We have talked about impermanence and how painful it is to acknowledge that everything, including ourselves and all that we love, is going to perish. But the recognition of impermanence is also the threshold to something more, something greater. The reason we take impermanence to heart is that we need that understanding to inspire and guide us. Impermanence closes the gap between others and ourselves. When we recognise that everyone is subject to the same merciless conditions, we cannot but respond with affection. With the recognition of the impermanent world comes great compassion, genuine care. This pivotal discovery provides the circumstance for a complete opening of our minds. As compassion gains force, it enables our minds to recognise the profound nature of emptiness — the true nature of things that lies beyond all concepts. Sorrow and pain become catalysts for deep-felt loving care, and the power of universal compassion delivers the realisation of the true view. That’s when we have truly become students of the Dharma.

-- Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche