Meditation on death may sound gloomy and unnecessary, but it has a great spiritual potential for ourselves. People get used to the things they possess and love during the life course. But, when the death comes, the self is deprived of all these things and has to start the death journey alone. In the Buddhist religion, it is said that after the death of the body, the mind remains with the self, and all the feelings and sensations about the life left behind can be overwhelming. Therefore, meditation about death’s inevitability, unpredictability and spiritual nature can be very practical for an individual’s happiness. This paper summarizes the article about the death awareness meditation that has three parts – the inevitability of death, the uncertainty of the time of death, and the benefits of the spiritual insight.
Practitioners are advised to choose their own approach to meditation, dividing it into 3 or 9 sessions to become fully aware of each aspect of the relationship between life and death. The first part of meditation on the inevitability of death consists of three elements – the idea that everyone must die, the idea that a human’s lifespan is decreasing continuously, and the idea that the amount of life spent on mind development is very small. Therefore, the first thought should be about all the famous people and all the people the person knew who had to die. The second thought is that the lifespan can be seen like an hourglass, and with every minute, the time of our life is slipping away without a trace. The third thought is about being aware of how much time we spend on sleeping, working, taking care of ourselves, being angry or sad and how little time is left to be spent on improving our minds to become better persons.
The second part of the meditation is about the uncertainty about the time of death, and it also includes three parts – the idea that the human life-expectancy is uncertain, the idea that there are many causes of death, and the thought that the human body is very fragile. The limitation of the human life expectancy means that anyone can die at any moment, regardless of age, since children sometimes die before their parents, and people cannot unequivocally expect to live 80-90 years. Then, the plenitude of cause of death means that death can come from even the most innocent things, such as food if it is spoiled, or the house we live in if its structures are destroyed. Finally, the fragility of the human body implies that it can be injured or destroyed by such minor things as a virus or the bite of a poisonous animal. Moreover, over time, the body breaks down, loses its beauty and vitality, and eventually dies.
The third part of the meditation is about the exclusive benefits of the spiritual insight and the fact that the loved ones, possessions, and even the body will not help us at the moment of death. Even the most loving family cannot prevent the death of their loved one. The greatest wealth may help create a more comfortable environment, but it cannot be transferred to the other world. Finally, the body, which we cherish so much, and the care we devote so much time to, will be separated from consciousness at the moment of death and useless.
Thus, the article about the death awareness meditation was summarized. The meditation can be ended with the dedication of merit to all the living things. This meditation may evoke sad feelings, but it is useful, as it brings to life a greater awareness of the extreme importance of immediate attention to one’s consciousness, mental and emotional states. Understanding the futility of many things we hold dear can help us release anxiety and open ourselves to the eternal radiance of the divine.