--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So in reality the one constant is…" description: "\"“So in reality the one constant is existence- it changes its form, but can never be created or destroyed. And what's more important is that, just like ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/nikolai-grozni-46703_buddhism_so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existe_1297731.jpg" --- # So in reality the one constant is existence- it changes… ![“So in reality the one constant is existence- it changes its form, but can never be created or destroyed. And what's more important is that, just like the quantity of energy is a constant, the taste of existence is a constant, too. It can never change. You think it's going to make a difference if…” quote by Nikolai Grozni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/nikolai-grozni-46703_buddhism_so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existe_1297731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/nikolai-grozni-46703_buddhism_so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existe_1297731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/nikolai-grozni-46703_buddhism_so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existe_1297731.jpg) > ““So in reality the one constant is existence- it changes its form, but can never be created or destroyed. And what's more important is that, just like the quantity of energy is a constant, the taste of existence is a constant, too. It can never change. You think it's going to make a difference if you're poor or rich or dying or in hell or in Nirvana, but the fact of the matter is, it never does, the universe is like this metaphysical reactor where opposites cancel each other, pleasure is canceled by pain, highs by lows, reality by emptiness, Enlightenment by inexhaustible boredom, and at the end it all adds up to zero. Heaven isn't going to be too sweet, hell can't be too bad. It's like this: the rich have everything but are desensitized, the lepers have got nothing but are closer to life- they feel every passing moment in their bones. Monks are missing one thing, laypeople are missing another. Ordinary beings are stuck on this shore, the Buddha is stuck on the shore beyond. You could say that everyone is fucked in some way, or you could say that everyone's in a state of equilibrium. It makes no difference, really.”” [Nikolai Grozni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Existence is a constant energy flow where opposites cancel; wealth, suffering, and enlightenment all balance out, leading to a neutral equilibrium regardless of status. **In simple terms:** Life’s opposites balance to zero. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence and balance. Themes philosophy existentialism balance Mood contemplative neutral Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - spiritual practice - philosophical study - psychological counseling Key Concepts energy conservation dualism emptiness Questions to Reflect On - How does one find purpose amid perceived neutrality? - Can balance be achieved without resignation? A Different Perspective This view may overlook individual agency and meaning-making. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Constant Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant-existence-4249989/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existence Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-constant-4249990/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Reality Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-constant-4047496/) [Reality Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-emptiness-4249991/) ## Related quotes > [“4.2.2.1.4. Teaching That the Cognition That Negates the Existence of Objects Is a Valid Cognition "If valid cognition is not valid cognition, Isn't what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-brunnholzl/4-2-2-1-4-teaching-that-the-cognition-that-negates-the-existence-of/) [Karl Brunnholzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-brunnholzl/) > [Anything physical is always changing, therefore, its reality is not constant, not eternal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/anything-physical-is-always-changing-therefore-its-reality-is-not/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Humility is the time that you spend in love with existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/humility-is-the-time-that-you-spend-in-love-with-existence/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Buddhist philosophy points out that the true nature of all forms is essentially formless. Forms do not have an existence of their own, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/buddhist-philosophy-points-out-that-the-true-nature-of-all-forms-is/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [“According to Zen Buddhists, all things have their existence in The Void. The Void is that which is no-thing, but contains all things within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/according-to-zen-buddhists-all-things-have-their-existence-in-the/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The very best players, when they are practicing, put everything they've got into it. But then they leave it for a while. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/the-very-best-players-when-they-are-practicing-put-everything-they-ve/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Enlightenment is lightening up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/enlightenment-is-lightening-up/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Nikolai Grozni > [“We would kiss slowly, like scientists who analyzed the chemistry of passion, the electricity of desperation, the heat of loneliness, the sudden fluidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/we-would-kiss-slowly-like-scientists-who-analyzed-the-chemistry-of/) [Nikolai Grozni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/) > [“Before you can dispel other people's ignorance, you should first dispel your own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/before-you-can-dispel-other-people-s-ignorance-you-should-first/) [Nikolai Grozni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/) > [“Youth is feeling seventy years old, misanthropic, and ready to die at fifteen”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/youth-is-feeling-seventy-years-old-misanthropic-and-ready-to-die-at/) [Nikolai Grozni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/) > [“I don't know why people are so afraid of dying. It only takes a moment. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/i-don-t-know-why-people-are-so-afraid-of-dying-it-only-takes-a-moment/) [Nikolai Grozni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/) > [“Because if we were all created idealists, then life was bound to be one relentless disappointment. But then, there was also music. We unlearned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/because-if-we-were-all-created-idealists-then-life-was-bound-to-be/) [Nikolai Grozni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/) > [“Home is simply a place where your friends wait for you to come back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/home-is-simply-a-place-where-your-friends-wait-for-you-to-come-back/) [Nikolai Grozni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/) > [“The mind is a strange thing: it works in secret. Oftentimes the most important decisions in life are made while you're not paying attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/the-mind-is-a-strange-thing-it-works-in-secret-oftentimes-the-most/) [Nikolai Grozni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/) [Explore all 8 Nikolai Grozni quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/) ## More Buddhism quotes > [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Enlightenment is lightening up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/enlightenment-is-lightening-up/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [The very best players, when they are practicing, put everything they've got into it. But then they leave it for a while. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/the-very-best-players-when-they-are-practicing-put-everything-they-ve/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mom and my aunties are really devout Christians. My mom married a Muslim when I was 12, so I got teachings from both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tech-n9ne/my-mom-and-my-aunties-are-really-devout-christians-my-mom-married-a/) [Tech N9ne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tech-n9ne/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“The extraction of discrete parts of Chöd teachings from their broader philosophical contexts is symptomatic of how Chöd has been incorporated into and transmitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-sorensen/the-extraction-of-discrete-parts-of-ch-d-teachings-from-their-broader/) [Michelle Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-sorensen/) > [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That's all there is, enlightenment on the end of a cock. It doesn't get any more Zen than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-wilkes/that-s-all-there-is-enlightenment-on-the-end-of-a-cock-it-doesn-t-get/) [Jaden Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-wilkes/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) [Browse all 6,100 Buddhism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So in reality the one constant is existence- it changes its form, but can never be created or destroyed. And what's more important is that, just like the quantity of energy is a constant, the taste of existence is a constant, too. It can never change. You think it's going to make a difference if you're poor or rich or dying or in hell or in Nirvana, but the fact of the matter is, it never does, the universe is like this metaphysical reactor where opposites cancel each other, pleasure is canceled by pain, highs by lows, reality by emptiness, Enlightenment by inexhaustible boredom, and at the end it all adds up to zero. Heaven isn't going to be too sweet, hell can't be too bad. It's like this: the rich have everything but are desensitized, the lepers have got nothing but are closer to life- they feel every passing moment in their bones. Monks are missing one thing, laypeople are missing another. Ordinary beings are stuck on this shore, the Buddha is stuck on the shore beyond. You could say that everyone is fucked in some way, or you could say that everyone's in a state of equilibrium. It makes no difference, really.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nikolai Grozni" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existence-it-changes-its-form-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Buddhism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existence-it-changes-its-form-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/nikolai-grozni-46703_buddhism_so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existe_1297731.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/nikolai-grozni-46703_buddhism_so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existe_1297731.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/nikolai-grozni-46703_buddhism_so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existe_1297731.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So in reality the one constant is existence- it changes its form, but can never be created or destroyed. And…” — Nikolai Grozni", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nikolai Grozni", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-grozni/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“So in reality the one constant...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existence-it-changes-its-form-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-grozni/so-in-reality-the-one-constant-is-existence-it-changes-its-form-but/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```