pick a time to reflect every day. Maybe it’s when you’re drinking your morning coffee, brushing your teeth in the morning, or walking the dog. On a side note, if you want to build a daily meditation practice I recommend checking out our free Month of Mindfulness program!

Choosing One for the Day

You also might consider choosing one specific reflection to work with during your day. For example, you might tune into how you take your age, health, or life for granted. You also might recognize where age, death, or illness is apparent in your life. Really, all five the Remembrances lend themselves well to application in daily life.

Journaling

I’m a big fan of mindfulness journaling, and I think the Five Remembrances make a perfect journal prompt. You can again pick one, or work with all five. Reflect on how it makes you feel, whatever reactions arise, and whatever thoughts you have. There’s no wrong answer. Be honest and vulnerable.

Don’t Misunderstand the Practice

Finally, I just want to touch on a common misunderstanding with the Five Remembrances, and many other Buddhist teachings on attachment and impermanence. The teaching here is not to:

• Think about death obsessively
• Detach from loved ones or yourself
• Stop caring because death is inevitable
• Become passive because everything changes
• Blame others because of their karma

People can take the Five Remembrances in a nihilistic way. Perhaps we can do so with some positive nihilism. Everything is impermanent. This doesn’t mean we stop caring or disengage. It means we engage fully while we are able.