Meditation on Death

This motivational contemplation is great for those people who need that extra bit of spurring on to get out and do something positive with this wonderful life.

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation on death with Peter Radcliffe.

This concentration on death is a great way to create motivation in the present moment,

To work on cultivating a mind which is calm,

Peaceful,

Happy and skillful,

While we still have the time to do it.

Thinking about death creates an urgency to work on what is most important in our life.

This meditation is divided into nine different parts which are three sections of three points each.

And the first of these sections is to consider the inevitability of death.

The first point is that everyone must die.

I mean,

It's interesting to think that we spend so much time planning for events of our future.

All the different things we need to do in life,

All this needs to be planned out meticulously,

But we spend very little time planning for that one inevitable event which is death.

Go ahead and contemplate all the people in history.

Every single one of them is dead.

Even the richest and most powerful could not escape that fate.

And you might consider all of the people living today.

In a hundred years,

All but a handful of them will also be dead.

Planning this deeply shows that it is impossible to escape this inevitable fate.

It happens to everyone and will happen to us.

So be sure that this fate is awaiting us in the future.

At some point in the future,

We definitely are going to die,

Which brings us to the second point,

Which is that our lifespan is decreasing all the time.

The space between the now and when we're going to pass away is getting shorter and shorter.

Every second we get closer to death.

By thinking that the sand of time is running out,

It gives us that urgency to know that we need to make every second count while we have these fortunate circumstances.

Because when we think about our life today,

We have spent only a small amount of time working on the mind,

Which is the third point of this first section.

We have worked very hard on accumulating things and even creating a healthy body.

But we have spent very little time in perhaps the most important job of all,

And that is cultivating a peaceful,

Happy and skillful mind.

So in the remaining days of our life,

Feel there is an urgency or an importance to cultivate your mind,

Whether that's through meditation or another way of creating a skillful mind.

The second section that we're going to contemplate is the unpredictability of death.

Because these three points may cause some of us that are advancing in age to feel more urgent and motivated,

But a young person might think,

Well,

I've still got a lot of time before I die.

But consider that a young person does need to worry also because death can happen at any time.

Just read the newspaper and see that people are dying at all different ages.

Just because we are young is no reason to become lax and think we are safe and therefore can put off mental advancement,

Trying to cultivate the mind.

The fifth point,

Which is also to do with the unpredictability of death,

Is to consider that there are many causes of death.

Again we know how many different types,

How many different ways we can die.

There's an infinite number.

There's physical causes like accidents,

Disasters,

All these internal causes like diseases and illnesses of the body.

There are so many factors that can kill us.

But compare this to the very few factors which are keeping us alive.

Which brings us to the sixth point,

That our human body is very fragile.

In fact,

Causes can be very minor indeed.

Even a pinprick could turn septic and lead to our death.

In fact,

Even the things that are generally here to support us can be the cause of our death.

Houses collapse,

Cars crash and even medicines,

If taken in the wrong dose,

Can kill us.

There are very few factors which keep this fragile body alive and very many factors that can be the cause of our death.

So our time of death is totally uncertain.

All that we know is,

At the present moment,

We are in a fit state to work on our mind.

So we need to make use of that opportunity with great urgency.

And this brings us to the last section which is that only working on our mind can be helpful at the time of death.

You see,

According to many religious traditions,

We know that our body dies and only our mind goes on in some form or another.

So it's important to realize that working on our mind is most important of all.

So consider this,

Consider that for the next point.

Nothing we possess can help us at death.

Just for a moment visualize yourself actually lying on your deathbed surrounded by all the things that you've accumulated in life.

Can any of these things help you now?

No,

They can't.

You must die alone at the time of death.

You see,

Even your loved ones cannot help you at death.

You can be surrounded by friends and family and none of them can do anything to help you.

You must face your death alone.

In fact,

Having clinging to families and friends can be a source of huge anguish at the time of death which is not helpful to you.

So be mindful of the fact the only thing that can help is working on creating a peaceful,

Steady,

Happy mind and that can be only done with practice at the time you have now.

Because when your body dies it is only this mind that passes on which is the very last point.

You've spent so much time and effort to this date working on accumulating your possessions and working on a healthy body and yet the strength of your body will fade and as you're lying on your deathbed it will completely dissolve and you'll be left with nothing than your mind.

And at that time you have to question what have you done in your life to strengthen and pacify and conquer the mind so that it will allow you to die in peace and of course if you believe in an afterlife help you on your journey onward.

So don't cling to your body but concentrate now on improving the mind.

Reviews

I have been looking for a meditation base on this subject - I appreciate its existance, thank you

This was excellent. I will return again and again. Thank you 🙏

♾️☯️⚛️⚘️☄️🖤🪔🕯
Thank you kindly✨️
Namaste 🙏🏾🌟🕊

This was a very powerful meditation, one that I plan to listen to again and share with others. 🙏

Reading a book called "Die Wise" by Stephen Jenkinsen. You might find it interesting.

What important dhamma, and communicated in a direct, clear, and noble fashion. Many thanks and much Metta.

Very meaningful!

Soothing . . .yet frank.

Very good information but should be listed as a talk not a guided meditation

This is Atisha's 9 point death (analytical) meditation.

Very thorough and authentic.

People cannot help you at the TIME of death. They can support you before then, but at the moment of death, you're on your own. Only your practice will help you then.

Very interesting. Ive read the Dalai Lama's thoughts on facing his own death, and having a good death. It took away my fear of dying, after my father's death, and made me feel more positive. This meditation still brought up some uncomfortable feelings within me, but that only highlights that i have more work to do! I think this is very well done. Thank you.

I appreciate these talks, but I'm always left wishing there was a real meditation included.

More of a short talk than a meditation. Still, great things to ponder.

How true this is regarding everyone! Death is one of the very less things which are fair and equitable - no escape, no lies, it just is for anyone...
I have never been afraid of dying because I will one day anyway! I find it to be very much more difficult to cope with other people's death - like the parent's one for example! But I realize that this is a selfish feeling, it's the loss of the loved person and not the death of the person...
Thank you for this! ☯️🙏🏼

Concentrate now on improving the mind. Seek to cultivate a peaceful, steady, happy mind. Resolve to explore & develop the vast frontier of your mind. It's all you take with you when this body fades away & you pass from this life to the next. God bless you. Thank you for this mediatation. Amen. 👼❤🙏

Sobering. A valuable regular practice helping to set true priorities

Beautiful. Thank you

powerful talk re the importance of living a purposefull and mindful life