1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,980 So, tonight's talk, I thought to talk about death. 2 00:00:07,980 --> 00:00:12,215 The reason is simply that this is the sort of thing I think 3 00:00:12,215 --> 00:00:15,140 about myself quite a bit in my monastic life. 4 00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:18,709 It's the sort of thing I like to talk about because I reflect on 5 00:00:18,709 --> 00:00:22,004 these things myself. And one of the things to 6 00:00:22,004 --> 00:00:25,018 understand when we talk about death is that, from a Buddhist 7 00:00:25,018 --> 00:00:28,800 point of view, it's not a sad or a negative thing to think about. 8 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,683 But actually the purpose of talking about this and thinking 9 00:00:32,683 --> 00:00:35,400 about death is actually quite the opposite. 10 00:00:35,940 --> 00:00:40,140 It's to make you feel more at ease, more comfortable, more at 11 00:00:40,140 --> 00:00:42,940 peace, and even more happy inside of yourself. 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,073 So it's a beautiful thing which comes from thinking about death 13 00:00:47,073 --> 00:00:50,340 in the right way, of course, not in the wrong way. 14 00:00:50,580 --> 00:00:54,034 It gives us all these beautiful spiritual qualities if we do 15 00:00:54,034 --> 00:00:57,654 this in the right way. This is the first thing you 16 00:00:57,654 --> 00:01:00,096 should then take. The second thing you should take 17 00:01:00,096 --> 00:01:02,465 into account is that you should always, if you think about 18 00:01:02,465 --> 00:01:05,420 death, you should look inside of yourself and see how you feel. 19 00:01:05,740 --> 00:01:11,340 If it makes you feel negative or anxious or upset or has some 20 00:01:11,340 --> 00:01:15,405 kind of negative consequence for you, then of course you're going 21 00:01:15,405 --> 00:01:17,640 to have to be careful with thinking about this. 22 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,698 I remember a few years ago there was a lady who came up to me at 23 00:01:21,698 --> 00:01:25,796 the monastery and she said to me that, you know, sometimes I wake 24 00:01:25,796 --> 00:01:28,780 up in the middle of the night and I feel terrible. 25 00:01:28,980 --> 00:01:30,660 I'm terrified, terrified about dying. 26 00:01:31,340 --> 00:01:34,900 While I'm sleeping, suddenly I have this thought and I wake up 27 00:01:34,900 --> 00:01:38,796 and I'm terrified of dying. And of course, if you, some 28 00:01:38,796 --> 00:01:41,348 people, I don't think many people are like that, but some 29 00:01:41,348 --> 00:01:44,359 people are like that. And if that is the case, you 30 00:01:44,359 --> 00:01:48,163 have to be very careful how you go about this sort of 31 00:01:48,163 --> 00:01:49,552 contemplation. Otherwise, you will cause 32 00:01:49,552 --> 00:01:51,040 enormous amount of suffering for yourself. 33 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,269 So always the way we decide whether a particular practice is 34 00:01:55,269 --> 00:01:58,600 good for us or bad for us is always the way we decide. 35 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,320 And the way we decide is whether it gives rise to good states of 36 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:06,150 mind, to peace, joy, calm, all these beautiful things that we 37 00:02:06,150 --> 00:02:10,708 are trying to move towards in this practice we know as a 38 00:02:10,708 --> 00:02:13,944 Buddhist practice. So that is how you should decide 39 00:02:13,944 --> 00:02:16,160 for yourself whether it is working or not. 40 00:02:17,180 --> 00:02:22,938 And I always like to take my cue from the suttas, from what the 41 00:02:22,938 --> 00:02:25,585 Buddha taught. And the interesting thing is 42 00:02:25,585 --> 00:02:28,760 that the Buddha talked about death a lot in the suttas. 43 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:30,490 And he said that we should contemplate something that he 44 00:02:30,490 --> 00:02:31,500 mentions again and again and again. 45 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:35,708 Something that he said we should contemplate, and we should also 46 00:02:35,708 --> 00:02:39,798 use in our meditation practice to help us advance on the 47 00:02:39,798 --> 00:02:43,260 Buddhist path. And very interestingly, he said 48 00:02:43,260 --> 00:02:47,082 there's one particular place, he said that there are five 49 00:02:47,082 --> 00:02:51,044 contemplations that both a monastic and a layperson, if you 50 00:02:51,044 --> 00:02:54,810 like, or a householder, whatever you want to call, call the 51 00:02:54,810 --> 00:02:58,050 opposite of monastics. There are five things that we 52 00:02:58,050 --> 00:03:00,102 should contemplate. Contemplate frequently because 53 00:03:00,102 --> 00:03:04,000 it gives rise to great growth in good states. 54 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,640 And one of those five is the thought of dying. 55 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:14,096 To remind ourselves that we are also subject to dying, at least 56 00:03:14,096 --> 00:03:15,914 eventually. We don't know when, but 57 00:03:15,914 --> 00:03:18,200 eventually we're going to have to die as well. 58 00:03:19,300 --> 00:03:23,118 The other four things in that particular sutta are also to 59 00:03:23,118 --> 00:03:26,835 remind ourselves that we get sick, we get ill, to remind 60 00:03:26,835 --> 00:03:30,356 ourselves of old age. We're going to have to go in 61 00:03:30,356 --> 00:03:32,900 that direction. To remind ourselves that we will 62 00:03:32,900 --> 00:03:36,750 eventually get departed from all the things that are pleasing and 63 00:03:36,750 --> 00:03:40,200 delightful to us. And finally, that we are the 64 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,186 heirs to our kamma. In other words, the actions that 65 00:03:43,186 --> 00:03:46,402 we do, whether they're good or bad, we are going to have to 66 00:03:46,402 --> 00:03:48,800 reap the result of those actions in the future. 67 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:52,516 These are the five things. And of those five things, I 68 00:03:52,516 --> 00:03:54,800 think the most central one, possibly, is death. 69 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,550 Because death is something that the Buddha said in many, many 70 00:03:57,550 --> 00:04:00,300 places. And that's the first thing we 71 00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:02,300 should contemplate. So because it is such an 72 00:04:02,300 --> 00:04:06,327 important part of the Buddhist path, I like to both talk about 73 00:04:06,327 --> 00:04:11,379 this and obviously practice this sort of thing myself in my own 74 00:04:11,379 --> 00:04:15,530 life. So the first thing to remember, 75 00:04:15,530 --> 00:04:20,800 one of the beautiful things, one of the wonderful consequences of 76 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,100 contemplating death, one of the first things that happen, is 77 00:04:24,100 --> 00:04:26,800 that it sets our priorities in life very straight. 78 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:27,668 When you remind yourself that you are not the only one who is 79 00:04:27,668 --> 00:04:30,800 suffering death, you are going to die. 80 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,944 Because if you know that you are going to die, you don't want to 81 00:04:33,944 --> 00:04:37,113 invest so much in the things that are around you, whether 82 00:04:37,113 --> 00:04:40,864 it's material things or whatever it is that you are trying to 83 00:04:40,864 --> 00:04:43,800 accumulate in life and build up in your life. 84 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:48,384 Why invest so much in things that you know with absolute 85 00:04:48,384 --> 00:04:51,800 certainty you are going to have to give up? 86 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,800 So this idea of death changes our priorities around. 87 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,467 It makes us look at things in a new way, see things in a new 88 00:04:59,467 --> 00:05:01,956 light. And that is one of the powerful 89 00:05:01,956 --> 00:05:05,675 things that it does to us. It clarifies what is actually 90 00:05:05,675 --> 00:05:08,340 important in life. It doesn't delude us anymore 91 00:05:08,340 --> 00:05:11,400 into thinking that some of these superficial things that we are 92 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,800 going to have to give up anyway, that these are really important. 93 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:18,240 And it reminds us that what actually is important are the 94 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:22,372 spiritual qualities in the mind. And it's almost like a natural 95 00:05:22,372 --> 00:05:24,516 instinct. Once you think of death, it 96 00:05:24,516 --> 00:05:26,800 changes your view of things almost straight away. 97 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,800 If you do it with a clear mind. It's an instinct. 98 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,800 Suddenly you know what is right, what you should be doing. 99 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,800 What you should be doing, of course, is the practice we know 100 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,468 as a Buddhist practice. And it's very beautifully 101 00:05:39,468 --> 00:05:42,800 summarized on that statue, Buddha statue outside here. 102 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:47,600 There's a verse on that Buddha statue on the column known as 103 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,800 the Ovada Patimokkha. Ovada means like an exhortation. 104 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:54,729 Patimokkha is like, well, the Patimokkha for monks is like a 105 00:05:54,729 --> 00:05:57,800 sequence of rules and training rules we have to follow. 106 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,801 And this Ovada Patimokkha is one of the maybe more succinct but 107 00:06:01,801 --> 00:06:05,372 still beautiful ways of capturing what Buddhism is all 108 00:06:05,372 --> 00:06:08,301 about. And it says that we should avoid 109 00:06:08,301 --> 00:06:12,800 doing that which is bad or evil. We should do what is good. 110 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:18,372 And we should purify the mind. This is the teaching of the 111 00:06:18,372 --> 00:06:20,800 Buddhas. That is what it says. 112 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:22,800 And that is Buddhism in a nutshell. 113 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,552 So when I say that it clarifies the mind, it moves the mind 114 00:06:26,552 --> 00:06:30,926 towards those things which are part there of that Ovada 115 00:06:30,926 --> 00:06:35,690 Patimokkha verse. And there's one beautiful story 116 00:06:35,690 --> 00:06:40,302 which Ajahn Brahm tells, and I'm sure many of you may have heard 117 00:06:40,302 --> 00:06:43,256 this story before, but I think it's very pertinent when we talk 118 00:06:43,256 --> 00:06:46,135 about death. And this is the story of a 119 00:06:46,135 --> 00:06:49,600 businessman who lived in Sydney. I don't know when this was, 120 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,711 probably many years ago. And he told this story to Ajahn 121 00:06:52,711 --> 00:06:56,936 Brahm at some stage. And he said that one day when he 122 00:06:56,936 --> 00:06:58,800 was at home, suddenly the phone rang. 123 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,800 At the other end of the phone was his doctor. 124 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,800 And the doctor says, I've got some very serious news for you. 125 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:09,968 Are you prepared? Are you ready to hear this very 126 00:07:09,968 --> 00:07:13,200 serious news? After you had your, the doctor 127 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:17,801 says to this businessman, after you had your visit to me a week 128 00:07:17,801 --> 00:07:21,550 ago or something, we did all the tests, we have found out that in 129 00:07:21,550 --> 00:07:24,467 fact those tests have revealed that you have a terminal 130 00:07:24,467 --> 00:07:26,800 disease. You have cancer. 131 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,586 This is the sort of thing many people get to hear in their 132 00:07:29,586 --> 00:07:30,800 lives. There's thousands and thousands 133 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,516 and millions and millions of people out there who are in that 134 00:07:34,516 --> 00:07:37,620 sort of situation. So the businessman, of course, 135 00:07:37,620 --> 00:07:40,800 like most people are straight away, he was quite upset. 136 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:42,800 Cancer, you know, I don't really want cancer. 137 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,800 I still thought I had many, many years ahead of me. 138 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:48,800 But after a while he realized that there's no point in going 139 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,302 on complaining about this. Now was his chance to do all 140 00:07:51,302 --> 00:07:53,467 those things that he had put off, because he had been so busy 141 00:07:53,467 --> 00:07:57,200 with his life. He was so busy making money, 142 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,944 climbing the career ladder, trying to do all those worldly 143 00:08:00,944 --> 00:08:03,800 things that most people get caught up in. 144 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:09,246 So he then sold his business and the first thing he did was to 145 00:08:09,246 --> 00:08:12,802 book some airline tickets at a nice destination overseas to 146 00:08:12,802 --> 00:08:17,425 take all his family with him and spend some quality time with his 147 00:08:17,425 --> 00:08:20,448 family, a family that he had neglected over many years 148 00:08:20,448 --> 00:08:23,050 because he was too busy doing other things which seemed 149 00:08:23,050 --> 00:08:27,984 important for him at the time. Just as the family was about to 150 00:08:27,984 --> 00:08:31,515 set off traveling overseas, he gets another call from his 151 00:08:31,515 --> 00:08:33,402 doctor. And the doctor says, well, this 152 00:08:33,402 --> 00:08:35,799 time I've got even more serious news for you. 153 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:37,799 This is even worse than last time. 154 00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:40,799 And the man thinks, well, what on earth could that be? 155 00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:43,799 Surely terminal cancer is bad enough. 156 00:08:43,799 --> 00:08:48,944 And the doctor says there has been a very serious mix-up at 157 00:08:48,944 --> 00:08:51,000 the hospital. In fact, the test that we 158 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:52,800 thought was yours was a test of somebody else's. 159 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:53,602 And the doctor says, well, this time I've got even more serious 160 00:08:53,602 --> 00:08:54,658 news for you. This is even worse than last 161 00:08:54,658 --> 00:08:55,202 time. In fact, the test that we 162 00:08:55,202 --> 00:08:55,800 thought was yours was a test of somebody else's. 163 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:56,668 In fact, the test that we thought was yours was a test of 164 00:08:56,668 --> 00:08:57,800 somebody else's. Somebody else got the cancer. 165 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:01,200 You're actually 100% all right. And of course, at that point, 166 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,445 some people might get very upset and very angry because they feel 167 00:09:05,445 --> 00:09:07,800 that they have, you know, now they have sold their business, 168 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,467 they've made all these preparations, done all these 169 00:09:10,467 --> 00:09:14,800 things, and now the doctor says to him, he's actually okay. 170 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:16,800 He could have carried on as before. 171 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:18,800 But this man, he was too wise to get upset. 172 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,800 He just said, okay, fine, thank you for informing me. 173 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:24,515 Then he went overseas. He had his holiday with his 174 00:09:24,515 --> 00:09:26,803 family. And then after that, he settled 175 00:09:26,803 --> 00:09:29,800 down into a very simple and easy life afterwards. 176 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:34,036 Never went back on that career path, earning much money, but he 177 00:09:34,036 --> 00:09:37,991 had a very simple life. And he says, and he said to 178 00:09:37,991 --> 00:09:40,800 Ajahn Brahm, I'm eternally grateful for that false alarm 179 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,550 because it reminded me that there are other things in life 180 00:09:43,550 --> 00:09:46,675 which are much more important than just thinking about money, 181 00:09:46,675 --> 00:09:50,912 thinking about career, but not actually really living in the 182 00:09:50,912 --> 00:09:52,800 present moment, not really living in the present moment. 183 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:57,300 But really doing those things which actually ultimately are 184 00:09:57,300 --> 00:10:01,600 important to me. So this is a classical case of 185 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:05,803 somebody who understands through having to face death right in 186 00:10:05,803 --> 00:10:10,516 front of you, right in your face, understands that he needs 187 00:10:10,516 --> 00:10:14,800 to change his life because there are more important things. 188 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:19,300 And sometimes we have to have this kind of threat almost right 189 00:10:19,300 --> 00:10:23,977 in front of us before we change the way we live, before we 190 00:10:23,977 --> 00:10:27,724 actually think of the other aspects of life which are more 191 00:10:27,724 --> 00:10:30,800 important to us, in particular the spiritual part of life. 192 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:33,800 And this is why we try to avoid that. 193 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:37,729 We try to do that now by reflecting on death, thinking 194 00:10:37,729 --> 00:10:41,470 about death now, so we don't have to wait until we're sort of 195 00:10:41,470 --> 00:10:44,300 face to face with it. And then it becomes an enormous 196 00:10:44,300 --> 00:10:46,800 shock for us, which is very hard to deal with. 197 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,800 The other day I had another man coming to the monastery. 198 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,800 He's staying at the retreat center we have over there. 199 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,800 And he also was another cancer sufferer. 200 00:10:56,800 --> 00:11:00,050 And he came up to me and he said, this cancer is the most 201 00:11:00,050 --> 00:11:01,800 wonderful thing that's ever happened to me. 202 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:05,864 Of course, initially he said he was upset and angry and he felt 203 00:11:05,864 --> 00:11:08,515 it was terrible. And of course most people do 204 00:11:08,515 --> 00:11:10,340 that. But afterwards, because he said 205 00:11:10,340 --> 00:11:14,400 I've been a Buddhist for a long time, I realized that this 206 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,400 actually, after the initial shock was over, I started to 207 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:20,800 change. And I could see myself changing. 208 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:24,468 Because I knew I was going to die in a few months, I stopped 209 00:11:24,468 --> 00:11:26,800 getting so angry with people around me. 210 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:28,800 How can you get angry in the face of death? 211 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:31,912 It doesn't make any sense. You're going to depart from 212 00:11:31,912 --> 00:11:34,550 these people soon anyway. How can you get angry with them? 213 00:11:34,550 --> 00:11:37,515 You have to forgive them. It's like a natural response in 214 00:11:37,515 --> 00:11:39,803 us. We don't have to think, I'm 215 00:11:39,803 --> 00:11:42,800 going to die, therefore I shouldn't get angry anymore. 216 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:44,800 It's like it happens almost automatically inside of you. 217 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,600 It's like some kind of mechanism which says, OK, put aside the 218 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:49,587 anger. Because it doesn't make any 219 00:11:49,587 --> 00:11:52,800 sense to be angry when you're faced with dying. 220 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,800 And he also said he stopped having so many desires anymore. 221 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,300 Now he felt much more like practicing the Dhamma, coming to 222 00:11:59,300 --> 00:12:02,300 the monastery, even ordaining, he said, even becoming an 223 00:12:02,300 --> 00:12:05,528 Agarika, because he couldn't see the point of anything else in 224 00:12:05,528 --> 00:12:08,110 life. This is a beautiful thing that 225 00:12:08,110 --> 00:12:12,800 happens when people are faced with death, if they have a 226 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:15,515 spiritual inclination. If you haven't got a spiritual 227 00:12:15,515 --> 00:12:17,800 inclination, this sort of death is not going to happen. 228 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:21,800 The threat of death can be very, very challenging indeed. 229 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,800 And you may not know exactly how to deal with it. 230 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:28,800 And I've also seen, as a monk going to hospital sometimes, 231 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:33,158 visiting people with cancers and all kinds of diseases, some 232 00:12:33,158 --> 00:12:37,086 people are very wise and they become very, very peaceful on 233 00:12:37,086 --> 00:12:39,800 their deathbed. They become very relaxed. 234 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:43,493 And you can see that because they have sort of accepted their 235 00:12:43,493 --> 00:12:45,800 destiny, it's like they have let go of something. 236 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:50,134 They have let go of the striving that we all have in life, to 237 00:12:50,134 --> 00:12:54,134 move forward, to move somewhere, to do something, to go in a 238 00:12:54,134 --> 00:12:57,073 different place. That they have given up, because 239 00:12:57,073 --> 00:12:59,800 they know there is nowhere for them to go anymore. 240 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,414 Where is there to go when you know you're going to die maybe 241 00:13:03,414 --> 00:13:05,800 in 48 hours, 36 hours, you're on the verge of death? 242 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,302 There's nothing to do. And if you realize that in a 243 00:13:08,302 --> 00:13:11,516 deep sense, that there's nothing to do, there's nowhere to go, 244 00:13:11,516 --> 00:13:14,050 you let go. You abandon all those desires, 245 00:13:14,050 --> 00:13:17,800 all that clinging, all that attachment, you let it go. 246 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:20,925 And then you feel at ease, you feel relaxed, maybe for the 247 00:13:20,925 --> 00:13:24,802 first time in your life. So this is the kind of thing 248 00:13:24,802 --> 00:13:26,800 that we can actually do right now. 249 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,800 We don't have to wait till we are about to die. 250 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:34,800 We can do it now by reflecting on death right here and now, 251 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,437 reminding ourselves that not only are we definitely going to 252 00:13:38,437 --> 00:13:41,800 die, we don't even know when we're going to die. 253 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:44,086 It could be in a month's time, it could be next year, it could 254 00:13:44,086 --> 00:13:45,800 be in a year's time. It could be next week. 255 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:50,075 We just don't know. One of the most beautiful 256 00:13:50,075 --> 00:13:55,600 stories for me in the suttas is the Buddha's going forth when he 257 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,800 decides that he wants to become a monk. 258 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:02,900 What does the Buddha reflect on? What is the thing that makes him 259 00:14:02,900 --> 00:14:05,620 actually go forth? And of course, the powerful 260 00:14:05,620 --> 00:14:09,300 thing that changes the Buddha around from being a householder 261 00:14:09,300 --> 00:14:13,425 to being a monk is first and foremost the reflection of 262 00:14:13,425 --> 00:14:17,800 death, of dying. The Buddha reflects to himself, 263 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:19,800 well, here I am, subject to death. 264 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:24,134 I know I'm going to die, and yet I'm just indulging myself in 265 00:14:24,134 --> 00:14:27,528 sensual pleasures, having a good time because I come from a good 266 00:14:27,528 --> 00:14:30,134 family. How can I just keep going on 267 00:14:30,134 --> 00:14:33,700 indulging myself, attaching to all kinds of things, when I know 268 00:14:33,700 --> 00:14:37,550 that one day I'm going to die? If I don't deal with this death 269 00:14:37,550 --> 00:14:41,493 now, I'm going to have to pay the price for that in the 270 00:14:41,493 --> 00:14:43,356 future. So this was the main thing, that 271 00:14:43,356 --> 00:14:48,600 made the Buddha himself seek a spiritual solution to the 272 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,802 problem of suffering. Because of course death is one 273 00:14:51,802 --> 00:14:55,800 of those big sufferings in life that we're all faced with. 274 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,800 And why? What is happening here? 275 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,300 Why is it that the Buddha, when he reflects on death, suddenly 276 00:15:01,300 --> 00:15:05,050 he changes around, and he wants to leave the household life, and 277 00:15:05,050 --> 00:15:06,800 he wants to become a monk instead? 278 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:10,300 What is actually going on here? What is actually the effect on 279 00:15:10,300 --> 00:15:15,050 the mind of thinking like this? And it's useful, I think, to 280 00:15:15,050 --> 00:15:18,050 understand that. What is happening here is that 281 00:15:18,050 --> 00:15:22,724 the Buddha, and he says this in another discourse, which is also 282 00:15:22,724 --> 00:15:26,528 found, which you can read for yourself if you like, he says 283 00:15:26,528 --> 00:15:32,658 that when I reflected on death in this way, I gave up that 284 00:15:32,658 --> 00:15:36,801 intoxication with life, intoxication with youth, 285 00:15:36,801 --> 00:15:40,600 intoxication with health. The intoxication of life is like 286 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:44,203 when you run around, you say the world is my oyster, I'm just 287 00:15:44,203 --> 00:15:47,050 going to have a good time. You feel particularly maybe when 288 00:15:47,050 --> 00:15:50,700 you're really young and you have lots of energy, and you feel 289 00:15:50,700 --> 00:15:54,032 like you're the master of the universe, as one famous book 290 00:15:54,032 --> 00:15:56,800 many years ago had of these Wall Street people. 291 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,700 And you feel like you're in charge of your life and you can 292 00:15:59,700 --> 00:16:01,800 do whatever you like, whatever you want. 293 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,550 In a sense you're forgetting the reality, you're forgetting what 294 00:16:04,550 --> 00:16:07,678 life actually is all about. And you're living in this sphere 295 00:16:07,678 --> 00:16:11,346 where you think that this is like the eternal truth, this is 296 00:16:11,346 --> 00:16:13,800 going to be like this forever and ever after. 297 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:17,467 It's like you're drunk on life, you are intoxicated, drunk on 298 00:16:17,467 --> 00:16:21,800 life, just like an alcoholic doesn't see straight, you don't 299 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:24,800 see straight because of this intoxication. 300 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:28,800 And it is this particular intoxication that is abandoned 301 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,800 when we reflect on death in the right way. 302 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,400 Suddenly, you know what it's like when intoxication is 303 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,800 abandoned, your mind becomes clear, you see things straight, 304 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:42,000 you understand what is actually happening, what is actually 305 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,245 going on. You're no longer deluded, you're 306 00:16:45,245 --> 00:16:49,800 no longer seeing things which are not real, but you see things 307 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:53,719 as they actually are. And this is the main purpose of 308 00:16:53,719 --> 00:16:57,467 this kind of death reflection. Suddenly things clear up for 309 00:16:57,467 --> 00:17:00,024 you. Instead of running around like 310 00:17:00,024 --> 00:17:04,372 some sort of person which doesn't really reflect on life 311 00:17:04,372 --> 00:17:08,944 properly, you stop, you reflect and you think, wow, I should be 312 00:17:08,944 --> 00:17:11,800 doing this instead. This is much more important. 313 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,800 This is where I should be putting my energy. 314 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:16,800 I should live a more spiritual life. 315 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:20,900 It doesn't matter what you do, but it's how you live your life 316 00:17:20,900 --> 00:17:23,400 that is important. Leaning towards the spiritual 317 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:27,356 qualities rather than just running after all the material 318 00:17:27,356 --> 00:17:30,800 things which most people do in this world of ours. 319 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:34,802 So this is the power, this is what the Buddha saw when he was 320 00:17:34,802 --> 00:17:37,800 about to go forth and he became a monk. 321 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,550 This is what he himself did. So of course if the Buddha did 322 00:17:41,550 --> 00:17:44,801 that and he recommended that we should do the same, then we can 323 00:17:44,801 --> 00:17:49,800 be absolutely sure that this is a very powerful way of acting. 324 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:56,300 So that is how by reflecting on death we can actually get our 325 00:17:56,300 --> 00:17:59,801 priorities straightened out. And this is how I sometimes 326 00:17:59,801 --> 00:18:03,050 reflect on death. What I do when I am by myself in 327 00:18:03,050 --> 00:18:07,050 my little kuti in the forest in a monastery in Serpentine, I 328 00:18:07,050 --> 00:18:10,800 remind myself that I have no idea how long I might live. 329 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:15,023 I feel okay, I don't have any great physical problems, but 330 00:18:15,023 --> 00:18:18,300 still there are lots of people out there who feel perfectly 331 00:18:18,300 --> 00:18:21,300 alright, but at this very moment they might have a cancer growing 332 00:18:21,300 --> 00:18:24,134 inside of them. And I remind myself perhaps I 333 00:18:24,134 --> 00:18:26,800 have a cancer growing inside of me. 334 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:30,165 Perhaps I have a potential heart attack inside of me right now, 335 00:18:30,165 --> 00:18:33,550 which I just don't know about. And when I think like that I 336 00:18:33,550 --> 00:18:35,800 think, well what does that mean? When could I die? 337 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:37,800 Could I die next week? Next month? 338 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:41,372 Next month? And all of these things are 339 00:18:41,372 --> 00:18:43,200 possibilities. When I walk from my little hut 340 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:47,300 in the forest back maybe to the main hall in the monastery, I 341 00:18:47,300 --> 00:18:50,467 could fall over. It's extremely slippery in that 342 00:18:50,467 --> 00:18:52,800 monastery. I have this Australian gravel, 343 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,550 which is a bit like marbles, and I slide on this almost every 344 00:18:56,550 --> 00:18:57,800 day. I don't usually fall over it, 345 00:18:57,800 --> 00:18:59,800 but I slide on these things all the time. 346 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,134 And you never know what might happen if you fall in the dark 347 00:19:03,134 --> 00:19:04,800 on those things. You might hurt yourself. 348 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,515 You could even die. This happens to people all the 349 00:19:07,515 --> 00:19:09,800 time. They fall over and they die. 350 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,800 This could happen to me. I could be bitten by a snake. 351 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,800 I've seen lots and lots of snakes in the forest over there. 352 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,800 It could happen easily if you're by yourself. 353 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:21,800 Maybe you don't get to medical support in time. 354 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,800 Maybe you might even die of that snake bite. 355 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:26,800 And there's always surprises around the corner. 356 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:30,050 There's a car coming there. There's always things which can 357 00:19:30,050 --> 00:19:32,515 happen to you. So I remind myself of these 358 00:19:32,515 --> 00:19:35,264 things. And then I think and then I try 359 00:19:35,264 --> 00:19:39,600 to bring death as close. As close as I possibly can and 360 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,800 make it real. I could die this evening. 361 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:47,300 I could die in an hour's time. I could maybe die even right 362 00:19:47,300 --> 00:19:50,800 here now before I reach the end of this talk. 363 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,800 That's powerful thinking, powerful thought. 364 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,800 And bring it as close as you possibly can. 365 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,984 And the closer you bring it, the more powerful that thought of 366 00:20:02,984 --> 00:20:06,372 death is going to be. And the more at ease and the 367 00:20:06,372 --> 00:20:09,800 more relaxed you will feel if you do it right, if it works. 368 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:14,800 Because it forces you to let go. It forces you to abandon things 369 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:17,800 that you might otherwise be attached to. 370 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:23,800 I also tell myself that I'm now, I'm already well into my 40s. 371 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:28,356 And I tell myself, well, I might still be not exactly ancient 372 00:20:28,356 --> 00:20:31,200 yet. But one day is going to be my 373 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:33,550 death day. And one day could be just like 374 00:20:33,550 --> 00:20:36,600 today. And because one day, could be 375 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,800 just like today, might be my death day. 376 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:42,800 If I'm not ready now, I might never be ready. 377 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:47,300 It's either now or it's never. And again, that forces me to 378 00:20:47,300 --> 00:20:49,800 bring myself back into the present moment. 379 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:53,438 This is all I've got. There's no point in desiring all 380 00:20:53,438 --> 00:20:57,468 kind of stuff out there which I might never actually even have a 381 00:20:57,468 --> 00:21:02,800 chance to get to, even remotely. So these are some of the ways, 382 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:07,050 some of the tricks to use to remind yourself of the life's 383 00:21:07,050 --> 00:21:10,800 dangers and the possibility that we might all pass away. 384 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,925 Again, make sure you don't do this in a bad way, so that you 385 00:21:14,925 --> 00:21:18,515 feel bad, you feel negative, you feel kind of vulnerable or 386 00:21:18,515 --> 00:21:21,100 whatever. Or a bit vulnerable is okay, but 387 00:21:21,100 --> 00:21:23,800 at least not negative states of mind coming up. 388 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:27,467 Make sure that you do it in such a way that it leads to something 389 00:21:27,467 --> 00:21:30,372 positive. That is when you're doing it 390 00:21:30,372 --> 00:21:32,801 right. Then you can also use this 391 00:21:32,801 --> 00:21:36,800 contemplation of death as a meditation tool. 392 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:41,050 Do it in a meditation practice. Sometimes you may find that you 393 00:21:41,050 --> 00:21:44,800 come back, you sit down, you feel restless, you feel 394 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:48,800 agitated, ill at ease. What do you do? 395 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,467 Try to think about death. Remind yourself that you could 396 00:21:52,467 --> 00:21:54,300 die. Remind yourself that you may not 397 00:21:54,300 --> 00:21:57,550 have that much further to go. And see what happens if you do 398 00:21:57,550 --> 00:22:00,800 that before your meditation practice takes off, before you 399 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:05,400 start your meditation practice. And if you do that, and if it 400 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,710 works again, because, as I mentioned before, the reflection 401 00:22:08,710 --> 00:22:13,300 of death tends to make you abandon your desires, how can 402 00:22:13,300 --> 00:22:17,050 you have desires when you know that death could be right around 403 00:22:17,050 --> 00:22:20,050 the corner? Because it helps you to abandon 404 00:22:20,050 --> 00:22:23,468 your desires, abandon any negativity, irritation or ill 405 00:22:23,468 --> 00:22:27,800 will you have, how can you have ill will if you're about to die? 406 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:32,400 Because of that, it can make you peaceful very fast if you do it 407 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,984 correctly. And this is another story which 408 00:22:35,984 --> 00:22:39,200 Ajahn Brahm likes to tell and which many of you have probably 409 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:41,800 heard before anyway, but it's still a very nice story. 410 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:47,800 And this is the story of Ashoka, and Ashoka's brother. 411 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,944 And for those of you who don't know, Ashoka was the great 412 00:22:50,944 --> 00:22:55,356 emperor of India about 150 to 200 years after the Buddha 413 00:22:55,356 --> 00:22:58,800 lived. He became the emperor of India. 414 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:02,467 And that emperor Ashoka, he was ruled over the largest Indian 415 00:23:02,467 --> 00:23:05,467 empire, the largest Indian empire that probably has ever 416 00:23:05,467 --> 00:23:08,984 existed. And part of that empire was what 417 00:23:08,984 --> 00:23:13,086 is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, maybe parts of Central Asia, and 418 00:23:13,086 --> 00:23:14,800 maybe even what is now Bangladesh. 419 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,800 It was a very, very large continent. 420 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:22,467 And at some stage during his life, he converted to become a 421 00:23:22,467 --> 00:23:24,468 Buddhist. After a very violent campaign 422 00:23:24,468 --> 00:23:27,801 against the neighboring states, he became a Buddhist rather than 423 00:23:27,801 --> 00:23:31,800 being a Hindu, which was the standard in those days. 424 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,372 And of course, as all converts to a new religion, he became 425 00:23:36,372 --> 00:23:39,000 very keen on this Buddhism. And when you're very keen, you 426 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,515 want to help others. You want to convert others and 427 00:23:41,515 --> 00:23:43,800 say, oh, Buddhism is the most wonderful thing in the world. 428 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:47,108 It was a bit like when I first started off as a monk, I tried 429 00:23:47,108 --> 00:23:48,800 to tell my family that this is the way to go. 430 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,800 Forget about everything else. This is the path to go. 431 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:54,800 And all converts, I think, we're all a bit like that. 432 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:56,800 We want to show how wonderful this is. 433 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,800 It's just a natural thing that that's how we are. 434 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:01,800 It's just the enthusiasm that comes. 435 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:05,087 And without the experience, understanding how actually 436 00:24:05,087 --> 00:24:09,800 people find the faith in a new religion or new philosophy. 437 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:13,800 Anyway, Ashoka was in exactly that same situation. 438 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,912 And he looked at his brother and he saw, well, my brother is a 439 00:24:16,912 --> 00:24:19,800 bit of a hedonist. He just likes to enjoy himself. 440 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:21,800 And he doesn't take life seriously enough. 441 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,800 He doesn't think about the future. 442 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:26,800 He doesn't think about what's going to happen after he dies. 443 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:29,500 He doesn't reflect properly about what is much more 444 00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:31,800 important than just enjoying yourself. 445 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:36,134 So he decided he was going to play a trick on Ashoka, on his 446 00:24:36,134 --> 00:24:38,648 brother. He decided, I'm going to teach 447 00:24:38,648 --> 00:24:42,600 my brother a lesson of the Dhamma to make him wake up to 448 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:47,300 the realities of life. So he schemed with one of his 449 00:24:47,300 --> 00:24:50,134 ministers. And one day while he was taking 450 00:24:50,134 --> 00:24:53,528 a bath, he had his minister, he made his minister take his 451 00:24:53,528 --> 00:24:57,800 brother out for a walk, walking past the bathhouse. 452 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,944 And as they walked past the bathhouse, of course, there were 453 00:25:00,944 --> 00:25:05,710 all the clothes, all the emperor and all the regalia, all the 454 00:25:05,710 --> 00:25:09,800 kind of the kingly emperor things that emperor wears. 455 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:13,724 And the minister says to Ashoka's brother, well, here is 456 00:25:13,724 --> 00:25:16,800 all the regalia and all the robes of the king. 457 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:20,711 You should try it on. And the brother says, no, no, I 458 00:25:20,711 --> 00:25:23,550 can't try it on. It's a capital offense to try it 459 00:25:23,550 --> 00:25:25,800 on. Can't do that. 460 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:28,800 So the minister says, well, you never know. 461 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,800 Ashoka is older than you are. He might die before you. 462 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:36,000 It's good to know if the robe fits so that you can just take 463 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:39,912 it over straight away just in case something happens with your 464 00:25:39,912 --> 00:25:42,800 brother Ashoka. So eventually Ashoka's brother 465 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:45,800 is persuaded that he should try it on. 466 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,550 And just as he's got the robe on, all the regalia, all the 467 00:25:49,550 --> 00:25:53,711 marks of the king on him, at that point Ashoka comes out of 468 00:25:53,711 --> 00:25:59,300 the bath and says, ha, what are you doing putting on the king's 469 00:25:59,300 --> 00:26:03,550 robe and the king's regalia? You know that it is a capital 470 00:26:03,550 --> 00:26:05,800 offense. How can you act in this way? 471 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,372 And the brother tries to explain, of course, but King 472 00:26:09,372 --> 00:26:12,515 Ashoka says, well, the law says that this is a capital 473 00:26:12,515 --> 00:26:16,467 punishment, so I'm going to have to set an example for the 474 00:26:16,467 --> 00:26:19,348 kingdom. I'm going to have to treat you 475 00:26:19,348 --> 00:26:23,800 just like everybody else. So Ashoka says to his brother, 476 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:28,000 but because you are the brother of the emperor, you have a 477 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,468 special privilege. You have seven days before I 478 00:26:31,468 --> 00:26:35,301 will execute you. And in those seven days you can 479 00:26:35,301 --> 00:26:37,800 enjoy all the pleasures of the palace. 480 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:42,468 And of course, a big palace of the greatest emperor who has 481 00:26:42,468 --> 00:26:45,300 ever lived in India, you can imagine the pleasures were 482 00:26:45,300 --> 00:26:47,438 probably enormous. You can enjoy yourself to the 483 00:26:47,438 --> 00:26:51,801 max in those seven days, and then at the end of seven days I 484 00:26:51,801 --> 00:26:55,600 will execute you because you have committed a capital crime, 485 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:58,800 a capital offense. So, I'm going to explain. 486 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:06,134 So after seven days, Ashoka asks his brother to be sent for, and 487 00:27:06,134 --> 00:27:10,000 the brother gets taken in front of Ashoka, and Ashoka says to 488 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:13,800 him, well, your day has come. Today is your execution. 489 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,437 Have you at least enjoyed yourself over the last seven 490 00:27:17,437 --> 00:27:19,620 days? And of course, Ashoka's brother 491 00:27:19,620 --> 00:27:24,050 says, how can I enjoy myself? How can I indulge myself in 492 00:27:24,050 --> 00:27:27,500 sensual pleasures when I know that death is just around the 493 00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:30,425 corner? All I was, I was worried about 494 00:27:30,425 --> 00:27:32,800 death. I couldn't think straight. 495 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:34,800 I certainly couldn't enjoy myself. 496 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,550 And of course then Ashoka says, well, what difference does it 497 00:27:37,550 --> 00:27:42,300 make if it's seven days, seven weeks, seven months, seven 498 00:27:42,300 --> 00:27:46,800 years, or even seventy years? Life is a very short thing. 499 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:52,300 Life passes just like that. How can we just waste our time 500 00:27:52,300 --> 00:27:55,468 just enjoying ourselves, just indulging in life without 501 00:27:55,468 --> 00:27:59,984 thinking further into it? And that was the beautiful 502 00:27:59,984 --> 00:28:03,800 lesson that Ashoka taught his brother. 503 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:07,186 I'm not sure what happened after that, but that was essentially 504 00:28:07,186 --> 00:28:09,550 the story. And this is how we should also 505 00:28:09,550 --> 00:28:12,050 think. We should think, well, life is 506 00:28:12,050 --> 00:28:14,801 indeed short. Ask anybody who is much older 507 00:28:14,801 --> 00:28:19,200 than you are, ask them if life is long or life is short, and 508 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:23,031 everybody will say, I can almost absolutely guarantee it, life 509 00:28:23,031 --> 00:28:25,800 has gone so much faster than they ever had in their lives. 510 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,073 And so whatever we should always invested in, should we believe 511 00:28:30,073 --> 00:28:31,675 that we have to get bought into it or we should take it to the 512 00:28:31,675 --> 00:28:36,134 ground, or we should take the job, andstad coexist with it or, 513 00:28:36,134 --> 00:28:44,246 let me finish my sharing about all this. dumplings, all the 514 00:28:44,246 --> 00:28:45,800 things that meaning took a place in. 515 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,515 So learn to accept them. So, I think that's very 516 00:28:48,515 --> 00:28:52,300 difficult moment. It's not easy to live with that 517 00:28:52,300 --> 00:28:55,515 state of mind because it's totally different from your 518 00:28:55,515 --> 00:28:57,777 life. And see what happens when you 519 00:28:57,777 --> 00:29:00,080 meditate, when you remind yourself of death. 520 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:05,044 And see if you can abandon the desires, the anger, the 521 00:29:05,044 --> 00:29:08,998 negativity, all these things that make us restless, make us 522 00:29:08,998 --> 00:29:11,560 tired, make us tense, make us agitated. 523 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:15,800 And see if then you can find the peace and sit down peacefully 524 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:17,200 and actually enjoy the meditation. 525 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:20,748 See if that works for you. It's a beautiful way of starting 526 00:29:20,748 --> 00:29:23,020 a meditation practice if you can do it. 527 00:29:23,020 --> 00:29:26,676 Like with all meditation, you have to keep practicing this for 528 00:29:26,676 --> 00:29:29,172 a while. It's not going to work straight 529 00:29:29,172 --> 00:29:30,736 away. These things, like everything 530 00:29:30,736 --> 00:29:33,580 else, it takes a while to get used to this kind of thinking. 531 00:29:33,900 --> 00:29:37,780 It takes a while to get it going, to make it work for you. 532 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,080 But if you can do it, it is very, very worthwhile. 533 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,419 And it can be a very powerful technique to make yourself 534 00:29:44,419 --> 00:29:48,453 peaceful. So that is a little bit about 535 00:29:48,453 --> 00:29:52,940 how to use the idea of death in your daily life. 536 00:29:53,220 --> 00:29:58,006 In your meditation practice. To help you to practice the 537 00:29:58,006 --> 00:30:00,040 spiritual path. To make you go faster. 538 00:30:00,380 --> 00:30:03,220 To make it be a more powerful path that you're practicing. 539 00:30:04,100 --> 00:30:07,980 But before I stop, I also want to talk a little bit about the 540 00:30:07,980 --> 00:30:12,532 reality of death itself. Because so far it's been more 541 00:30:12,532 --> 00:30:14,620 the theory or more the idea of death. 542 00:30:14,700 --> 00:30:16,580 How to use that idea in a skillful way. 543 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:22,190 But what about actual death? What is the right way of dealing 544 00:30:22,190 --> 00:30:24,420 with death? What is the right way of dealing 545 00:30:24,420 --> 00:30:26,688 with death itself? And it has always occurred to 546 00:30:26,688 --> 00:30:29,743 me, and I think this is obviously the case for most 547 00:30:29,743 --> 00:30:33,020 people, death is one of those very difficult times in life. 548 00:30:33,020 --> 00:30:36,689 Most people find it very hard. And most people, nobody really 549 00:30:36,689 --> 00:30:39,020 looks forward to the moment of dying. 550 00:30:39,020 --> 00:30:43,020 And because it is so hard, because it can be so difficult, 551 00:30:43,020 --> 00:30:48,020 it's important to be well prepared for the time of death. 552 00:30:48,020 --> 00:30:51,020 How can we be well prepared for death? 553 00:30:51,020 --> 00:30:52,895 And there's three things. One is to be well prepared for 554 00:30:52,895 --> 00:30:55,211 death. And the other thing is that I 555 00:30:55,211 --> 00:30:58,020 think are maybe the most difficult things about dying. 556 00:30:58,020 --> 00:31:02,354 And maybe more things as well. But the first thing which is 557 00:31:02,354 --> 00:31:05,844 difficult, of course, that if you get very old, the body 558 00:31:05,844 --> 00:31:10,520 starts to fall apart in a very bad way as you're approaching 559 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,020 death. That is the first thing. 560 00:31:13,020 --> 00:31:15,770 The second thing about death which is difficult is that we 561 00:31:15,770 --> 00:31:18,520 have to give up pretty much everything around us, everything 562 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:23,270 we own, all our friends, our family, even our own body we're 563 00:31:23,270 --> 00:31:26,020 going to have to give up at the point of death. 564 00:31:26,020 --> 00:31:28,020 This is the second thing which is so difficult about it. 565 00:31:28,020 --> 00:31:32,020 The fact that we have to leave pretty much everything behind. 566 00:31:32,020 --> 00:31:35,020 It challenges our attachments when that happens. 567 00:31:35,020 --> 00:31:38,920 And the last thing about death which is difficult is the fact 568 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:41,020 that we are going into the unknown. 569 00:31:41,020 --> 00:31:43,020 We don't know what's going to happen next. 570 00:31:43,020 --> 00:31:46,020 Is life just going to come to an end? 571 00:31:46,020 --> 00:31:49,450 Is it going to just be we die and there's nothing happening 572 00:31:49,450 --> 00:31:51,020 after that? Is there going to be a rebirth? 573 00:31:51,020 --> 00:31:56,592 Are we going to meet our Creator and stay with our Creator until 574 00:31:56,592 --> 00:31:58,520 eternity? We just don't know what's going 575 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:00,687 to happen. It's all this very uncertain, 576 00:32:00,687 --> 00:32:02,020 basically. We have no idea. 577 00:32:02,020 --> 00:32:05,354 And that is a little bit, of course, not a little bit, it's 578 00:32:05,354 --> 00:32:08,020 quite frightening that we don't know these things. 579 00:32:08,020 --> 00:32:11,770 So these are the three things. And the first one of these, this 580 00:32:11,770 --> 00:32:14,576 with the body falling apart, I remember reading a book a few 581 00:32:14,576 --> 00:32:18,100 years ago. It was called How We Die by an 582 00:32:18,100 --> 00:32:20,020 American doctor called Sherwin Newman. 583 00:32:20,020 --> 00:32:22,020 Sherwin? Sherwin Newland, I think. 584 00:32:22,020 --> 00:32:25,868 Something like that. And this book was a bestseller 585 00:32:25,868 --> 00:32:29,658 in the US for many, many years. Maybe not many years, but it 586 00:32:29,658 --> 00:32:31,020 certainly was a bestseller anyway. 587 00:32:31,020 --> 00:32:35,688 And this explained in quite graphic detail what actually 588 00:32:35,688 --> 00:32:40,164 happens when we are about to die, particularly when we die of 589 00:32:40,164 --> 00:32:44,449 old age. And it is quite remarkable how 590 00:32:44,449 --> 00:32:48,020 we, what actually happens when we are dying. 591 00:32:48,020 --> 00:32:52,524 Sometimes we think that, oh, I'm going to be one of those people 592 00:32:52,524 --> 00:32:55,020 who just passes away nicely in my sleep. 593 00:32:55,020 --> 00:32:57,020 I will pass away and that will be the end of it. 594 00:32:57,020 --> 00:32:59,020 There won't be any more problems. 595 00:32:59,020 --> 00:33:04,520 But the reality is that the vast majority of people, death is a 596 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:08,020 very difficult physical process to go through. 597 00:33:08,020 --> 00:33:12,476 Over the last, I think I heard somewhere, a statistic that the 598 00:33:12,476 --> 00:33:17,420 last six months of a person's life is where they incur 90% of 599 00:33:17,420 --> 00:33:21,020 their lifetime medical costs. Something like that. 600 00:33:21,020 --> 00:33:25,520 Because the body starts to fall apart, your eyes fall apart, 601 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:30,520 your hearing falls apart, your limbs, your legs, your arms fall 602 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:34,306 apart, your internal organs don't work properly anymore, and 603 00:33:34,306 --> 00:33:36,020 you need enormous amounts of care. 604 00:33:36,020 --> 00:33:39,020 Of course, there is the indignity of having other people 605 00:33:39,020 --> 00:33:43,395 looking after everything, all your bodily functions, 606 00:33:43,395 --> 00:33:46,688 everything. The sense of being dependent on 607 00:33:46,688 --> 00:33:50,244 somebody else 100%. Some people find all these 608 00:33:50,244 --> 00:33:53,687 things very, very difficult. And it's important to realize 609 00:33:53,687 --> 00:33:58,020 this, that death is usually not a very pretty thing. 610 00:33:58,020 --> 00:34:01,520 It's usually something which is traumatic, particularly if we 611 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:06,020 have a lot of attachment to the physical body. 612 00:34:06,020 --> 00:34:09,020 So what do we do then? How can we get out? 613 00:34:09,020 --> 00:34:13,663 How can we minimize this problem if we know that this is our 614 00:34:13,663 --> 00:34:16,688 future? And the answer is that instead 615 00:34:16,688 --> 00:34:22,929 of taking refuge in the physical body, we have to take refuge 616 00:34:22,929 --> 00:34:25,735 somewhere else. Instead of spending enormous 617 00:34:25,735 --> 00:34:29,713 amounts of time looking after the physical body, and I know 618 00:34:29,713 --> 00:34:32,328 this is a standard thing in modern society, of course, we 619 00:34:32,328 --> 00:34:36,353 look after the physical body, we train it, we look after it, we 620 00:34:36,353 --> 00:34:40,565 want to stay thin, we build up muscles, we go jogging, we go 621 00:34:40,565 --> 00:34:44,219 practicing, we put on makeup, we dress it nicely, we go to the 622 00:34:44,219 --> 00:34:47,020 hairdresser, all these kind of things, just to look nice. 623 00:34:47,020 --> 00:34:50,020 And that's fine. But be careful, because these 624 00:34:50,020 --> 00:34:54,020 things also show the attachment, our identification with this 625 00:34:54,020 --> 00:34:58,658 physical body. So what we have to do is move 626 00:34:58,658 --> 00:35:03,020 that identification instead into the realm of the mind. 627 00:35:03,020 --> 00:35:07,252 Because the mind is something that is not affected by the 628 00:35:07,252 --> 00:35:11,270 death process, it's in the same way as the physical body is, or 629 00:35:11,270 --> 00:35:14,735 at least it doesn't have to be. And the beautiful thing then, of 630 00:35:14,735 --> 00:35:18,220 course, what we then have to do is to make sure that if we 631 00:35:18,220 --> 00:35:22,520 practice a good life here and now, if we do a bit of 632 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:25,270 meditation practice, if we practice compassion and kindness 633 00:35:25,270 --> 00:35:29,355 to ourselves and the people around us, then we build up 634 00:35:29,355 --> 00:35:33,270 something beautiful inside of us, something nice, something 635 00:35:33,270 --> 00:35:37,020 stable, something which is, when we come to our deathbed, 636 00:35:37,020 --> 00:35:41,020 something we can go back to, and we can find a refuge in. 637 00:35:41,020 --> 00:35:45,120 So when the body falls apart, we have somewhere else we can go 638 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:49,770 inside of us, and find a sense of peace and detachment, and not 639 00:35:49,770 --> 00:35:53,736 care so much about the indignities and the problems of 640 00:35:53,736 --> 00:35:57,020 the physical body. So that is what we have to do. 641 00:35:57,020 --> 00:36:00,620 And this is just another way of reminding ourselves of the 642 00:36:00,620 --> 00:36:03,920 importance of the spiritual path in this life, because it helps 643 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:08,020 us deal with a very difficult situation at the end of life. 644 00:36:08,020 --> 00:36:11,020 And of course, it is very similar with the second problem 645 00:36:11,020 --> 00:36:14,354 I was talking about, the second problem being the attachments 646 00:36:14,354 --> 00:36:17,568 that we have, all the attachments that we are forced 647 00:36:17,568 --> 00:36:23,520 to let go of when we face our death, the attachments to our 648 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:28,520 family, to our friends, to our possessions, to our own physical 649 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:32,020 body, all these things come up when we die. 650 00:36:32,020 --> 00:36:34,748 Now the stronger those attachments are, the more 651 00:36:34,748 --> 00:36:38,770 difficult it is to go through the dying process, because we 652 00:36:38,770 --> 00:36:42,354 are forced to abandon the attachments, whether we want to 653 00:36:42,354 --> 00:36:43,878 or not. So, we are forced to abandon 654 00:36:43,878 --> 00:36:44,878 them. So, we are forced to abandon 655 00:36:44,878 --> 00:36:47,592 them. And we are very wise, if instead 656 00:36:47,592 --> 00:36:51,021 of waiting till the deathbed, we actually start to abandon some 657 00:36:51,021 --> 00:36:54,020 of those attachments right here, right now. 658 00:36:54,020 --> 00:36:57,735 How do we do that? Well, you don't do it through 659 00:36:57,735 --> 00:37:00,450 willpower, you don't do it by saying, I don't want to be 660 00:37:00,450 --> 00:37:03,568 attached anymore. The way you do it is by 661 00:37:03,568 --> 00:37:07,520 developing the spiritual path. Like I mentioned before, do what 662 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:11,020 is good, avoid what is bad, and purify the mind. 663 00:37:11,020 --> 00:37:14,592 And by just doing that, there is an automatic detachment that 664 00:37:14,592 --> 00:37:18,020 happens through practicing the spiritual path. 665 00:37:18,020 --> 00:37:22,520 So again, to avoid the sense of clinging and attachment and 666 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:27,520 desires, which might be there on the deathbed, again, develop the 667 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:31,687 mind, make the mind beautiful, have a refuge inside of 668 00:37:31,687 --> 00:37:35,020 yourself, a beautiful place you call home, a place you can go, 669 00:37:35,020 --> 00:37:39,020 you can feel at peace, you can feel at ease, and you feel this 670 00:37:39,020 --> 00:37:42,354 is the true me, this is where I can rest, this is where, I think 671 00:37:42,354 --> 00:37:46,770 it was Ajahn Chah, who said that the true home is the peaceful 672 00:37:46,770 --> 00:37:50,020 mind, the mind which is at ease and at peace. 673 00:37:50,020 --> 00:37:54,820 That is our true home, because that is where we can find a real 674 00:37:54,820 --> 00:37:59,520 sense of refuge, until we go even further on the spiritual 675 00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:02,164 path. And lastly, it is the big 676 00:38:02,164 --> 00:38:04,735 unknown of death. Where are we going in the 677 00:38:04,735 --> 00:38:06,735 future? Are we going to a rebirth 678 00:38:06,735 --> 00:38:09,020 somewhere? Is it all going to end? 679 00:38:09,020 --> 00:38:13,770 Well, from a Buddhist point of view, of course, you are going 680 00:38:13,770 --> 00:38:17,020 on to a new rebirth, unless you are fully enlightened. 681 00:38:17,020 --> 00:38:23,020 And even if you think that maybe there isn't any rebirth, I ask 682 00:38:23,020 --> 00:38:27,520 you, please, consider that actually we don't really know 683 00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:30,354 what is happening here. So because we don't know, please 684 00:38:30,354 --> 00:38:34,645 take into account the fact that maybe there is a rebirth out 685 00:38:34,645 --> 00:38:36,770 there. If you have a sense that the 686 00:38:36,770 --> 00:38:39,688 Buddha was a very powerful spiritual master who lived two 687 00:38:39,688 --> 00:38:43,020 and a half thousand years ago, that is certainly my feeling, 688 00:38:43,020 --> 00:38:45,020 that he was a very special human being. 689 00:38:45,020 --> 00:38:48,645 If you have that sense, then just the fact that the Buddha 690 00:38:48,645 --> 00:38:52,620 said that there is rebirth is something worth taking, is a 691 00:38:52,620 --> 00:38:55,020 reason why we should take this idea seriously. 692 00:38:55,020 --> 00:39:00,132 And of course, again, if we take it seriously, even if we may not 693 00:39:00,132 --> 00:39:03,592 give it 100% credence, we shouldn't really give it 100% 694 00:39:03,592 --> 00:39:06,735 credence, because we don't know, we should just keep an open 695 00:39:06,735 --> 00:39:09,020 mind. But the fact that it is possible 696 00:39:09,020 --> 00:39:14,132 should give us a sense of alarm, okay, I better make sure that I 697 00:39:14,132 --> 00:39:17,020 do myself. If I'm going to get reborn, 698 00:39:17,020 --> 00:39:20,687 well, at least make it a good rebirth, make sure I don't get 699 00:39:20,687 --> 00:39:23,020 reborn in a negative state, in a negative way. 700 00:39:23,020 --> 00:39:27,293 And when you do that, of course, again, the answer to that, the 701 00:39:27,293 --> 00:39:31,736 answer to how we get reborn in a good way, of course, again, is 702 00:39:31,736 --> 00:39:36,220 the spiritual path, to make sure that we purify the mind, that 703 00:39:36,220 --> 00:39:39,020 the mind is a beautiful thing inside of us where we feel at 704 00:39:39,020 --> 00:39:42,820 ease, we feel relaxed, we feel a sense of self-esteem, we feel 705 00:39:42,820 --> 00:39:46,020 good about ourselves. Then when the body falls away, 706 00:39:46,020 --> 00:39:49,735 you are right there, right then, you are already in a good 707 00:39:49,735 --> 00:39:53,021 destination, because you have made a pure, pure and beautiful 708 00:39:53,021 --> 00:39:56,020 mind for yourself. And that, of course, is also how 709 00:39:56,020 --> 00:40:00,020 you go to a good destination in the future. 710 00:40:00,020 --> 00:40:04,020 So you can see here, all the problems that come with dying, 711 00:40:04,020 --> 00:40:07,520 all the difficulties that we have, they're all basically 712 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:12,520 solvable through this one thing, the practicing of the spiritual 713 00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:14,735 life. And this is just one other 714 00:40:14,735 --> 00:40:19,220 reason for reminding yourself that unless we do that duty in 715 00:40:19,220 --> 00:40:23,687 our life, we do the spiritual practice, it is going to be 716 00:40:23,687 --> 00:40:27,020 difficult when we come to our end of our life. 717 00:40:27,020 --> 00:40:31,020 And we may even face further difficulties after we die. 718 00:40:31,020 --> 00:40:34,020 And remember just briefly what that spiritual practice is. 719 00:40:34,020 --> 00:40:38,620 The spiritual practice is not doing any particular kind of 720 00:40:38,620 --> 00:40:42,770 job, or being in any particular kind of relationship, or living 721 00:40:42,770 --> 00:40:45,020 in any particular kind of lifestyle. 722 00:40:45,020 --> 00:40:50,204 It is not what we do that is important, but it is how we live 723 00:40:50,204 --> 00:40:54,020 our life that is important. What are the intentions? 724 00:40:54,020 --> 00:40:57,020 What are the motivations behind our actions? 725 00:40:57,020 --> 00:41:01,688 What is it that drives us? That is what matters, not what 726 00:41:01,688 --> 00:41:06,687 we do, but how we do things. It is the how that makes a life 727 00:41:06,687 --> 00:41:11,020 spiritual, not the what. And when you think like that, 728 00:41:11,020 --> 00:41:15,145 then there is always lots of scope for change, lots of scope 729 00:41:15,145 --> 00:41:19,020 for living in a better, more caring, kinder, more 730 00:41:19,020 --> 00:41:23,220 compassionate way, and thereby making sure you increase your 731 00:41:23,220 --> 00:41:27,620 own happiness and also the happiness of the people and the 732 00:41:27,620 --> 00:41:33,132 world around you. Okay, so that is the talk for 733 00:41:33,132 --> 00:41:36,020 this evening. Thank you very much. 734 00:41:36,020 --> 00:41:39,020 So before we, I think there is a special surprise coming shortly 735 00:41:39,020 --> 00:41:42,735 because it is Christmas Day. So before we have the special 736 00:41:42,735 --> 00:41:46,520 surprise, are there any questions or anything anybody 737 00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:50,020 wants to add or comment on or say? 738 00:41:50,020 --> 00:41:52,020 Please feel free to say anything you like. 739 00:41:52,020 --> 00:41:56,520 This is your chance. Any more questions about the 740 00:41:56,520 --> 00:41:59,020 Bhikkhuni or the spiritual practice? 741 00:41:59,020 --> 00:42:01,735 No? Okay, then I will leave it 742 00:42:01,735 --> 00:42:03,020 there. Thank you. 743 00:42:03,020 --> 00:42:05,854 Or the ordination question, anything like that is also 744 00:42:05,854 --> 00:42:10,770 welcome if you want to do that. Anybody who is about to die here 745 00:42:10,770 --> 00:42:12,895 maybe? Who has some reflections they 746 00:42:12,895 --> 00:42:16,020 want to share? Okay. 747 00:42:16,020 --> 00:42:18,020 Maybe we should all put our hand up for that question. 748 00:42:18,020 --> 00:42:46,020 Yes, Peter. Yes, that is a good one. 749 00:42:46,020 --> 00:42:47,020 I have heard that one before as well. 750 00:42:47,020 --> 00:42:50,466 Yes. Nobody dies wishing that they 751 00:42:50,466 --> 00:42:52,020 had spent more time in the office. 752 00:42:52,020 --> 00:42:55,020 That is true actually. Actually, there is one more 753 00:42:55,020 --> 00:42:58,020 thing I wanted to say which I forgot to say in my talk. 754 00:42:58,020 --> 00:43:01,420 That was a beautiful... I met a Sri Lankan man when I 755 00:43:01,420 --> 00:43:03,020 went to Brisbane and I was in the office. 756 00:43:03,020 --> 00:43:05,020 I was in the office and I was talking to him. 757 00:43:05,020 --> 00:43:07,020 And this Sri Lankan man, we are talking about death as well. 758 00:43:07,020 --> 00:43:09,521 And he said something, gave some very beautiful thing that he was 759 00:43:09,521 --> 00:43:13,020 doing every day when he left the house going for work. 760 00:43:13,020 --> 00:43:16,354 And he said to me that every day as he was leaving the house, he 761 00:43:16,354 --> 00:43:20,020 thought to himself that today I may not come back to see my wife 762 00:43:20,020 --> 00:43:24,020 and children, my family. I could die today. 763 00:43:24,020 --> 00:43:27,798 So because I could die today, I have to make sure I leave the 764 00:43:27,798 --> 00:43:31,220 house in a good way. Saying the nice things, making 765 00:43:31,220 --> 00:43:34,620 sure I don't argue as the last thing I do when I leave the 766 00:43:34,620 --> 00:43:35,878 house. I thought that was a beautiful 767 00:43:35,878 --> 00:43:39,020 way of using this death contemplation to remind yourself 768 00:43:39,020 --> 00:43:41,020 that you never know when it's going to come. 769 00:43:41,020 --> 00:43:46,520 So it's always good to act in a nice way, particularly to those 770 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:49,878 people who are close to us, who are our loved ones, who we may 771 00:43:49,878 --> 00:43:53,592 often take for granted, may not always treat, but may be the 772 00:43:53,592 --> 00:43:55,020 kind of respect that they deserve. 773 00:43:55,020 --> 00:43:58,520 I'm not criticizing anybody. This is just the nature of 774 00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:00,020 family life, that this is how things often are. 775 00:44:01,020 --> 00:44:02,020 Help me find the health right way. 776 00:44:02,020 --> 00:44:04,293 The inner heartava. We shouldn't forget that we can 777 00:44:04,293 --> 00:44:05,420 all rely on our family in every way... unless we're supposed to 778 00:44:05,420 --> 00:44:07,687 take good care of our family. We need to make sure that we 779 00:44:07,687 --> 00:44:15,270 are. The family has been the key for 780 00:44:15,270 --> 00:44:17,020 so many years. I need you always and every day 781 00:44:17,020 --> 00:44:20,020 to take care of us. If not, do it. 782 00:44:20,020 --> 00:44:23,020 There won't be to you guys, to me. 783 00:44:23,020 --> 00:44:26,187 When we open the THEM We always something that will be there and 784 00:44:26,187 --> 00:44:29,020 be the most important part and heart and soul of our children. 785 00:44:29,020 --> 00:44:31,020 Lower the block and make a Little fast