Life Is Uncertain
Death Is Certain 

A child comes into this world bringing joy and happiness unto all near and dear ones. Even the mother who had to bear extreme labour pains is pleased and delighted to behold her newborn child. She feels that all the trouble and pain borne by her ere well worth it. However, by crying, the child seems to suggest it too has its share of suffering for coming into this world. The child grows into and adolescent and later into an adult, performing all sorts of good and bad deeds. He eventually grows old and finally bids farewell to this sorrow. Such is the nature of existence of a human being. People try to evade and escape from the clutches of death but no one is able to do so. At the moment of death, they have their minds hovering over their hoard of acquired wealth, unduly worrying about their dear children surrounding them. Last but not least, they keep evincing much concern over their own precious bodies, which despite the tender care and attention, lavished by them are now worn out, decaying and exhausted. It grieves one’s heart to separate oneself from the body. It is the way most people take leave in this world – with moans and groans. The pangs of death are considered dreadful, an attitude fed by ignorance.

Men are disturbed not by external things, but by beliefs and imaginations they conjure up in their minds with regard to the form of their future lives. Death, for example, is not by itself dreadful: the dread or terror exists only in our minds. It is not often that we brave enough to come face to face with the thought pf our own mortality. Insistence upon the truth of suffering may seem horrible and unacceptable to the mind which is unable to face realities, but it certainly helps to reduce or eliminate the dread of fear by knowing how to face death. Once life is launched, like a bullet it rushes to its destination – death. Realizing thus, we must bravely face that natural occurrence. To be considered free in life, we must also be free from the fear of death. Fear only comes to those who are not able to comprehend the laws of Nature. “Whenever fear arises, it arises in the fool, not in the wise man,” says the Buddha in the Anguttara Nikaya. Fears are nothing more than states of mind. Remember what science teaches us about the process of dying? It is only a physiological erosion of the human body. We needlessly frighten ourselves with  imagined or anticipated horrors which never come to pass. As a famous physician, Sir William Osler puts it:- “In my wide clinical experience, most human beings die really without pain or fear.”

A veteran nurse once said: “It has always seemed to me a major tragedy that so many people go through life haunted by the fear of death – only to find when it comes that it’s as natural as life itself. For few are afraid to die when they get to the very end. In all my experience only one seem to feel any terror – a woman who had done her sister a wicked thing which it was too late to put right.”

“Something strange and beautiful happens to men and women when they come to the end of the road. All fear, all horror disappears. I have often watched a look of happy wonder dawn in their eyes when they realized this is true. It is all part of the goodness of Nature.”

Attachment to life on earth creates the unnatural fear of death. It creates strong anxiety on life; the man who will never take risks even for what is right. He lives in fear worrying that some illness or accident might snuff out the precious little life he cherishes. Realizing that death is inevitable, the one who loves life on earth will go into a devout prayer expressing the hope that his soul will survive in heaven. No man can be happy in such a tempest of fear and hope. Yet it is hard to despise or ignore these manifestations of the instinct for self-preservation. There is however a method of overcoming this fear. Forget the concept of self; turn one’s love of the inward outwards, i.e. provide humanitarian service and to shower love on others. Whoever constantly keeps in mind the fact that he would someday be subjected to death and that death is inevitable, would be eager to fulfill his duties to his fellow human beings before death, and this would certainly make him heedful in respect of this world and the next. Being engrossed in service to others, you will soon release yourself from the heavy selfish attachments, hopes, vanity, pride and self-righteousness.

Illness and Death

Both illness and death are natural happenings in our lives and must be accepted as such with understanding. According to modern psychological theory, undue mental stress is caused by our refusal to face and accept life’s realities. This undue stress, unless overcome or subdued, actually causes grave physical illness. Maintaining a sense of undue worry and despair over an illness will certainly make it worse. As for death, it must never be feared by those who are pure in heart and action. We are all a combination of mind and matter and as such there is actually no individual self to die. The karmic reactions arising from past evil deed may linger with us on our rebirth thus causing us to shoulder the karmic sufferings in a new life. Such an eventuality can be obviated if we make every effort to acquire merit by leading a virtuous life and by doing so we can face death bravely and realistically since in accordance with the teachings of Buddhism there is no ‘saviour’ upon whom we could entrust our burdens in order to relieve ourselves from the consequences of our wrong actions. We should constantly remind ourselves of the Buddha’s advice: “Be ye refuge and islands unto yourselves; labour on with diligence. ”Buddhists should not go into grief and deep mourning over the deaths of relatives and friends. There can be no halting of the wheel of circumstance.  When a man dies, the karmic sequence of his conduct passes on into a new being. Kith and kin, friends and relatives can accompany the dead body up to the grave, but not further. Only a man’s deeds, good or bad, go forth with him. Those left behind should bear their bereavement with calmness and understanding. Death is an inevitable process of this world. That is the one thing which is certain in this universe. Forests may be turned into cities and cities into sand dunes. Where mountains exist, a lake may be formed. Uncertainty exists everywhere but death is certain. All else is momentary. We had our forefathers, and they in their turn had their own, but where are they all now? They have all passed away.

Let not the sophisticated assume that a pessimistic view of life is being presented here. This is the most realistic view of all realisms. Why should we be unrealistic and blind our eyes to real facts? For does not death consume everything? It certainly does. Let this not be forgotten. The role of death is to make ever man aware of his destiny; that however high he may be placed, whatever advanced aid in technology or medical science he may have, his end is all the same, either in a coffin or merely reduced to a handful of ashes. The sequence of birth and death is a continuing process until we become perfect.

Man’s Influence Persists

The Buddha said: “Man’s body turns to dust, but his name or influence persists.” The influence of a past life is sometimes more far-reaching, more potent than that held by the living body with certain limitations. We occasionally act on thoughts inspired by personalities whose mortal remains have turned to dust. In our accomplishments, such thoughts also play an important role. Every living person is deemed a composite of all his ancestors who have gone before him. In this sense, we may assume that the past heroes, great philosophers, sages, poets and musicians of every race are still with us. As we link ourselves to the past martyrs and thinkers, we are able to share their wise thoughts, their noble ideals and even the imperishable music of the ages. Even though their bodies are dead, their influence lives on. The body is nothing but an abstract generalization for a constantly changing combination of chemical constituents. Man must realize that his life is but a drop in an ever-flowing river and must be happy to contribute his part to the great stream which is called life.

Not knowing the nature of his life, man is sunk in the mud of ignorance of this world. He weeps and wails. But when he realizes what his true nature is, he renounces all transient things and seeks the Eternal state. Prior to achieving the Eternal state he will have to face death again and again. Since death itself is meaningless, man should not try to overcome the continuous repeated births and deaths.

According to Buddhism, this is not the first and last life we have in this world. If you do good with confidence, you can have a better future life. On the other hand, if you feel that you do not want to be reborn again and again, you should work towards this end by making every effort to develop the mind by eradicating all craving and other mental impurities.

Buddhist Philosophy

The Noble saint who has attained the stage of highest perfection does not weep at the passing away of those dear and near to him as he has completely eradicated his emotional feelings. Ven. Anuruddha, who was an Arahant, did not weep at the passing away of the Buddha. However, ven. Ananda, who was at that time only a Sotapanna, having attained only the first stage of sainthood, could not but express his deep sorrow. The weeping bhikkhu had to be reminded of the Buddha’s view on situations of this nature, as follows:-

“Has not the Buddha told us, Ananda, that what is born, what comes to beings, and what is put together, is subject to dissolution? That is the nature of all conditioned formations; to arise and pass away. Having once arisen they must pass away – And hen such formations cease completely, then comes Peace Supreme.” These words describe the foundation on which the structure of Buddhist philosophy is built.

Cause of Sorrow

The cause of our grief and sorrow is Attachment in all its various forms. If we want to overcome sorrow, we have to give up attachment – attachment not only to persons but also to possessions. This is the ultimate truth; this is the lesson that death signifies. Attachment provides us many things to satisfy our emotion and to lead a worldly life. But the same attachment becomes in the end the cause of all our sorrows. Unless we learn this lesson, death can strike us and fill us with terror. The fact is beautifully illustrated by the Buddha, who said:- “Death will take away a man though he is attached to his children and his possessions, just as a great flood takes away a sleeping village.”

This saying implies that if the village had not been asleep but remained awake and alert, the havoc created by the flood could have been avoided.

Death is Universal

Let us now examine how the Buddha solved this problem for two persons who, through attachment, were both deeply grieved by death. One person was Kisagotami. Her only child had died after being attacked by a serpent. She went to the Buddha carrying the dead child in her arms to ask for help. The Buddha asked her to bring a few mustard seeds from a family where no one had died. But she could not find such a family. Every house she visited was either in mourning or had mourned over a death at one time or another. Then she realized the bitter truth: that death is universal. Death strikes all and spare none. Sorrow is the heritage of everyone.

The other person whom the Buddha advised was Patacara. Her case was sadder. Within a short period she lost her two children, husband, brother, parents, and all her, possessions. Losing her senses, she ran naked and wild in the streets until she met the Buddha. The Buddha brought her back to sanity by explaining that death is to be expected as a natural phenomenon in all living beings.

“You have suffered from similar situations, not once, Patacara, but many times during your previous existences. For a long time you suffered due to the deaths of a father, a mother, children or relatives. While you were thus suffering, you indeed shed more tears than there is water I the ocean.”

At the end of the talk, Patacara realized the uncertainty of life. Both Patacara and Kisagotami comprehended suffering and each learned through their tragic experiences. By deeply understanding he First Noble Truth of  “suffering”, the other three Noble Truth were also understood. “Whose monks, comprehends suffering,” said the Buddha, “also comprehends the arising, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering.”

The Five Aggregates

Death is the dissolution of khandhas. The Khandhas are the five aggregates of perception, sensation, mental formations, consciousness and corporeality or matter. The first four are mental aggregates or name, forming the unit of consciousness. The fifth, rupa is the material or physical aggregate. This psycho-physical combination is conventionally named an individual, person or ego. Therefore what entities that exist are not individuals as such, but the two primary constituents of mind and matter, which are rare phenomena. We do not see the five aggregates as phenomena but as an entity because of our defused minds, and our innate desire to treat these as a self in order to pander to our self-importance.

We will be able to see things as they truly are if we only have patience and the will to do so. If we turn inwards to the recesses of our own minds and note with just that bare attention, note objectively without projecting an ego in the process, and then cultivate this practice for a sufficient length of time, as laid down by the Buddha in the Sati Patthana Sutta, then we will see these five aggregates, not as an entity, but as a series of physical and mental processes. Then we will not mistake the superficial for the real. We will then see that these aggregates arise and disappear in rapid succession, never being the same for two consecutive moments, never static but always in a state of flux, never being but always becoming.

Rebirth

The four mental aggregates, viz, consciousness and the three other groups of mental factors forming Nama or the unit of consciousness, go on uninterruptedly, arising and disappearing as before, but not in the same setting, because that setting is no more. They have to find immediately a fresh physical base as it were, with which to function – a fresh material layer appropriate and suitable for all the aggregates to function in harmony. Karma acts as a law and this law operates to re-set the aggregates after death. The result is “re-birth”.

A Bundle of Elements and Energies

In brief, the combination of the five aggregates is called birth. Existence of these aggregates as bundle is called life. Dissolution of these things is called death. And recombination of these aggregates is called rebirth. However, it is not easy for any ordinary man to understand how these so called aggregates could recombine. A proper understanding of the nature of elements, mental energies and the law of Karma and co-operation of cosmic energies is important in this respect. To some, this is a simple and natural occurrence. To them death means the separation of the five elements and thereafter nothing remains. To some, it means transmigration of the soul from one body to another; and to others, it means indefinite suspension of the soul; in other words, waiting for the Day of Judgment. To Buddhists, however, death is nothing but a temporary end of a temporary phenomenon. It is not the complete annihilation of this so-called being.

Causes of Death

According to Buddhism, Death can occur in any one of these four ways:

ii.                   It can be due to the exhaustion of the Karmic energy that caused the birth of the deceased. This is called karma-kkhaya;