Death my teacher

Death is a recurring theme in all my sharings. I must have touched on it at every Thursday service. As a doctor, our mortality is all too real; to me there is absolutely no reason to live in denial of this fundamental denominator of all living beings. But when I speak of my own mortality to my wife, she will scold me and hush me up... she loves me too much to picture this inevitable conclusion to our relationship.

But Death becomes the KEY that unlocks the door where the beauty and meaning of every living moment can be found.

The TRUTH - death's fundamental principle - is that our future is disappearing INSTANTANEOUSLY as soon as it appears. The ONLY way to be truly ALIVE is to embrace our own fatal adventure. Yes all of us are in a fatal adventure! No matter how exciting or boring or luxurious or simple this adventure is, there is only one conclusion before we begin all over again. This is how death teaches us to live; to do our very best, to be as kind, loving and compassionate as possible, to gain as much wisdom and insight in every moment; for it is ONLY THE PRESENT MOMENT that we truly have.

When we can see this, then all our petty quarrels and likes or dislikes seem insignificant.

In trying to live a Noble life at the present moment, we take care of the next and future 'moments' within THIS AND COMING lives. No one is born the same as the others, we are all unique in our personalities and inclinations, this is what we build from moment to moment, from life to life.

For the diligent student, one day soon or in the future, our Minds may evolve to perfection, freed from all Greed, Hatred and Ignorance. Then there will be no more ReBirths - reBecomings that bring us back to suffering and disappointments, to decay and Death. Meanwhile let us use Death as the teacher to make us better. After all, insurance agents do such a good job reminding us that we actually pay their company money!

Dhammapada Verse 6. Recollection of Death Brings Peace

Still others do not understand
that we must perish in this world,
those who understand this,
there quarrels are allayed.

Most of us are not prepared to face the reality of impermanence and death. It is because we forget the fact that our lives are transitory, that we quarrel with each other, as if we are going to live for ever. But, if we face the fact of death, we will then realize the folly of fighting when we ourselves are doomed to die. Excited by emotions and our thoughts being clouded, we cannot see the truth about life. ONLY when we see the truth, then and only then, will our thoughts become objective and freed from emotional discolouration.