Date: 02/10/2024 02/11/2024
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Lucy Zhou
Dharma talk
Brave and sharp mindfulness of death
Once, when the Buddha was in the Jeta’s Grove of Sāvatthī, he taught the bhikkhus the practice of mindfulness of death.
The Buddha said:
“If you can practice mindfulness of death, it will be very effective when you practice it more often. How can you practice mindfulness of death? It should be practiced with the mindfulness of death in conjunction with the mindfulness factor of enlightenment, discerning wisdom limb of enlightenment, effort factor of enlightenment, tranquility factor of enlightenment, joy factor of enlightenment, concentration factor of enlightenment, and equanimity factor of enlightenment. The practice of detachment, absence of desire, destruction, and giving up.”
In another assembly, the Buddha encouraged the bhikkhus by saying:
“Bhikkhus, more practice of mindfulness of death will enable you to achieve many fruits and merits, just like being immersed in nectar and the ultimate nectar. Therefore, bhikkhus! You should practice the mindfulness of death more often.”
After hearing this from the Buddha, one of the bhikkhus in the audience stood up to report his experience:
“Tathāgata, I have often practiced and contemplated the mindfulness of death.”
“Bhikkhu! How did you do it?” the Buddha asked further.
“Tathāgata, when I contemplated the mindfulness of death, I contemplated like this: I have only one day and one night left to live, and I want to make full use of this day and one night and devote myself wholeheartedly to the study of what Tathāgata has taught, so as to obtain the benefits of the Dhamma as soon as possible have no regrets after death. Tathāgata, this is how I practice.”
Another bhikkhu continued:
“World Honored One, I practice it this way: contemplate that I have only one day left to live, and I motivate myself to make the most of it and focus as much as I can on what the World Honored One has taught so that I will have no regrets after death.”
In this way, bhikkhus continued to stand up to make reports. The contents of the reports were all the same. However, the differences were about how long they contemplated that they still could live. Someone contemplated only half a day left; someone contemplated only one meal left; someone contemplated half meal left; someone contemplated four or five bites of food time left; someone contemplated one bite of food time left, and some contemplated only one breath left to live.
Finally, the Buddha commented on the reports of the above bhikkhus as follows:
“Bhikkhus! Some bhikkhus contemplate only one day and one night left to live, those who contemplate one day, those who contemplate half a day, those who contemplate only one meal left, those who contemplate half a meal left, and those who contemplate four or five bites food time left. Practicing the mindfulness of death in these ways is considered relaxation. Because practicing the mindfulness of death in these ways is slow in helping cut off all troubles.
However, the contemplations of mindfulness of death with only one bite of food time left and only one breath left to live are not relaxation. In this way, the practice of mindfulness of death is beneficial to the cultivation of eliminating all troubles.
Bhikkhus! Therefore, we should learn non-relaxation and practice the mindfulness of death by the non-relaxation contemplation to cut off all troubles with fierce and sharp effect.”
