A fellow practitioner started a conversations about death, as inspired by a dead bug. My thoughts are….
When I see dead bugs or flattened rodents in the middle of the road, I also cringe. Then I consider that I have died just like those animals in the past, I will die like that in this lifetime, and if I continue to be reborn, I will also die in the very same fashion. Whether it’s dying in my sleep or being murdered or suffering from cancer, young or old, alone or with friends by my side, I will definitely die. Then I reflect inward and think about whether or not I’m ready. If I die today, am I ready? Have I done enough in this lifetime to secure a good spot in a future life? What else can I do if I had a chance?
Then, I live everyday like it is my last. Everything I say, I mean it as the last words to whomever I’m speaking to. I try not to leave room for excuses or cleaning up a mess at a later time. After practicing in this way, I have increased mindfulness in every action, thought, or speech I utter. I truly understand and see that death is near, and I must increase my efforts in dhamma practice.
After a while, this fear of death will begin to diminish. In order to maintain this feeling so that I have motivation to practice, I look around me, observe, and find evidence that death affects all things in this world. Not only people, but dead branches, broken handles, yellowing paper, cars that need gasoline to operate, cell phones running out of batteries, etc. Everything falls under the rules of suffering, impermanence, and complete change from its original form. As I continue to contemplate these things, I begin to realize that time is of the essence. Death is running after me, and I must cultivate as much merit, practice and realize as much dhamma, minimize my imprint on the world and my peers, as much as I can. Everything is affected by death. I am exactly the same as a leaky bucket, dried rubberbrand, anything and everything else in the world. Once I understand that I am no longer afraid of death, but understand it, and understand my goal in this world.
That’s how I’ve contemplated death in the past, and continue to think about it at the present. You can also try to think about it in this same manner, so that you conclude that you and everything else in this world do not differ at all. Even if we’re at different stages nearing death, we are all on our way, and exactly the same. Either we’ve passed that stage, are at that stage, or will be at that stage….and eventually cease to be. We are all one and the same in this world. We do not cry over a dead cell phone battery, but we cry for loved ones that have departed. This is because we think that we, and our loved ones are much different and a lot better than the cell phone, but they’re not and we’re not. We are all the same. So how can we practice so that we truly see that we are the same? We are scared of death because we view things in this world as having different values. But they don’t. It is the responsibility of dhamma practitioners to realize this truth.
Luang Por Thoon used to preach that this understanding was the key to entering the stream….and a step closer to not having to be reborn and die endlessly.
No Comments