Those of us bound in samsara die again and again. Witnessing death was one of the things that propelled the Buddha to leave the palace and search for the truth. Death is a reality of our lives, it is a product of causes and conditions: ignorance, afflictions, and karma. Seeing this, we generate a strong intention to free ourselves from these afflictions. This leads to the renunciation of samsara, and the aspiration to gain liberation, a state beyond the cycle of death and rebirth. For this reason, liberation is called “the deathless”.

Spend some time thinking about what the worldly fear of death is and what a Dharma concern with death is. Look into your mind and ask, “Where does that panicky fear of death come from? Where does that grief about death come from?” If we do not practise the Dharma, at the time of death, that ordinary fear of death will arise and the mind will be in fear and turmoil. If we practise the Dharma now, we can die without fear or regrets.

Whenever somebody around us dies, whether it is a bug or somebody we care about, look at it as a teaching that is reminding us of our mortality, the importance and urgency of practising to free our mind from attachment and ignorance, and
to purify our destructive karma. 

“365 Gems of Wisdom” Volume One (January — March) e-book is out now!