Preparing for death from the moment of birth is practiced in Buddhism too, maybe because it is a religion born from Hinduism. Tibetan monks prepare for death long before they plan their life! The core truth is that life is surreal and ephemeral, death is the only reality. They want to be prepared for the afterlife and lead this life whilst preparing for what comes after this life.
“In the teaching of the Buddha, all of us will pass away eventually as a part in the natural process of birth, old-age and death and that we should always keep in mind the impermanence of life. The life that we all cherish and wish to hold on.
To Buddhism, however, death is not the end of life, it is merely the end of the body we inhabit in this life, but our spirit will still remain and seek out through the need of attachment, attachment to a new body and new life. Where they will be born is a result of the past and the accumulation of positive and negative action, and the resultant karma (cause and effect) is a result of ones past actions.
This would lead to the person to be reborn in one of 6 realms which are; heaven, human beings, Asura, hungry ghost, animal and hell. Realms, according to the severity of ones’ karmic actions, Buddhists believe however, none of these places are permanent and one does not remain in any place indefinitely. So we can say that in Buddhism, life does not end, merely goes on in other forms that are the result of accumulated karma. Buddhism is a belief that emphasizes the impermanence of lives, including all those beyond the present life. With this in mind we should not fear death as it will lead to rebirth.
The fear of death stemmed from the fear of cease to be existent and losing ones’ identity and foothold in the world. We see our death coming long before its arrival, we notice impermanence in the changes we see around us and to us in the arrival of aging and the suffering due to losing our youth.
The ardent desire for nirvana prompts every Buddhist to lead life so as to redeem their karmic cycle and be free of the birth, death and rebirth cycle. This helps them embrace death without fear. In a way, death marks their rebirth, release of a debt, moving closer to Nirvana.
Comments