I am of the nature to age, I have not gone beyond ageing.
I am of the nature to sicken, I have not gone beyond sickness.
I am of the nature to die, I have not gone beyond dying.
All that is mine, beloved and pleasing, will become otherwise, will become separated from me.
I am the owner of my kamma, heir to my kamma, born of my kamma, related to my kamma, abide supported by my kamma.
Whatever kamma I shall do, for good or for ill, of that I shall be the heir.
Thus we should frequently recollect.
The Buddha advised us to contemplate five things everyday. Firstly, “I am of the nature to age, I have not gone beyond ageing.” The second contemplation is “I am of the nature to sicken, I have not gone beyond sickness.” Thirdly, we contemplate “I am of the nature to die, I have not gone beyond dying.” The fourth contemplation is “All that is mine, beloved and pleasing, will become otherwise, will become separated from me.” Lastly, we contemplate that “I am the owner of my kamma, heir to my kamma, born of my kamma, related to my kamma, abide supported by my kamma; whatever kamma I shall do, for good or for ill, of that I shall be the heir.”
In the first three contemplations, we contemplate that we are growing old, getting sick, and eventually die. In the fourth contemplation, we contemplate that those that are beloved and dear to us (including our property), are going to change, and become separated from us. The fifth contemplation is contemplation that kamma is supporting us, and that we will inherit the result of kamma. We are the owner of our kamma, so we have to be careful about our kamma. Therefore, these are good contemplations to make.