A woman left a saucepan of milk with her neighbor, saying: "Please keep it for me; I shall come back in a few days."
There was no refrigeration, so the milk curdled and became a kind of cheese.
When the woman came back she said: "Where's my milk? I left milk behind, not cheese, so this is not my milk here."
This person did not understand impermanence. Milk will become cheese or yogurt if left for a few days. The person wanted only the milk of 5 days ago and refused to take the cheese.
So, is the milk and the cheese the same or different? With the insight of impermanence we can see the truth about the universe and all phenomena.
Take for example the Mississippi River. You have the impression that the river is always there for you, but the water in it is not the same even after just one moment.
Philosophers have said that you can never bathe twice in the same river.
This is the nature of impermanence confirmed not only by the Buddha, but by Confucius and Heraclitus and many other wise people.
~Thich Nhat Hanh
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