We must first understand the true nature of dying before we can understand the nature of living.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Okay, that quote above may not be exactly how it was worded in Fear and I apologize to all concerned. I was listening to the audio version as I sat with my tea this morning and, of course, as I do whenever I hear something that resonates within me, I have this urge to write it down. All I had was a dying pencil and an old envelope to jot it down on. Well, by the time I finished listening to this chapter I had the envelope covered inside and out with my scribbly writing which is hard to make out on a good day. So many beautiful tidbits of wisdom captured on that folded piece of paper that I wanted to share and I can barely read it. lol. A bit of sound advice for any readers will be to always go back to the source.
Anyway, he relayed the beautiful story of how two of the Buddha's monks and disciples went to help relieve suffering in a devoted follower and businessman (cannot even begin to spell out that name...but will come back with all names and extra details). To help ease his physical and emotional pain due to the very normal fear of encroaching death, the monks guided the Buddha's friend through this meditation. Though it is somewhat paraphrased from what I heard, it would go something like this:
This disintegration of the body is not me.
This body is not me.
I am not caught in this body.
I am life without limits,boundaries
These eyes are not me,
I am not caught in these eyes.
These ears are not me.
I am not caught in these ears.
This nose is not me
I am not caught in this nose.
This tongue is not me.
I am not caught in the tongue.
This mind is not me
I am not caught in the mind
This body is not me
I am not caught in the body.
I am life without limits.
The sights I see are not me.
I am not caught in the sights.
The sounds I hear are not me.
I am not caught in these sounds.
The smells I smell are not me.
I am not caught in these smells.
The tastes I taste are not me.
I am not caught in these tastes.
The contacts with the body are not me.
I am not these contacts.
The thoughts I think are not me.
I am not these thoughts.
This body is not me,
I am not caught in this body.
I am life without boundaries.
The decaying of this body
does not mean the end of me.
I am not limited to this body.
Of course, there are many more versions of this in Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings but this is what I scribbled down as Thich Nhat Hanh relayed the meditation in his book. These monks helped this dying man through his suffering, with great success in alleviating his fear.
Thich Nhat Hanh expressed that he wanted us to understand that if we could look at death in this way, see that we are not our bodies, our minds, our senses, or what our senses pick up, to see that we are not going to lose the essence of who we are when our bodies expire we would finally be free from fear and suffering.
There is no coming and going, no being or nonbeing, no birth or death of what we truly are. The body, when the conditions are sufficient will manifest, and when the conditions are no longer sufficient it will cease to be seen and felt by our consciousness. Our form presentation will change but who we really are won't. Just like water that is evaporated into a cloud, is still water when it leaves the lake, is still water when it is the cloud, is still water when it comes back down to the earth as rain or snow, and is still water when it freezes into ice, or when the ice melts to become ripples on the lake again. The water never came and the water never left; it was not born and it will not die. Its form is constantly changing but what it is, simply is. That is us too.
If we knew that, truly knew that, there would be no fear of death and with no fear of death, there would be no fear at all.
I love this from the Vasisthas as recited by Deepak Chopra in The Secrets of Healing:
The Self does not go, nor does it come, for space and time derive their meaning from consciousness alone...Where can the Self go when all that is, is within it. The unreal has no existence and the real does not cease to exist.
When the infinite vibrates the worlds appear to emerge. When it does not vibrate the worlds appear to submerge, even as when a torch is spun fast a firey circle appears and when it is held steady, the circle vanishes. Vibrating or not vibrating, it is the same everywhere, at all times. Not realizing it, we are subject to delusion. When it is realized all cravings and anxieties vanish.
Vibrating or not vibrating, emerging into or submerging from the physical form, we are always the same.
It is entirely possible to live happily and to die peacefully.
Hmmm!
All is well.
Thich Nhat Hanh (n.d. ) Fear: Essential Wisdom For Getting Through the Storm. Audio Version. Spotify
Deepak Chopra & Adam Plack (n.d. )The Secrets of Healing. Spotify
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