"Life is uncertain -
Death is certain"
This is a well known saying
to Buddhism. Knowing very well that death is certain and it is a natural
phenomenon that everyone has to face, we should not be afraid of death.
Yet, instinctively, all of us fear death because we do not know
how to think of its inevitability. We like to cling to our life and body
and so develop too much craving and attachment.
A child comes into this
world bringing joy and happiness unto all near and dear ones. Even the
mother who had to bear extreme labour pains is pleased and delighted to
behold her new-born child. She feels that all the trouble and pain borne
by her were well worth it. However, by crying, the child seems to
suggest it too has its share of suffering for coming into this world.
The child grows into an adolescent and later into an adult, performing
all sorts of good and bad deeds. He eventually grows old and finally
bids farewell to this world leaving his kith and kin in deep sorrow.
Such is the nature of existence of a human being. People try to evade
and escape from the clutches of death but no one is able to do so. At
the moment of death, they have their minds hovering over their hoard of
acquired wealth, unduly worrying about their dear children surrounding
them. Last but not least, they keep evincing much concern over their own
precious bodies, which, despite the tender care and attention, lavished
by them are now worn out, decaying and exhausted. It grieves one's heart
to separate oneself from the body. It is unbearable though unavoidable.
This is the way most people take leave of this world -- with moans and
groans. The pangs of death are considered dreadful, an attitude fed by
ignorance.
Fear of Death
Men are disturbed not by
external things, but by beliefs and imaginations they conjure up in
their minds with regard to the form of their future Iives.
Death, for example, is not
by itself dreadful: the dread or terror exists only in our minds. It is
not often that we are brave enough to come face to face with the thought
of our own mortality. Insistence upon the truth of suffering may seem
horrible and unacceptable to the mind which is unable to face realities,
but it certainly helps to reduce or eliminate the dread of fear by
knowing how to face death. Once life is launched, like a bullet it
rushes to its destination -- death. Realising thus, we must bravely face
that natural occurrence. To be considered free in life, we must also be
free from the fear of death. Fear only comes to those who are not able
to comprehend the laws of Nature. 'Wheresoever fear arises, it
arises in the fool, not in the wise man," says the
Buddha in the Anguttara Nikàya. Fears are nothing more than
states of mind.
Remember what science
teaches us about the process of dying? It is only a physiological
erosion of the human body. We needlessly frighten ourselves with
imagined or anticipated horrors which never come to pass. As a famous
physician, Sir William Osler puts it:-
"In my wide clinical
experience, most human beings
die really without pain or fear."
A veteran nurse once said:
"It has always seemed to me a major tragedy that so many people go
through life haunted by the fear of death -- only to find when it comes
that it's as natural as life itself. For few are afraid to die when they
get to the very end. In all my experience only one seemed to feel any
terror -- a woman who had done her sister a wicked thing which it
was too late to put right."
"Something strange and
beautiful happens to men and women when they come to the end of the
road. All fear, all horror disappears. I have often watched a look of
happy wonder dawn in their eyes when they realise this is true. It is
all part of the goodness of Nature."
Attachment to life on earth
creates the unnatural fear of death. It creates strong anxiety on life;
the man who will never take risks even for what is right. He lives in
fear worrying that some illness or accident might snuff out the precious
little life he cherishes. Realizing that death is inevitable, the one
who loves life on earth will go into a devout prayer expressing the hope
that his soul will survive 'in heaven. No man can be happy in such a
tempest of fear and hope. Yet it is hard to despise or ignore these
manifestations of the instinct for self-preservation. There is however a
method of overcoming this fear. Forget the concept of self; turn one's
love of the inward outwards, i.e. provide humanitarian service and to
shower love on others. Whoever constantly keeps in mind the fact that he
would someday be subjected to death and that death is inevitable, would
be eager to fulfil his duties to his fellow human beings before death,
and this would certainly make him heedful in respect of this world and
the next. Being engrossed in service to others, you will soon release
yourself from the heavy selfish attachments, hopes, vanity, pride and
self-righteousness.
Illness and Death
Both illness and death are
natural happenings in our lives and must be accepted as such with
understanding. According to modern psychological theory, undue mental
stress is caused by our refusal to face and accept life's realities.
This undue stress, unless overcome or subdued, actually causes grave
physical illness. Maintaining a sense of undue worry and despair over an
illness will certainly make it worse.
As for death, it must never
be feared by those who are pure in heart and action. We are all a combination
of mind and matter and as such there is actually no individual self to
die. The kammic reactions arising from past evil deeds may linger with
us on our rebirth thus causing us to shoulder the kammic sufferings in a
new life. Such an eventuality can be obviated if we make every effort to
acquire merit by leading a virtuous life and by doing meritorious deeds
wherever and whenever possible. By doing so we can face death bravely
and realistically since in accordance with the teachings of Buddhism
there is no "saviour" upon whom we could entrust our burdens
in order to relieve ourselves from the consequences of our wrong
actions.
We should constantly remind
ourselves of the Buddha's advice:
"Be ye refuges and
islands unto yourselves; labour
on with diligence."
Buddhists should not go
into grief and deep mourning over the deaths of relatives and friends.
There can be no halting of the wheel of circumstance. When a man dies,
the kammic sequence of his conduct passes on into a new being. Kith and
kin, friends and relatives can accompany the dead body up to the grave,
but not further. Only a man's deeds, good or bad, go forth with him.
Those left behind should bear their bereavement with calmness and
understanding. Death is an inevitable process of this world. That is the
one thing which is certain in this universe. Forests may be turned into
cities and cities into sand dunes. Where mountains exist, a lake may be
formed. Uncertainty exists everywhere but death is certain. All else is
momentary. We had our forefathers, and they in their turn had their own,
but where are they all now? They have all passed away.
Let not the sophisticated
assume that a pessimistic view of life is being presented here. This is
the most realistic view of all realisms. Why should we be unrealistic
and blind our eyes to real facts? For does not death consume everything?
It certainly does. Let this not be forgotten. The role of death is to
make every man aware of his destiny; that however high he may be placed,
whatever advanced aid in technology or medical science he may have, his
end is all the same, either in a coffin or merely reduced to a handful
of ashes. The sequence of birth and death is a continuing process until
we become perfect.
Man's Influence Persists
The Buddha said: "Man's
body turns to dust, but his name or influence persists." The
influence of a past life is sometimes more far-reaching, more potent
than that held by the living body with certain limitations. We
occasionally act on thoughts inspired by personalities whose mortal
remains have turned to dust. In our accomplishments, such thoughts also
play an important role. Every living person is deemed a composite of all
his ancestors who have gone before him. In this sense, we may assume
that the past heroes, great philosophers, sages, poets and musicians of
every race are still with us. As we link our selves to the past martyrs
and thinkers, we are able to share their wise thoughts, their noble
ideals and even the imperishable music of the ages. Even though their
bodies are dead, their influence lives on. The body is nothing but an
abstract generalisation for a constantly changing combination of
chemical constituents. Man must realize that his life is but a drop in
an ever-flowing river and must be happy to contribute his part to the
great stream which is called life.
Not knowing the nature of
his life, man is sunk in the mud of ignorance of this world. He weeps
and wails. But when he realises what his true nature is, he renounces
all transient things and seeks the Eternal state. Prior to achieving the
Eternal state he will have to face death again and again. Since death
itself is meaningless, man should not try to overcome the continuous
repeated births and deaths.
According to Buddhism, this
is not the first and last life we have in this world. If you do good
with confidence, you can have a better futurelife. On the other hand, if
you feel that you do not want to be reborn again and again, you should
work towards this end by making every effort to develop the mind by
eradicating all craving and other mental impurities.
Buddhist Philosophy
The Noble saint who has
attained the stage of highest perfection does not weep at the passing
away of those dear and near to him as he has completely eradicated his
emotional feelings. Ven. Anuruddha, who was an Arahant, did not weep at
the passing away of the Buddha. However, Ven. Œnanda, who was at that
time only a Sotàpanna, having attained only the first stage of
sainthood, could not but express his deep sorrow. The weeping bhikkhu
had to be reminded of the Buddha's view on situations of this nature, as
follows:- "Has not the Buddha told us, Ànanda, that what is born,
what comes to being, and what is put together, is subject to
dissolution? That is the nature of all conditioned formations; to arise
and pass away -- Having once arisen they must pass away -- And when such
formations cease completely, then comes Peace Supreme." These words
describe the foundation on which the structure of Buddhist philosophy is
built.
Cause of Sorrow
The cause of our grief and
sorrow is Attachment in all its various forms. If we want to overcome
sorrow, we have to give up attachment -- attachment not only to persons
but also to possessions. This is the ultimate truth; this is the lesson
that death signifies. Attachment provides us many things to satisfy our
emotion and to lead a worldly life. But the same attachment becomes in
the end the cause of all our sorrows. Unless we learn this lesson, death
can strike us and fill us with terror. The fact is beautifully
illustrated by the Buddha, who said: -
"Death will take away a man though he is attached to his children
and his possessions, just as a great flood takes away a sleeping
village."
This saying implies that if
the village had not been asleep but remained wake and alert, the havoc
created by the flood could have been avoided.
Death is Universal
Let us now examine how the
Buddha solved this problem for two persons who, through attachment, were
both deeply grieved by death. One person was Kisà Gotami. Her only
child had died after being attacked by a serpent. She went to the Buddha
carrying the dead child in her arms to ask for help. The Buddha asked
her to bring a few mustard seeds from a family where no one had died.
But she could not find such a family. Every house she visited was either
in mourning or had mourned over a death at one time or another. Then she
realized the bitter truth: that death is universal. Death strikes all
and spares none. Sorrow is the heritage of everyone.
The other person whom the
Buddha advised was Patàcàrà. Her case was sadder. Within a short
period she lost her two children, husband, brother, parents, and all her
possessions. Losing her senses, she ran naked and wild in the streets
until she met the Buddha. The Buddha brought her back to sanity by
explaining that death is to be expected as a natural phenomenon in all
living beings.
"You have suffered
from similar situations, not once, Patàcàrà, but many times during
your previous existences. For a long time you suffered due to the deaths
of a father, a mother, children or relatives. While you were thus
suffering, you indeed shed more tears than there is water in the
ocean."
At the end of the talk,
Patàcàrà realised the uncertainty of life. Both Patàcarà and Kisà
Gotami comprehended suffering and each learned through their tragic
experiences. By deeply understanding the First Noble Truth of
"suffering", the other three Noble Truths were also
understood. "Whoso monks, comprehends suffering," said the
Buddha, "also comprehends the arising of suffering, the cessation
of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering."
The Five Aggregates
Death is the dissolution of
Khandhas. The Khandhas are the five aggregates of
perception, sensation, mental formations, consciousness and corporeality
or matter. The first four are mental aggregates or nàma, forming
the unit of consciousness. The fifth, rùpa is the material or
physical aggregate. This psycho-physical combination is convention-ally
named an individual, person or ego. Therefore what entities that exist
are not individuals as such, but the two primary constituents of mind
and matter, which are rare phenomena. We do not see the five aggregates
as phenomena but as an entity because of our deluded minds, and our
innate desire to treat these as a self in order to pander to our
self-importance. We will be able to see things as they truly are if we
only have patience and the will to do so. If we turn inwards to the
recesses of our own minds and note with just that bare attention, note
objectively without projecting an ego in the process, and then cultivate
this practice for a sufficient length of time, as laid down by the
Buddha in the Sati Patthàna Sutta, then we will see these five
aggregates, not as an entity, but as a series of physical and mental
processes. Then we will not mistake the superficial for the real. We
will then see that these aggregates arise and disappear in rapid
succession, never being the same for two consecutive moments, never
static but always in a state of flux, never being but always
becoming.
Rebirth
The four mental aggregates,
viz, consciousness and the three other groups of mental factors forming Nàma
or the unit of consciousness, go on uninterruptedly, arising and
disappearing as before, but not in the same setting, because that
setting is no more. They have to find immediately a fresh physical base
as it were, with which to function -- a fresh material layer appropriate
and suitable for all the aggregates to function in harmony. Kamma acts
as a law and this law operates to re-set the aggregates after death. The
result is "re-birth".
A Bundle of Elements and
Energies
In brief, the combination
of the five aggregates is called birth. Existence of these aggregates as
a bundle is called life. Dissolution of these things is called death.
And recombination of these aggregates is called rebirth. However, it is
not easy for an ordinary man to understand how these so called
aggregates could recombine. A proper understanding of the nature of
elements, mental energies and the law of Kamma and co-operation of
cosmic energies is important in this respect.
To some, this is a simple
and natural occurrence. To them death means the separation of the five
elements and thereafter nothing remains.
To some, it means
transmigration of the soul from one body to another; and to others, it
means indefinite suspension of the soul; in other words, waiting for the
Day of Judgment.
To Buddhists, however,
death is nothing but a temporary end of a temporary phenomenon.
It is not the complete
annihilation of this so-called being.
Causes of Death
According to Buddhism,
Death can occur in any one of these four ways.
i. It can be due to the
exhaustion of the life span assigned to beings of that particular
species. This type of death is called
Ayukkhaya;
ii. It can be due to the
exhaustion of the Kammic energy that caused the birth of the deceased.
This is called Kammakkhaya;
iii. It can be due to the
simultaneous exhaustion of the above mentioned two causes -
Ubhayakkhaya; and
iv. Lastly, it can
be due to external circumstances, viz, accidents, untimely happenings
-- working of natural phenomena or due to a Kamma of a previous
existence not referred to in (ii). This is called Upacchedake.
There is an excellent
analogy to explain these four types of death. It is the analogy of the
of the oil lamp. The light in the oil lamp can be extinguished due to
any one of four causes:-
i. The wick in the lamp
burns up. This is likened to death through the exhaustion of the life
span;
ii. The consummation of
the oil in the lamp is likened to death through exhaustion of the
Kammic energy;
iii. The consummation of
the oil in the lamp and the burning off of the wick at the same time
-- is likened to death occurring through the combination of causes
described in (i) and (ii) occurring simultaneously; and
iv. The effect of
external factors such as the wind blowing out the light -- is likened
to death caused through external factors.
Therefore, Kamma alone is
not the cause of death. There are external contributory causes also. The
Buddha's teaching categorically states that Kamma does not explain all
happenings in our lives.
Face Facts
How should one best face
this unavoidable occurrence? By being forewarned -- that is, by
reflecting that death will, and must come sooner or later. This
does not mean that Buddhists should view life with gloom. Death is real,
and has to be faced -- and Buddhism is a religion of reason that trains
its followers to face facts, however unpleasant they may be. The Founder
of the Sikh religion Guru Nanak said, "The world is afraid of
death, to me it brings bliss." It clearly shows that great and
noble people are not afraid of death but are prepared to accept it. Many
great people have sacrificed their lives for the welfare of others.
Their names are recorded in the history of the world in golden letters
for posterity.
Death is Inevitable
It is rather paradoxical
that although we so often see death taking its toll of lives, we seldom
pause to reflect that we too can similarly sooner or later be victims of
death. With our strong attachment to life, we are disinclined to carry
with us the morbid thought, although a reality, that death is an
absolute certainty. We prefer to put off this awful thought behind us as
far away as possible -- deluding ourselves that death is a far-away
phenomenon, something not to be worried about. We should be courageous
enough to face facts. We must be prepared to face stark reality. Death
is a factual happening. If we appreciate such eventualities and
equip ourselves with the realisation that death is inevitable; even that
has to be accepted as a normal occurrence and not as a dreaded event
which we should be able to face when it eventually comes, with calmness,
courage and confidence.
Our Duties and
Responsibilities
With the certain knowledge
that death will ultimately overtake us one day, we should decide, with
the same calmness, courage and confidence, to discharge our duties and
responsibilities towards our immediate dependents. We should not
procrastinate our responsible duties. We should not leave things for
tomorrow when they can be done today. We should make good use of time
and spend our lives usefully. Our duties to our wives, husbands and
children deserves priority and should be performed in due time. We
should execute our last will and testament, without waiting for the last
moment, so that we may not cause undue distress, difficulties and
problems to our families due to our neglect. Death may call at any time
-- it is no respecter of person or time. We should be able to face this
ultimate event bravely with hope and confidence if we prepare for the
next existence.
Craving and Ignorance
Can death be overcome? The
answer is - Yes!
Death exists because of
birth. This repetition of countless births is called Samsàra. If
this cycle of existence is to be stopped, it can be cut off only at the
stage of Avijjà (ignorance) and Tanhà (Craving) -- These
are the roots in this cycle of births and have to be exterminated.
Therefore, if we cut off Craving and Ignorance -- birth is overcome,
death conquered, Samsàra is transcended and Nibbàna
attained.
We should try to understand
that everything in this universe is uncertain. Existence is only a
vision. When we analyse everything either scientifically or
philosophically, in the end we find nothing but void.
"To be afraid of dying
is like being afraid of discarding an old worn-out garment".
(Gandhi)
It is hard to bear the loss
of people whom we love because of our attachment to them.
This happened to Visàkhà
a well-known lady devotee during the time of the Buddha. When she lost
her beloved grand-daughter she visited the Buddha to seek advice in her
sorrow.
"Visàkhà, would you
like to have as many sons and grandsons as there are children in this
town?" asked the Buddha. "Yes, Sir, I would indeed!"
"Then, Visàkhà, in
such a case would you cry for all of them when they die? Visàkhà,
those who have a hundred things beloved, they have a hundred sorrows. He
who has nothing beloved, has no sorrow. Such persons are free from
sorrow."
When we develop attachment,
we also must be prepared to pay the price of sorrow when separation
takes place.
The love of life can
sometimes develop into a morbid fear of death. We will not take any
risks even for a rightful cause. We live in fear that an illness or
accident will put an end to our seemingly precious life. Realising that
death is a certainty, we hope and pray for the survival of the soul in
heaven for our own security and preservation. Such beliefs are based on
strong craving for continued existence.
Each and every individual
should be aware of the role of death in his or her destiny. Whether
royalty or commoner, rich or poor, strong or weak, a man's final resting
place for his body is either in a coffin lying buried six feet
underground or in an urn or in the water.
All human beings face and
share the same fate. Due to ignorance of the true nature of life, we
often weep and wail. When once we realise the true nature of life, we
can face the impermanence of all component things and seek liberation.
Until and unless we achieve our liberation from worldly conditions, we
will have to face death over and over again. And in this respect, too,
the role of death is very clear. If a person finds death to be
unbearable, then he should make every endeavour to overcome this cycle
of birth and death.
Contemplation on Death
Why should we think about
death? Why should we contemplate it?
Not only did the Buddha
encourage us to speak about death, he also encouraged us to contemplate
it and reflect on it regularly. That which is born will die. The mind
and body which arise at the time of conception develop, grow and mature.
In other words, they follow the process of ageing. We call it growing up
at first, then growing old, but it is just a single process of maturing,
developing, and evolving ultimately towards inevitable death.
Today, according to a world
record, about 200,000 people die, on the average, everyday. Apparently
about 70 million people die every year.
We are not used to
contemplate death or come to terms with it. What we usually do is to
avoid it and live as if we were never going to die. As long as there is
fear of death, life itself is not being lived to its fullest and at its
best. So one of the very fundamental reasons for contemplating death,
for making this reality fully conscious, is that of overcoming fear. The
contemplation of death is not for making us depressed or morbid; it is
rather for the purpose of helping to free ourselves from fear.
The second reason is that
contemplation of death will change the way we live and our attitudes
towards life. The values that we have in life will change quite
drastically once we stop living as if we are going to live forever, and
we will start living in a quite different way.
The third reason is to
develop the ability to approach and face death in the right and peaceful
way.
The contemplation of death
has three-fold benefits:
* relieving fear;
* bringing a new quality
to our lives, enabling us to live our lives with proper values; and
* enabling us to die in
dignity. It enables us to live a good life and die a good death.
What else do we need?
The contemplation on the
following factors are encouraged in Buddhism:
* 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 subjected to my
own kamma and I am not free from kammic effects;
* I am of the
nature to die, I have not gone beyond dying; and
* All that is mine,
beloved and pleasing, will change, will become otherwise, will become
separated from me.
When we contemplate this
reality with a peaceful mind and bring it into consciousness, it has a
powerful effect in overcoming the fear of old age, sickness, death and
separation. It is not for making us morbid, rather it is for freeing
ourselves from fear. That is why we contemplate death: it is not that we
are eagerly looking forward to dying, but that we want to live and die
without fear.
Death is Part of Life
Death comes to all and is
part of our life cycle. Some die in their prime, others in old age, but
all must inevitably die. Uninvited we came into this world and unbidden
we leave it. Inevitably I am going to die - so does everybody, every
plant, every form, every living being, which follows the same path. Soon
it will be autumn, the leaves will fall off the trees. We do not cry, it
is natural, that is what the leaves are supposed to do at the end of the
season. Human beings experience the same thing. Religious people usually
have less fear of death than very materialistic people, because
materialists are particularly interested only in this life to satisfy
their five-fold senses.
But from the Buddhist
perspective, death is not the end and each birth too is not the
beginning of a life. In fact death is the beginning of life and
conversely birth is the ending of life. It is just one part of a whole
process, a whole cyclic process of birth, death, rebirth and dying
again. If one has some understanding of this on-going process, death
begins to lose its ability to create morbid terror, because it is not so
final after all. It is only the end of a cycle; just one cycle along the
way and then the way continues ad infinitum with other cycles. The
leaves fall off the trees, but it is not the end. They go back to the
soil and nourish the roots; next year the tree has new leaves. The same
can be said of human life. Conditioned by the moment of death is
rebirth. An understanding of this basic principle helps to relieve
ourselves of the fear about death.
Living Consciously
We live our lives in many
foolish ways without even considering how much time we waste for
nothing. How much time have we wasted today worrying about next
year, about the next twenty years, thinking about the future, to the
extent that we have not been fully living even this very day?
And our values in life will
change. What is important in life? What is motivating us? What is the
driving factor in our lives? If we really contemplate death it may cause
us to reconsider our values. It does not matter how much money we have
for we cannot take any of it with us. Even our own body has to be left
behind for others to dispose of in one way or another; it is just a heap
of refuse left behind. We cannot take our precious body with us when we
leave this world.
The quality of life is more
important than mere material acquisitions. The quality of life is
primarily the quality of our minds. How we are living today may be more
important to us than many other external things. But the condition for
rebirth, and that of rebirth is conditioned by death and the quality of
the mind. This is one thing we take with us.
This is the one inheritance
that we do not leave behind for others:
- I am the owner of my
kamma, heir to my kamma.
- Born of my kamma,
related to my kamma, abide and supported by my kamma.
- Whatever kamma I shall
do, for good or for ill, of that I will be the heir.
All that which will follow
us will be the qualities that we develop within us, the qualities of
mind, the spiritual qualities and the good or bad qualities. These are
all what we inherit.
These are the conditions
which will determine our rebirth and shape the future. These in turn
will give rise to a new value in our lives. We may enjoy the millions we
have already gained but it is more important that we live more
peacefully and start to build up some virtuous qualities. It can have a
very good effect on the way we live our lives and on the values we
develop. It is not just a matter of being successful; it is how we
become successful.
Dying a Good Death
Having considered all of
these, if dying becomes no longer an alarming event but an actual
experience, we can with confidence face it. Not only that we can also do
a lot towards dying a good death. If we have led a good life, dying is
easier. But regardless of how we have lived, we can still endeavour to
die a good death. To help in the dying process, we stress very much the
development of the same quality of fearlessness. For many people, it's
more the fear of pain and the fear of separation from all their loved
ones, more than anything else, that is fearsome. At the time of dying,
encouragement and reassurance are most essential. For a start you need
to reassure yourself. The pain indeed will be excruciating and will be
difficult to bear, but we are fortunate in that advances in modern
medicines make it possible to reduce the amount of physical pain a human
being has to experience before death. Pain need not be such an
overwhelming object of fear.
I usually reassure a dying
person, such as someone who is terminally ill, for example with cancer,
that he will not needlessly be allowed to suffer and, that prompt
treatment will be given to alleviate his pain. An important result of
this is that the patient can relax and die more peacefully.
The other worry is the
inevitable separation from one's possessions. Of course, if we've
contemplated this before, it's a lot easier. We know that to come
together implies separation. If a dying person hasn't done this kind of
contemplation, then you need to gently encourage and reassure him or her
that the children and those left behind will be well taken care of. They
need to be reassured that it's all right, that there are friends to take
care of them; they need to be encouraged to relax and be peaceful, not
to worry about other things, that they'll all be taken care of.
The whole emphasis is on
trying to encourage the dying person, to become more peaceful.
How can one die a good
death? The Buddhist way is to maintain an atmosphere of peace in the
room where someone is dying. It's not very conducive to have people
shouting, screaming and crying. What does that do to the poor person who
has this very important thing to do, to die? They make it very difficult
for the dying person to die peacefully. It's good if friends and
relatives who are present, show by their presence that they care, that
they love, that they are willing to contribute something to support.
"Religious symbols are
very useful and come in handy in such situations. If the dying person is
a Buddhist, then a small Buddha statue, and possibly the presence of
Buddhist monks with soothing words of chanting will be very beneficial
so as to allow the dying person to pass away with the greatest peace and
dignity. It's a wonderful thing for them to move into their new life in
the best possible way." (Ajahn Jagaro)
Peaceful Death
Everyone hopes and desires
to have a peaceful death after having fulfilled his lifetime duties and
obligations. But how many have actually prepared themselves for such an
eventuality? How many, for instance, have taken the trouble to fulfil
their obligations to their families, loved ones, friends, country,
religion and their own destiny? It will be difficult for them to die
peacefully if they have not fulfilled any of these obligations. We must
learn to overcome the fear of death by realising that the gods are also
subjected to it. Those who have allowed fleeting time to pass away
frivolously will have good cause to lament later on when they themselves
are nearing the end of their lives. When people see their own lives as
being only a drop in an ever-flowing river, they will be moved to
contribute even their little part to the great stream of life. The wise
know that to live they have to work for their liberation by avoiding
evil, doing good and purifying their mind. People who understand life
according to the Teachings of the Buddha never worry about death. Death
is no cause for sorrow, but it would indeed be sorrowful if one dies
without having done something for oneself and for the world.
I
Died Today
David Morris was a well
known Western Buddhist scholar who died at the age of 85. Soon after his
death the writer of this booklet received a letter from him (obviously
he had written it earlier with instructions for it to be posted on his
death.) It went like this, "You will be happy to know that I died
today. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, you will be relieved to
know that my suffering from the sickness has finally ended. And
secondly, since I became a Buddhist I have faithfully observed the five
precepts. As a result you know that my next life cannot be a miserable
one".
* * *
Life is like a dream. Death
is a factual happening and rebirth a natural occurrence. In preparing
for that eventuality one would either have to continue or to end the
repeated cycle of births and deaths so as to be free from suffering and
this is what human intelligence is all about.
-ooOoo-
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