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Here in Sri Lanka, we typically say "Anicca Vata Sankhara" or "Vaya-dhamma Sankhara" in the bereavement notices. When you meet the family members, you put your hands together and greet without smiling. You are not expected to say anything unless you are giving an eulogy. When you talk to people, you are expected to talk quietly and not to gossip. You can ...
12
I prepare for death by watching clouds.
Appearances of entities arise when certain elements come together, and then morph beyond recognition as elements drift apart.
Death is all around us at all times. Everything is changing, always. I prepare for death by letting go of fixed ideas about who I am. Every moment is a different configuration and there's no ...
10
How to do "contemplation of death" meditation ?
With each and every in and out breath reflect: "life is impermanent, but death is certain, hence will attend to what need to be done without delay."
“But how, bhikshu, do you cultivate the mindfulness of death?”
“Here, bhante, I do it thus:
'Indeed, should I live just the time it ...
answered Mar 5 '16 at 16:04
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
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8
Buddhist philosophy teaches you to act with sincerity and not to speak for the sake of speaking. Given that, I don't think you need any particular line for expressing condolence. A simple "I'm sorry for your loss" or letting them know you are available to talk/listen should suffice as long as you mean it.
Remember that there is nothing you can say to end ...
8
Because you mention the Mahasi Sayadaw in your question, most relevant is the Mahasi Sayadaw's discussion of the Purabheda Sutta:
http://static.sirimangalo.org/mahasi/Purabheda%20Sutta.htm
(Sorry, the formatting is off in this version)
There are some Pali phrases in that book that might be of interest, e.g.:
Vītataṇho purābhedā, pubbamanta manissito.
...
7
"I read somewhere (perhaps in an unreliable introduction to Tibetan beliefs) that rebirth is conditioned by the last thought before death (or perhaps affected by a thought or desire that you have after death).
Another belief that's similar, if not the same, is that a person may have had some (good or bad) life but that having some (bad or good) final dying ...
7
Buddhists do kill themselves, but instead of killing the body they kill the Ego -- which is much more effective.
6
Being mindful all the time is an important part of the practice. Not just at the time of death. But if you have a wholesome thought at the time of death, your next birth will be better.
Whether it's human or animal, what makes you think killing will relieve a being from suffering? It could be born in a worse place. Your action is based on a big assumption ...
6
1. Do they stay together, and cause birth of a one specific person (which can be called rebirth), or do they separate?
Even when you are alive, the 5 skandhas arise together in every experience. So when you ask "do they stay together", you are asking if the experience stays. No! The experience disappears immediately. There's no staying. The skandhas in this ...
6
Generally you should not do Metta to:
Lingavisabhāga (opposite sex - generally directed at a specific person)
Kālakatapuggala (a dead person)
See page 81 Seeing and Knowing revised edition by Pa Auk Sayadaw (Pa Auk Lineage)
To develop the sublime abiding of loving-kindness (mettà), you need first of all be aware that it should not be developed towards a ...
answered Nov 5 '15 at 13:18
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
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6
In preparation for death you should:
accept the fact everyone must die and let go of the fear of death
not procrastinate meditation to develop wisdom
make your mind equanimous as possible to handle the pain of death so you do not lose the balance and get re born in a lower realm
In order to achieve 1, best is to contemplate that everyone must die and it is ...
answered Jan 22 '16 at 12:19
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
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6
Nothing
Because there is no person to happen anything, and there is no samsara. So that's The End. When a person achieves nirvana , there is no person anymore. Death is not the end of a person, nirvana is. After achieving nirvana, 'he' can help others to achieve nirvana , and just wait for the physical death.
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Your question seems very sensible. Some thoughts...
I think you're wrong to suggest that the Buddha was 'not sure what will happen...'. There are some things that may be known but not explained. He advises us not to worry about metaphysical problems and just take the medicine, but this does not mean these problems are not understood or the facts not known. ...
5
Ultimately, the moment of death consciousness is all that counts. That consciousness, however, is of course partially conditioned by all the good and bad deeds one has performed in the past, especially since one's life tends to flash before one's eyes just before that last moment, leading one to often cling to this or that memory or idea.
Technically, there ...
5
The precepts are frequently understood from a a Western perspective as "do not [kill]", similar to "thou shalt not ..." as in Christianity. However, this type of dualist view (either one or the other, right or wrong) is not taught in Buddhism. Therefore, the key in translation of the precepts to "undertake the training to refrain/abstain from [...]" (related ...
5
Bhava-chakra, the wheel of life, or, as I would translate it, "the wheel of individuation" is a relatively late depiction of the 12 Nidanas. In the suttas of Pali Canon, the nidanas are usually presented as a list, that is reviewed both in forward as well as in reverse direction -- but never (to my knowledge!) as an infinite loop.
If you read the wheel ...
5
Death perspective from the Abhidhamma point of view:
Notes:
"Death is the temporary end of a temporary phenomenon." By death is meant the extinction of psychic life (jīvitindriya), heat (usma = tejodhātu), and consciousness (viññāna), of one individual in a particular existence. Death is not the complete annihilation of a being. Death in one place means ...
5
The quoted passage sounds vaguely like the last paragraph of Ud 8.5 the Cunda Sutta. For example you quoted,
You have done what is good and wholesome ... after death you will be reborn in a happy destination
Thanissaro's version of that,
Cunda's remorse should be allayed ... it's well-done by you ... Venerable Cunda the silversmith has accumulated ...
5
According to my teacher, it is important to reconcile and forgive major issues we had had with our (now deceased) parents. There is a tremendous amount of emotional energy locked in grudges and negative memories. He advised that we imagine our parents standing in front of us, talk to them about our past issues, hug them, say I Understand Why You Did What You ...
5
i do seem to care about others who die though but not on myself
But that's the whole point. So if you already don't mind dying (that's how i understand your statement), then maybe you're an arahant?
I of course am not familiar with your background, but whether you mind or not can be found out in the life and death situation, when contingency of dying is ...
5
I am not as knowledgeable in these matters as many others I see in this Exchange, but it seems to me that the answer to this question might fall under the categories of the 14 Unanswered Questions #'s 11-14 - Pali Canon or the 16 Unwise Reflections - Sabbasava Sutta. (Although the latter seems to focus on self reflection and, so, may not apply to reflections ...
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It is something undeclared by The Buddha.
These four views are undeclared by The Buddha:
After death a Tathāgata exists
After death a Tathāgata does not exist
After death a Tathāgata both exists & does not exist
After death a Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist
"Any consciousness by which one describing the Tathagata would
describe him: ...
5
It's in Puttanmansa Sutta.
"And how is physical food to be regarded? Suppose a couple, husband &
wife, taking meager provisions, were to travel through a desert. With
them would be their only baby son, dear & appealing. Then the meager
provisions of the couple going through the desert would be used up &
depleted while there was still a ...
5
If you both have:
(1) compatible faith (sama,saddhā),
(2) compatible virtue (sama,silā),
(3) compatible charity (sama,cāgā),
(4) compatible wisdom (sama,pannā).
Sama,jivi Sutta 1
With the balance of probability, you will be born in the same plane, which increases the chance of meeting again. There is no guarantee through. This will make ...
answered Sep 13 at 7:35
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
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4
When, Vaccha, a being has laid down this body but has not yet been reborn in another body, I declare that it is fueled by craving382. For on that occasion craving is its fuel.
— SN 44:9 The Debating Hall
(Bodhi, from SuttaCentral)
And another:
Vaccha, when a being sets this body aside and is not yet reborn in another body, I designate it as ...
4
Your calling it "suicide" (i.e. intentionally killing yourself) and "committing" (a crime) suggest that the action/intention/view you have in mind are not appropriate.
The following paragraphs from pages 82 and 83 of this Vinaya commentary,
The Buddhist Monastic Code I: The Patimokkha Training Rules Translated and Explained, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu suggest ...
4
The Upajjhatthana Sutta five remembrances is used in the evening chanting by many Theravadin temples and monasteries.
Five remembrances
Below are two English translations and the original Pali text of the "five remembrances":
I cannot avoid ageing. I am subject to aging, have not gone beyond aging. Jarādhammomhi jaraṃ anatīto....
I cannot avoid ...
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"No afterlife" means, from a Buddhist perspective, that there is no ego-centered identity to experience that afterlife. After life, the ego entity created by the human mind is no more but the consciousness in which that individual was operating in never dies.
As Andrei_Volkov answered, the Buddhist perspective likens consciousness to a vast ocean. The Five ...
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