Death and Dying in Buddhism

By Edward G Horner

No human being, animal, plant nor smallest microbe manages to escape death.  it's the ultimate end for every now living or that were will live.  There is no "cure" and no avoiding it, but from a Buddhist perspective, suffering over this inevitability is something we can reduce and maybe even sidestep.

In Death and dying, Horner g

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mind of Peace Publications
• Release date: Jun 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781777153960

Edward G Horner

Horner has been hiking, skiing and paddling throughout Ontario and Alberta for over 50 years. He's an avid photographer, cyclist and keen outdoor enthusiast. He's the author of The Complete Family Camping Guide and founder of Friends of Dieppe Park. He is a past member of the Harbourfront Parks and Open Space Project, in Toronto.


Book preview

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© 2020 by Canadian Outdoor Press

First printed in 2020 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form, without written permission by the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages.

The Publisher

Mind of Peace Publications

An imprint of Canadian Outdoor Press

Riverdale, Toronto, Canada.

Title

Death and Dying in Buddhism

ISBN 978-1-7771539-0-8

ISBN 978-1-7771539-6-0 (e-book)

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Table of Contents

Forward

Introduction

Who Is Buddhist?

The Three Gems

The Five Moral Precepts

The Four Seals

What is Suffering?

The Suffering of Suffering

The Suffering of Loss

All Pervasive Suffering

Impermanence

What is Death?

Who Dies?

Is My Hand Alive?

Threat to Ego

The Four Fears

1. Fear of Losing our Physical Senses

2. Fear of Loss of the Body

3. Fear of Losing Confidence in the Dharma

4. Fear of the Consequences of Karma

Loosening Ego’s Grip

The Effect of Meditation on Ego

Vipassana Meditation

Samatha Meditation

Meditations on Death

The Inevitability of Death

Uncertainty of the Time of Death

Spirituality Can Help

Rebirth

When Death is Near

Upon Death

Funeral Rites and Ceremonies

Attending a Buddhist Funeral

A Verse About Impermanence

Memorial Service

Final Thoughts

Glossary

About the Author

Other Books by Edward Horner

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Analysis of death is not for the sake of becoming fearful but to appreciate this precious lifetime during which you can perform many important practices. Rather than being frightened, you need to reflect that when death comes, you will lose this good opportunity for practice. In this way contemplation of death will bring more energy to you practice. You need to accept that death comes in the normal course of life.

~ HH DALAI LAMA

Advice on Dying: And Living a Better Life

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Forward

The Founder of Buddhism Learns of Death

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Siddhartha Gautama, the man who was to become the BUDDHA, Founder of Buddhism, was born into a life of privilege and ease 2,600 years ago. He was the son of a wealthy, nobleman, Suddhodana, elected Chief of the Shakya Clan who ruled a large tract of land in, and around, Lumbini, Nepal. Siddhartha’s mother was Maya (Māyādevī), Suddhodana's wife, and was a Koliyan princess. Siddhartha, with the wealth and power of his family, could have remained in a life of luxury, protected from the outside world with its strife and confusion, but he didn’t.

One day Siddhartha leaves the safety of his family compound, along with his charioteer, Channa, and goes to the streets outside of the palace. In time they come upon an old person, dispossessed of their full faculties, fragile, stooped and clearly SUFFERING. Siddhartha asks Channa about this person, why are they in such a state? Channa replies that the person is simply old. This happens to everyone, in one form or another. It’s just part of being human. People suffer from this process.

Further along in the outing, the pair come upon a person who is sick. Again Siddhartha turns to Channa with questions. Channa informs his master that this is illness, another part of life for all humans. No one avoids illness, disease or injury. It is inescapable and can bring considerable suffering.

They travel along further in the streets and come upon yet another sight, this time a corpse at the side of the road. Siddhartha is informed by Channa that this is death, the ultimate end to everyone and every living thing on Earth. Like the other conditions, this too is inescapable. It has no cure.

Finally, before returning to the palace, the two come upon a holy man – an ascetic. Upon speaking with him the prince learns that the man is devoting his life to finding the cause of human suffering and a way in which it can be ended.

So, in one outing, beyond the castle walls, Siddhartha is exposed to everything from which he’s been insulated by his wealth and privilege; age, sickness, death and someone who understands all that ,and is themselves, searching for the cause and way to end all this suffering.

Soon after this excursion beyond the walls, Siddhartha, against the advice of his father, councillors and friends, leaves the palace to begin his own search for an end to human suffering, and so becomes the founder of what was to become Buddhism.

Introduction

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With apologies to Jim Morrison, it should be clear as mountain air that No One Gets Out Of Here Alive. No human being, nor animal nor plant nor smallest microbe manages to escape death. It’s the ultimate end of everyone now living or that ever will live.

There is no cure for it and no avoiding it. Your religion, spiritual practice, station in life or lineage has no bearing on the matter. It doesn’t matter how close you sit to the alter. No amount of medication, ministration, meditation or mediation is going to make one whit of difference. Your wealth or health will not alter the ultimate outcome. As sure as the sun rises, death’s coming for each and every one of us, in one way or another, in its own good time.

If that makes you feel uncomfortable, you’re in good company. Thinking about death and certainly speaking of death is not