The Upajjhatthana Sutta: Five Recollections

From a talk given by Regine Ryder, July 7, 2026 

Tonight I will talk about the five recollections which are found in the
Upajjhatthana Sutta: Subjects for Contemplation.

"There are these five facts that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained. Which five?

"'I am subject to aging, have not gone beyond aging.' This is the first fact that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained.

"'I am subject to illness, have not gone beyond illness.' ...

"'I am subject to death, 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,[1] 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 will I fall heir.' ...

"These are the five facts that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained.'

We are of the nature to get old
Many here are already old, but old is just a way to compare. A 10 day newborn is an old newborn. A 19 year old is an old teenager.
So what does it mean to get old? Actually we all want to get old because the opposite would be to die young. All of us want to get old without the “negative effects”.’ which are getting feeble, maybe lose some short term memory, becoming dependent, feeling pain. Though All of these are natural. There is no way to hide from getting feeble or more feeble than we already are. It is a law of nature. Being aware of it can help us to suffer less when it happens. Or it can lessen the fear of being dependent. (the second arrow). This doesn’t mean that we should just let nature take its path. We should take care of this body and mind, even if it is just to be able to meditate.

We are of the nature to fall ill
I guess everyone here has experienced illness. It is a state of the body or mind that happens without discrimination. It hits the rich and the poor, the old and the young, the brave and the fearful. Being rich or living in a rich country like the US can prevent some illnesses through vaccination or eating healthily and staying fit. But we all experienced the effects of Covid that struck mostly the feeble and old. It could however hit everyone. Just like during the years of the black death we wanted scapegoats. Pandemics come and go. It is alarming when they are close to home. Knowing that illness befalls all living beings can help to suffer less or can lessen the fear of falling ill. (the second arrow). Again this should not go into complacency, oh I can’t do anything about it. We should still take care of our bodies and minds.

We are of the nature to die
This is one fact that we can’t run away from as much as we would deny it and especially not think about. It could lead to despair. And it can lead to more aliveness wanting to get out of this limited time. So meditating more, living a life of virtue. If you don’t like the word virtue, you can also say sila - the five precepts, right speech, right action, right livelihood. Also if you have a meditation practice and are aware of death, it will make a difference at the time of death. 
I often add: And when, where, how and what of I am going to die is uncertain. And when I die, I cannot take anything with me.

Let’s take a few deep breaths here as it is not easy to see these facts. Here is the story of the weaver’s daughter.

Dhamapada Verse 174:
Blind are the people of this world: only a few in this world see clearly (with Insight). Just as only a few birds escape from the net, so also, only a few get to the world of the devas, (and Nibbana).

The Story of the Weaver-Girl

While residing at the monastery near Aggavala shrine in the country of Alavi, the Buddha uttered Verse (174) of this book, with reference to a young maiden, who was a weaver.
At the conclusion of an alms-giving ceremony in Alavi, the Buddha gave a discourse on the impermanence of the aggregates (khandhas). The main points the Buddha stressed on that day may be expressed as follows:

"My life is impermanent; for me, death only is permanent. I must certainly die; my life ends in death. Life is not permanent; death is permanent."

The Buddha also exhorted the audience to be always mindful and to strive to perceive the true nature of the aggregate. He also said,
"As one who is armed with a stick or a spear is prepared to meet an enemy (e.g. a poisonous snake), so also, one who is ever mindful of death will face death mindfully. He would then leave this world for a good destination (sugati)."

Many people did not take the above exhortation seriously, but a young girl of sixteen who was a weaver clearly understood the message. After giving the discourse, the Buddha returned to the Jetavana monastery.

After a lapse of three years, when the Buddha surveyed the world, he saw the young weaver in his vision, and knew that time was ripe for the girl to attain Sotapatti Fruition. So the Buddha came to the country of Alavi to expound the dhamma for the second time. When the girl heard that the Buddha had come again with five hundred bhikkhus, she wanted to go and listen to the discourse which would be given by the Buddha. However, her father had also asked her to wind some thread spools which he needed urgently, so she promptly wound some spools and took them to her father. On the way to her father, she stopped for a moment at the outer fringe of the audience, who had come to listen to the Buddha.

Meanwhile, the Buddha knew that the young weaver would come to listen to his discourse; he also knew that the girl would die when she got to the weaving shed. Therefore, it was very important that she should listen to the Dhamma on her way to the weaving shed and not on her return. So, when the young weaver appeared on the fringe of the audience, the Buddha looked at her. When she saw him looking at her, she dropped her basket and respectfully approached the Buddha. Then, he asked her five questions and she answered all of them. The questions and answers are as given below:

(1) Where have you come from?  (1) I do not know.
(2) Where are you going?  (2) I do not know.
(3) Don't you know?  (3) Yes, I do know.
(4) Do you know?  (4) I do not know, Venerable Sir.

Hearing her answers, the audience thought that the young weaver was being very disrespectful. Then, the Buddha asked her to explain what she meant by her answers, and she explained.

"Venerable Sir! Since you know that I have come from my house, I interpreted that, by your first question, you meant to ask me from what past existence I have come here. Hence my answer, 'I do not know.' The second question means, to what future existence I would be going from here; hence my answer, 'I do not know.' The third question means whether I do not know that I would die one day; hence my answer, 'yes, I do know.' The last question means whether I know when I would die; hence my answer, 'I do not know."

The Buddha was satisfied with her explanation and he said to the audience,
"Most of you might not understand clearly the meaning of the answers given by the young weaver. Those who are ignorant are in darkness, they are just like the blind."

The Buddha then spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 174: Blind are the people of this world: only a few in this world see clearly (with Insight). Just as only a few birds escape from the net, so also, only a few get to the world of the devas, (and Nibbana).

At the end of the discourse, the young weaver attained Sotapatti Fruition.
Then, she continued on her way to the weaving shed. When she got there, her father was asleep on the weaver's seat. As he woke up suddenly, he accidentally pulled the shuttle, and the point of the shuttle struck the girl at her breast. She died on the spot, and her father was broken-hearted. With eyes full of tears he went to the Buddha and asked the Buddha to admit him to the Order of the bhikkhus. So, he became a bhikkhu, and not long afterwards, attained arahantship.

Everyone and everything we love and cherish are going to change. 
This means like it says in the Upajjhatthana Sutta: "I will grow different, separate from all that is dear and appealing to me."

So nothing we know is going to stay the same. We ourselves will change, others will change, our possessions are going to change. We also might not appreciate the same things or people. We cannot even choose to stay the same or is the skin that you feel now going to be the same tomorrow?

This actually helped me to accept the death of our dog and the passing of a very dear friend. While I was crying I kept repeating these words. And it made me realize that there are certain truths that are universal. And that I am not in control.

My actions in body, speech, and mind determine my Karma
Here is the one truth where we have some control. As I mentioned earlier, with cultivating our mind through meditation, reflecting often on the five precepts and the eight-fold-path, living a compassionate life, we are going to change our Karma.

[Below is a printable, single-page handout from Regine. Right-click to open or save.]