1:2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”Impermanence is from existence to non-existence, or from non-existence to existence. This is called impermanence. Permanence is remaining the same.

Smoke is changing moment by moment, which makes us feel the momentary impermanence.

So, we finally translate this verse as: “The Teacher says, all things are impermanent, mysterious, illusory, intangible and inconceivable. It is pointless to chase these smoke-like worldly things.”

1:14 I have seen that all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are impermanent, illusory, and meaningless, all like chasing smoke and catching shadows.

Chapter Two: Impermanent     2:1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be impermanent,illusory and meaningless.

2:11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, it is all impermanent and illusory. All like chasing smoke and catching shadows. Nothing was gained under the sun.    2:15 Then I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” I said to myself,“This is all impermanent, illusory and meaningless.”

2:17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is impermanent, illusory, all like chasing smoke and catching shadows.

2:19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will still have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun.This too is impermanent,illusory and meaningless.2:26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is impermanent,illusory,and meaningless,like chasing smoke and catching shadows.Not only are sprouts like this, but all things generated from causes and conditions are flowing endlessly like running river.None of them is not arising and ceasing moment by moment. Therefore, they are all impermanent. This is a great truth.Countless conditioned things are all arising and ceasing moment by moment, impermanent and changeable. 

From the first moment it was generated, rather than remain changeless, it ceases instantly. In every moment, it arises and ceases.Then in the second moment, there is new arising and ceasing.

When the causes and conditions are present and have not yet disappeared, the same type continues without interruption.When we are attached to permanence, it is actually impermanent. Everything is impermanent.When we are attached to nothingness, it is not gone. 

Instead, it has transformed into something else.Impermanence universally applies to all conditioned things.This truth surpasses the knowledge of all scientists, other Religions, and the sum of achievements of all Nobel prize winners for over 100 years.This reveals that the shared characteristic of all conditioned things is impermanence.