Death Awareness - Open Awareness Open Mind Series

Death is always a difficult subject for us to face, but by ignoring it, it will not go away. In this meditation Lama Yeshe gently invites you to face up to death. We cannot truly live our lives until we have dealt with death, because we will always have the fear of death in our minds. Please do not attempt this meditation if your are feeling anxious, fearful, depressed or have any other kind of emotional problems.

Transcript

This is a guided meditation practice from Buddhism Guide called Death Awareness.

Before we start the meditation,

I want to say a few words.

Death is an emotive subject and maybe not something you like to think about,

But it's important for us to face our fears and not run away from them.

If you want to know about life,

First deal with death.

If,

Whilst doing this meditation,

You become overwhelmed,

Then just stop and gently open your eyes.

You can always return to it another day.

If you are already feeling emotional,

Anxious,

Depressed or fearful,

Then I would strongly suggest you do not start the meditation,

As it may make matters worse.

Now sit comfortably and lightly close your eyes.

Let's start by doing three calming breaths.

Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose.

Hold the breath.

And now breathe all the air out through your mouth.

Again,

Breathe in through your nose.

Hold the breath.

And breathe the air out through your mouth.

One more time,

Breathe in.

Hold.

And breathe out.

Now breathe normally.

And don't try to force your breath in any way.

Just leave it to find its own rhythm.

Although death is the only thing that's certain in life,

We don't usually plan for it,

But it's important to think about and be prepared for.

So,

Contemplate the following points to get a sense of death awareness.

Everyone has to die.

So to generate an experience of the inevitability of death,

Keep in mind famous people from the past who you know have died.

Now bring to mind people you personally know who have already died.

And now think of the people you know who are still alive.

Contemplate that each of these people will one day die,

And so will you.

Try to experience this fact using your feelings,

Thoughts and emotions.

Now contemplate that your lifespan is decreasing continuously.

Seconds become minutes,

Minutes become hours,

Hours become days and days become years.

And as time is passing in this way,

You're travelling closer and closer towards death.

Your life is like a fast flowing river.

Experience this uninterrupted flow of time,

Carrying you to the end of your life.

Hold your awareness on this for a while,

And check what thoughts and feelings arise in your mind.

The amount of time you have for developing your mind is very small.

Since you're getting closer and closer to death day by day,

How much time do you spend consciously trying to improve your state of mind,

Or doing beneficial things such as helping others,

Or spiritual study,

Or meditation?

What are you doing to prepare for your death?

How much time do you spend working on decreasing the negative aspects of the mind,

And developing the positive aspects,

And behaving in ways that are beneficial to others?

Be honest.

Is it enough time?

By meditating on these points,

You should be able to develop the determination to use your life wisely and mindfully.

The next contemplation is on how human life expectancy is uncertain.

Life can end at any point.

At birth,

In childhood,

In adolescence,

Or middle age.

We really can't tell.

Think of examples of people you know,

Or have heard about,

Who died before they reached the age you are now.

Being young and healthy is no guarantee that a person will live a long time.

Children sometimes die before their parents.

Healthy people die before those who are suffering.

You might think that death is not going to happen for a long time.

Why do you think this way?

Is there any way you can know for sure when death will happen?

Generate a strong feeling of the uncertainty of your own time of death,

And how there is simply no guarantee that you have long to live.

There are many different ways that death can happen.

Death can happen due to external causes,

Such as natural disasters or accidents,

Or you can be killed by another person,

Or by a dangerous animal.

Contemplate how many ways you can die from external causes.

Death can also happen due to internal causes,

Such as diseases.

Contemplate how many different diseases you can die of.

Bring to mind cases of people you know,

Or have heard about,

Who have died,

And think of how they died.

Think that any of these things could happen to you as well.

A human body is very vulnerable.

It can be injured or struck down by illness so easily.

Within minutes it can change from being strong and active,

To being helplessly weak and full of pain.

The difference between life and death is one breath.

Right now you may feel healthy,

Energetic and secure,

But something as small as a virus,

Or as insignificant as a paper cut,

Could become the cause of your death.

Recall the times you have hurt or injured your body,

And how easily it could happen again,

And even cause your death.

Your body will not last forever.

Soon it will degenerate,

Lose its beauty and vitality,

And finally die.

Think about how much your body has changed over the years.

No matter how many friends and family we have,

No matter how much wealth,

Power,

Possessions we have,

None of it goes with us at death.

Think about that for a moment.

We should aim to die at peace with ourselves,

Feeling good about how we lived our life,

And not leaving behind any unresolved conflicts with people.

The only things that will truly benefit us at the time of death are positive states of mind,

Such as compassion,

Patience and wisdom.

But to be able to have such states of mind at the time of death,

We need to make ourselves familiar with them during the course of our life.

Are you ready for death?

What do you need to do to make yourself ready?

What attachments will you have at the time of death?

Our strongest attachments are usually to our family and friends.

So you would probably think of them and feel a strong wish to be with them.

But your loved ones can't help you when you're on your deathbed.

They may love you very much,

But they can't stop you from dying.

When we die,

We go alone.

Recognise the attachment you have to your family and friends.

Think about how your attachment will prevent you from dying peacefully.

At the time of death,

Your mind would probably also think of your possessions.

But can any of these things bring you comfort and peace?

Your wealth may be able to provide you with the best medical care,

But that's all it can do.

It can't stop death from happening.

And when you die,

You can't take any of the things that you have.

You can't take any of the things that you have.

Contemplate these points and see if you can understand the importance of learning to be less dependent on and attached to material things.

Your body has been your constant companion since birth.

You've cared for it,

Protected it,

Worried about it,

Kept it healthy,

Fed it and cleaned it,

Experienced all kind of pleasure and pain with it.

But now you're dying,

You'll be separated from it.

It'll become weak and useless.

Soon,

It will be taken to the cemetery or crematorium.

What good can it possibly do now?

Contemplate the strong sense of attachment you have towards your body.

Can it benefit you in any way at death?

You may feel fearful and sad when you see your body being destroyed by a terrible disease.

But if you're not afraid to die,

You can't.

You can't be afraid to die.

You can't be afraid to die.

You can't be afraid to die.

You can't be afraid to die.

You can't be afraid to die.

You may feel fearful and sad whilst doing this meditation.

That's not the point of the meditation.

But a bit of fear and sadness can be a motivator.

It's important to get in touch with how you feel about death,

So that you can work on being prepared for it when it comes.

We should not want to die with a negative state of mind or regrets about how we have lived our life.

We need to get a strong sense of how terrible it would be to die like that,

So that you live your life wisely,

Doing as many positive,

Beneficial things as possible.

In a moment,

You'll hear the final bells.

Once the bells have finished,

Very slowly start to open your eyes.

And just sit there a moment to allow yourself to return to the outside world.

The bell is sounded.

The bell is sounded.

Reviews

Such a very directed and powerful reflection. Thank you.

Wonderful reflective meditation on the impermanence of all things, including our precious human life. 🙏

I am currently studying the Sutra on Impermanence and this is helpful for my understanding.

I really appreciate the simplicity of the guidance. Thank you 🙏🏼

Very powerful contemplation, especially meditating on my attachment to my body. That evoked the greatest response, realizing that this body, which has served me so beautifully, will be no more. Thank you

Very thought provoking meditation. I was definitely keep coming back to this as the intention is perfect. Thank you

Concise, important reflection on a topic that will evade no one. I appreciate the delicate and direct delivery.

Wow, that was powerful and so worthwhile. I find myself visualizing that our life is a wave that rolls into shore, then breaks and returns to the sea at death. This meditation is a potent accompaniment to that. Very grateful as ever for your meditations here on insight timer.

Thank you for such an insightful meditation. It wasn't necessarily easy, but there were many great ideas to reflect on.

Thank you for being a tremendous guide in navigating this diffcult topic.

This was the perfect meditation for me. My husband of 63 years passed away three weeks ago. He had excellent medical care including nurses who alternated days to help me with my husband’s care. They were so compassionate and caring with my husband that he was able to die at home. He had a good death and I laid down beside him and spoke softly to him as he took his last breath. The rest of the day I felt so at peace and had no regrets. The next day I awoke with Covid. A couple of times during that time I wasn’t sure if I would survive. So I did contemplate my own death. Although I miss his presence, I am supported by my family who all live thousands of miles away.
I am grateful for this meditation at this time. 🙏💕

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
It was amazing and very insightful. 🙏🏻
I will practice regularly.

Could you please record more contemplative meditation? It’s very beneficial for me. 🙏🏻

A very calm, insightful meditation on how preparation for death can help us make the most of the time we have left, thank you.

Very vice and powerful words to reflect upon 🤗🙏 Thank you 🙏 💗

a good meditation on a difficult topic

Interesting, gives us more consciousness about life's direction

Remnded me to focus on life as death can come at any time

Precise, well paced this is an important meditation, the kind we should do every single day to make them more precious 🙏

Wow, very good! Much to contemplate in preparing for death.Very grateful for this meditation.🙏💜

Thank you. I am moved to reduce negativity in my life as I approach death.

This helped me understand how to help my dad who has cancer. ❤️🙏