Preparing For Death - We Are All Mortal

[LifeandDeath]

I am not dying in any medical sense. However, the reality is I could die at any moment. So, I want to be prepared in the event that I may die earlier than expected. 

I'm conscious that there are people out there that are on their death bed, or currently dying, so I also want to respect 

I do feel there is an additional reason to remind myself of my death because I feel, that if I get into the right perspective now, then I feel I will live a more grateful life and it will be reminder to prioritise what's important, rather than getting caught up in superficialities. 

But, this is a lot easier said than done - and it's a very serious and sensitive topic. 

I have done a lot of work in this area, and accepting more and more my own mortality. I am aware that when I die, I will die in the present. Without being morbid, I feel like I'm able to conceptually let go of everything in my mind that my ego has touched and that identify with if I imagine myself dying. So, I feel as ready for death as I have ever been, but I'm unsure about how I will react when the time comes to die. I'm not sure how I truely will react, and perhaps I'll freak out. 

I'm really wanting to reassure myself that when the reality comes, I'm ready. Has anyone done this same thing - and feel ready to die without fear?

Is there a way to get myself closer to the reality of death and what impact this will have on my ability to truely let go of everything and be prepared, without putting myself in a life threatening situation? 

Any feedback on what I'm saying? 

 

[Guivs]

@LifeandDeath In my opinion the tibetan tradition has a lot of knowledge about it. And it shows as some advanced practionners have been able and seem to remain in "tukdam"(meditation state after one has seemingly died) for some days/weeks. But first hand experience should not be replaced by beliefs of course.

There is a meditation practice that is about the dissolution of the elements at the time of death. With practice, the experience is apparently becomes as if one really dies (lose sight, sound, sense of body,...). I will write about the details of that meditation if you wish. it is said that the dalai lama 'dies' or visualizes death 5 times each day during his meditations.

[Guivs]

@LifeandDeath Here we go : from the dalai Lama

Quote : 

"The process of dying involves a serial cessation, or dissolution, of the four internal elements : earth (hard substances of the body); water (fluids); fire (heat); and wind (energy, movement). In ordinary life, these elements serve as the basis for consciousness, but during the process of dying, their capacity to support consciousness decreases, beginning with the earth element. Each step in this dissolution actually increases the capacity of the next element to support consciousness. Step by step, it looks like this.

1. When the earth elements, or hard substances of your body, dissolves into the water element, the external indication is that your body becomes thinner. Internally, you see what appears to be a mirage seen in a desert.

2. When the water element of your body dissolves into the fire element, the external sign is that the fluids in your body dry, your mouth dries, your nose puckers and so fort; internally, you see what has been described as puffs of smoke from a chimney or smoke floating throughout a room.

3. When the fire element of your body dissolves into the wind, or air, element, the external indication is that the heat of your body diminishes, internally, you see what look like fireflies at nights or like scattering sparks. Heat withdraws from the body (...) from the feet upward to the heart or from the top of the head down. The former is preferrable (...)

4. Next, the wind, or movement of energy in your body, dissolves into consciousness, and your outer breath ceases; at this time you see an appearance like the light above a flickering candle flame when the fuel has almost been used up. (Some doctors would consider a person in this state to be dead, but from the Buddhist point of view, the mere cessation of outer breath does not mean that consciousness has left the body.)

The flickering light is followed by the appearance of a steady flame.

The final four phases of dying involve the dissolution of grosser levels of consciousness into subtler. This happens when the energues that serve as the mounts of consciousness dissolve. (...) In preparation for the next phase, the energies that served as the mounts of the many types of conceptual consciousnesses dissolve, shifting the basis of consciousness from grosser to subtler levels of energy. These naturally occur in four phases :

5. Your mind itself turns into an omnipresent, huge, vivid white vastness. It is described as a clear sky filled with moonlight, not the moon shining in empty space, but that space filled with white light. Conceputal thought has vanished and nothing appears except this vivid whiteness, which is your consciousness. However, a subtle sense of subject and object remains, so the state is slightly dualistic.

6. Your mind turns into a red or orange vastness, more vivid than before; nothing elese appears. It is like a clear sky filled with sunlight, not the sun shining in the sky, but space itself, filled with red or orange light. This state is even less dualistic. 

7. Your mind itself turns into a still more subtle vividly black state, nothing else appears. This is called near-attainment, because you are close to manifesting the mind of clear light. The mind of black vastness is like a moonless, very dark sky just after dusk when no stars are seen. In the beginning of this phase, you are aware, but then you lose awareness as you slip into even thicker darkness. 

8. When the mind of black appearance ceases, your mind itself turns into the fully aware mind of clear light. Called the fundamental innate mind of clear light, this is the most subtle, profound, and powerful level of consciousness. It's like the sky's natural state at dawn (not sunrise), without moonlight, sunlight, or darkness

The passage through to the mind of clear light can be fast or slow. Some people remain in the final stage, the mind of clear light of death, for only several minutes, others stay as long as a week or two. ( Side note : See people in tukdam)

Since the mind of clear light is so powerful, it is valuable to practice, so many practitioners visualize these stages of dying on a daily basis. I myself practice them six times daily by going through the eight levels of mind one by one (...) 

1.Mirage

2.Smoke

3.Fireflies

4.Flame of candle.

5. Vivid white sky-mind

6.Vivid red orange sky-mind

7.vivid black sky-mind

8.Clear light

(...) we know that the person is still in the clear light as long as the body does not begin to smell or rot. (...)Modern science has done a great deal of research on energy waves, the human brain, and its functions. Scientists and buddhists share a common interest in this area, and I believe we should work together to probe the relationship between the mind and its inner energies (...) "

 

Here we go, you could do this visualization each day and give it a real try until you have some experiential understanding, maybe ?  

 

 

[Nahm]

Learn more about reality an discover that life and death are just deep beliefs.

Here is a fun entry point.

 

[jse]

8 hours ago, LifeandDeath said:

Preparing For Death - We Are All Mortal

 

[LifeandDeath]

@Guivs thanks, i'll look into this - looks very insightful 

Have you practised all this and feel ready for death if it was to arrive now? 

[Nahm]

@jse that's deep bro.   high praise.   i often think of the that irony

[LifeandDeath]

@Nahm Thanks. I'll watch. 

Same question, do you feel ready for death if it was to arrive now? 

I feel the deep lesson in asking these questions for myself is that I understand more clearly what it is that I'm clinging too, or what latent 'expectations' I have for myself, or what I'm avoiding. 

[Bodhi123]

@LifeandDeath This video will probably be of interest to you.

 

[Hsinav]

11 hours ago, LifeandDeath said:

Any feedback on what I'm saying? 

 

My intuition says that if I can totally overcome the fear of death, all doors of possibility will be open.

The ignorance of humans own death and the ignorance of the impermanence of all things I think is one of the biggest problems in our society.

If only people really knew how short and fragile their lives are a lot of things i society would change for the better.

The realisation that I will stop to exist one day is making me grow very fast and makes me want to do the best of this very short time.

Edited February 26, 2017 by Vanish

[LifeandDeath]

@Bodhi123 thanks for sharing the youtube of Teal. Some fine words of wisdom. 

She lost me at 'out-of-body-experience' though... not sure if I've had one of those, can't conceptualising it happening, don't know of anyone that has, but keen to have an open mind to do it. I think it could possibly mean something different to what I imagine. 

Have you, or anyone out there, every had an out-of-body experience? ... this is probably a new thread, ha ha

[LifeandDeath]

12 hours ago, Vanish said:

My intuition says that if I can totally overcome the fear of death, all doors of possibility will be open.

@Vanish Does that mean you haven't totally overcome the fear of death? 

I feel after starting this thread it, this is giving me more confidence to face my fear of death. I do like what Teal said in the clip above posted by @Bodhi123 , when she says that the underlying fears are about annihilation, losing loved ones, fearing the unknown... very powerful as overcoming these fears would also liberate me more than just fearing death, it would help me make more stronger actions in this life time. 

[Hsinav]

5 minutes ago, LifeandDeath said:

Does that mean you haven't totally overcome the fear of death? 

@LifeandDeath

Can´t say I have totally but to a large degree I have excepted my own approaching death, which have made my life so much more joyful and interesting. 

The fear of death is running most peoples lives I think. All fears/anxietys originate from fear of death. Anxiety of loosing this and that and finally you´re own life.

Truth is, it was never yours from the beginning so there is nothing to loose.

Death is not opposite to life, it is the opposite of birth. Without death there could be no life.

I believe that if you can overcome the fear of death, you can overcome anything.

 

[LifeandDeath]

1 minute ago, Vanish said:

@LifeandDeath

I believe that if you can overcome the fear of death, you can overcome anything.

 

I do too. I'm trying. I think it's one of those things where the reality of it when it happens, if we have the luxury of being conscious throughout the process, will be completely different to what we are expecting. I imagine pain, discomfort, disorientation and the like. So, I'm also practising turning too, accepting and growing through embracing pain and fear on a day-to-day level, in hope that this will help me to prepare for the experience. 

[Hsinav]

@LifeandDeath

I just posted this quote on another thread but I´d like to share it with you. 

"Live your life in such a way that death will be your friend"  - Astrid Lindgren

[LifeandDeath]

@Vanish thanks, I like it and will also share it

 

[Dodo]

My theory is death is the best thing that can happen to you. So I won't prepare for death, I will wait for it with open arms, and while I live here I will be preparing for life here.

[Son of leo]

i agree

[Prabhaker]

50 minutes ago, Dodoster said:

My theory is death is the best thing that can happen to you.

On 2/26/2017 at 3:54 PM, LifeandDeath said:

I want to be prepared in the event that I may die earlier than expected. 

But people die unconsciously. When you die, you will not know, you will be unconscious – you will miss the opportunity of knowing death. 

Your life here should be the days of meditation, love, compassion, friendliness, playfulness, laughter; and if you can do that, you will be rewarded by a conscious death. That is the reward of a conscious life.

An unconscious life comes to die unconsciously.

You cannot manage to die consciously without a long, meditative, conscious life. Only a conscious life is rewarded with conscious death — it is a reward, but only to the conscious man.To the un

conscious man, it is the end to all his efforts, ambitions, desires.There is only darkness ahead,not a single light and no possibilities left.Death simply takes away the whole future. Naturally, the unconscious man is immensely afraid and deeply trembling, knowing that death is coming closer every day.Since your birth, the only thing that has been certain is death;everything else is uncertain and accidental.Only death is not accidental; it is an absolute certainty. There is no way to avoid it or dodge it.

Only a meditator is capable of passing through death as if it is a joke. He can pass through it laughing and singing, because he knows that fire cannot burn him and death cannot destroy him. There is no sword that can cut him. He belongs to eternal life. Once a small glimpse of eternity is achieved, no life can be destroyed by anything. It can be moved from one form to another, but death cannot do more than that — it is just the changing of the house. To the non-meditator, death is the end, to the meditator, death is a beginning, freed from the old rotten body, the old mind. It is a resurrection; every death is a resurrection. But if you don’t know it, you will die unconsciously without experiencing the beauty of resurrection. If you can die consciously, death is only a door into a new life on a higher plane. But to die consciously, one has to live consciously.

Edited February 27, 2017 by Prabhaker

[Bodhi123]

5 hours ago, LifeandDeath said:

She lost me at 'out-of-body-experience' though...

That's absolutely okay

You found some value in her other words. You don't have to accept everything that she or any other person says.