When we practice mindfulness of breath, says Judy Lief, we connect to the reality that birth and death are happening in every moment.
“When the body has dissolved into the four elements, where will you go?” asks the koan called Doushuai’s Third Barrier. Vastness into vastness, concludes Zen teacher John Tarrant.
Most of the time death won’t follow our script, says Roshi Joan Halifax. But amid its messiness and pain, our experience can be respected, and we can learn.
When Holly Stocking discovers an unopened present from her late husband, she contemplates what it really means to be gone — and the things he’s still giving her.
Diana Winston teaches a step-by-step meditation to practice in times of tragedy.
Ajahn Chah gives simple, profound advice to an aging student as she approaches her death.
Chris Pacheco, Lion’s Roar’s Associate AV Editor, on why you might take up the Buddhist practice of maranasati, or mindfulness of death — even if you really, really don’t want to.
Jaimal Yogis’s dad explained his final wishes: “I’ve gotten so much from Buddhism for good living, I’m not going to pass up their tips for good dying.”
The Buddha saw an old man, ill man, dead man, and wise man. As her father’s health declined, Minal Hajratwala saw these same sights.
“How many times have I felt that I couldn’t bear the heartbreak,” says Barbara Gates. “But here I am still hiking strong.”
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