Death (maraṇa)
Death (maraṇa)
3. “Could you please explain about the death process…how quickly does rebirth occur?” [Death] [Rebirth] // [Recollection/Death] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Recollection] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Theravāda] [History/Early Buddhism] [Sutta] [Vajrayāna] [Clinging] [Culture/Thailand] [Chanting] [Goodwill] [Relinquishment] [Ceremony/ritual] [Kamma]
References: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections; Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 12: The body is impermanent... [Similes] [Craving]
Simile: Fire blown by the wind (MN 72: Aggivacchagotta Sutta)
Story: A former monk asks Ajahn Chah about working with dying people to give them the opportunity for wholesome rebirth. [Ajahn Chah] [Death] [Teachers] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Quote: “I practice dying.” — The Dalai Lama [Dalai Lama]
6. “Can you speak about working with fear and loss of ego identity, fear, and death?” [Fear] [Self-identity view] [Death] // [Goodwill] [Aggregates] [Impermanence] [Delusion] [Faith] [Eightfold Path] [Perfections] [Recollection]
Reference: Description of dukkha. [Suffering]
Quote: “We respond to teachings on liberation and Nibbāna with a curious sense of fear and trepidation.” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa speaking about Ajahn Mun [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Mun] [Liberation] [Nibbāna] [Family] [Clinging]
4. “Would you way a bit about the benefits of practicing loving-kindness during the dying process, both for the one who is dying as well as for the caregiver?” [Goodwill] [Death] [Health care] // [Gladdening the mind] [Fear] [Clear comprehension] [Energy] [Community]
Quote: “These bodies are really high maintenance when they don't work.” [Sickness]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah was unable to look after himself for the last nine years of his life. [Ajahn Chah] [Respect for elders] [Wat Pah Pong] [Gratitude]
10. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah accepts his dying father's request to stay as a monk for life. [Family] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Sickness] [Death] [Ajahn Chah] [Determination] // [Mindfulness of body] [Sense of urgency] [Saṃsāra]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 40
Quote: “I dedicate my body and mind, my whole life, to the practice of the Lord Buddha’s teachings in their entirety. I will realize the truth in this lifetime … I will let go of everything and follow the teachings. No matter how much suffering and difficulty I have to endure I will persevere, otherwise there will be no end to my doubts. I will make this life as even and continuous as a single day and night. I will abandon attachments to mind and body and follow the Buddha’s teachings until I know their truth for myself.” — Ajahn Chah [Ardency] [Patience] [Doubt] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Relinquishment] [Knowledge and vision]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 42
The singular quality of Ajahn Chah's resolution. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno.
6. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah in the early years: spare, stern, and vigorous. [Personality] [Personal presence] [Ardency] [Ascetic practices] [Ajahn Chah] // [Similes]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 137
Quote: “Nibbāna lies on the shores of death.” — Ajahn Chah [Nibbāna] [Death]
6. “Could you tell of your personal experience with a tiger?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Animal] [Tudong]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno hears and smells a tiger while doing walking meditation. [Dtao Dum] [Culture/Natural environment] [Posture/Walking] [Fear] [Death] [Impermanence] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
Sutta: MN 4: Fear and Dread
8. Comment: For me it is a question of whether I can believe it or not. It depends on where I place my mind. [Faith] [Science] [Emptiness] [Proliferation] [Deva] [Recollection/Devas] [Dalai Lama] [Death]
Response by Ajahn Yatiko. [Doubt] [Trust] [Tranquility]
11. “Thank you for your uplifting and encouraging talks. My husband died 6 months ago. Could you give suggestions for how to contemplate anicca and anatta in the context of his life, illness, and death?” [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Sickness] [Death] [Relationships]
11. “Is there an obligation to reconcile with family before your death or theirs (especially when family has been particularly unskillful towards us)?” [Family] [Death] [Forgiveness]
5. “Funeral and memorial services are not only important for those left behind, but maybe important for the new traveler in afterlife. Could you say more about supporting a dead person? What kind of support and how long? Years? Does 'human support' matter or does 'karma' of each individual 'take care of it'?” [Funerals] [Death] [Rebirth] [Kamma]
12. “My mind went to the elements today and how the sense feel them...but can all senses feel all elements? On death, air and fire are gone but water and earth remain. Is this correct? Are these skillful reflections?” [Elements] [Sense bases] [Death]
20. “Today is the 23rd anniversary of my grandmother’s passing. I am particularly thinking of her today and dedicating loving kindness. Is this a meritorious act or is this fantasy?” [Death] [Family] [Merit] [Goodwill]
2. “You said in the chanting, 'I am the heir to my kamma.' Gam in Thai is what we cultivate in body, speech and mind. In the Thai concept, we also have jao gam nai ren. Can Ajahn help me sort this out?” [Kamma] [Culture/Thailand] [Nature of the cosmos] // [Suffering] [Health care] [Birth]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections
Follow-up: “My mother is dying at age 88. She had a plane accident 20 years ago and has been completely immobile....In Thai we say, jao gam nai ren must have been chasing after her.” [Family] [Sickness] [Death]
[Session] Ajahn Pasanno begins the retreat by encouraging us to return to the basics of the Noble Eight-fold Path. He mentions Iris Landsberg, a long-standing lay supporter dying of lung cancer, both to set the tone for the monk's final visit to her and to encourage us to practice while there is still time. Iris passed away February 1, 2014. [Eightfold Path] [Sickness] [Death] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Sense of urgency] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Meditation retreats] [Family] [Health care]
Sutta: DN 16.34: The world will not be devoid of awakened beings as long as people are practicing the Eightfold Path. [Stages of awakening]
Story: Ajahn Pāvaro decides to practice in Bodh Gaya after receiving worrying medical news. [Ajahn Pavaro] [Visiting holy sites] [Impermanence]
Sutta: MN 131: Bhaddekaratta Sutta (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 75)
1. Dedication of the reading to Iris Landsberg. [Lay life] [Death]
1. Ajahn Dtun's visit and Iris Landsberg. Recollections by Beth Steff.
Quote: “In the morning, a health friend. In the evening, a wisp of cremation smoke.” — unnamed Chan master. [Death] [Recollection/Death]
2. “In the Pure Land tradition, there are practices that prepare one for death. Are there are specific recommendations that yourself or Ajahn Chah would give for preparation for that last moment before death?” [Pure Land] [Ajahn Chah] [Death] [Recollection/Death] // [Buddho mantra]
Story: Family members try to encourage a drunkard to recollect "Arahaṃ" in his last moments. [Death] [Mantra] [Humor]
Story: Ajahn Chah's response to Paul Breiter's desire to teach meditation to dying people. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Meditation] [Death] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Story: Ajahn Karuṇadhammo advises Iris Landsberg to recollect "sorrowless, spotless, secure." Told by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Death] [Recollection]
Sutta: Sn 2.4: Maṅgala Sutta (English chanting translation).
Story: A couple asks Master Hua what kind of dog they should get. [Master Hsuan Hua] [Animal] [Rebirth]
3. Ajahn Pasanno asks Ajahn Pesalo for more information about Ajahn Suwat. [Ajahn Suwat] // [Death] [Wat Buridat] [Sickness]
2. “How common is burial as opposed to cremation in Thailand?” [Culture/Thailand] [Funerals] // [Death] [Suicide] [Ghost] [Rebirth]
Story: A person killed by a gunshot wound doesn't realize that he is dead. [Death]
3. “Why are dead children buried?” [Death] [Children] [Culture/Thailand]
10. “How can we interest the mind in the recollection of death?” [Recollection/Death] [Desire] // [Mindfulness of breathing] [Sickness] [Death] [Poo Jum Gom] [Mindfulness of body] [Sense of urgency]
12. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: There is a belief that contemplating death can call death to you. [Recollection/Death] [Death] // [Fear]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
14. “If you don't think you will reach Nibbāna in this life, did Ajahn Chah advise a place to aspire for rebirth in?” [Ajahn Anan] [Pure Land] [Ajahn Dtun] [Death] [Nibbāna] [Rebirth] [Buddha] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand] [Merit] [Fierce/direct teaching]
15. Discussion about faith followers and Dhamma followers. [Stream entry] [Stages of awakening] [Death] [Sutta]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Concentration] [Recollection/Death]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, pp. 441-445: Ajahn Chah comes down Pu Pek Mountain and nothing is the same. [Ajahn Chah]
Response by Ajahn Cunda. [Ajahn Amaro] [Death]
10. “So they do temporary ordinations in Thailand?” [Culture/Thailand] [Temporary ordination] [Novices]
Follow-up: “What would be the duration, was there a range?” [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Chah ordains 80 temporary monks for his mother's funeral. [Family] [Death] [Funerals]
Follow-up: “Did they come in as anāgārikas or sāmaṇeras?” [Sequence of training] [Postulants]
Story: Ajahn Chah takes on temporary ordinations for three years.
3. Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna: When working with the mind in a comfortable environment, one can skip past and the fear of death. [Mindfulness of mind] [Pain] [Fear] [Death]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
1. Introduction to the Death and Dying Upasika Day [Death]
3. Reading: AN 6.16: Nakula's Father [Sickness] [Relationships] [Death]
4. Reading: SN 41.10: Death of Citta the Householder [Great disciples] [Death] // [Deva] [Faith] [Three Refuges] [Generosity]
5. Reading: SN 55.24-25: Sarakāni [Stream entry] [Intoxicants] [Death]
6. Recollection: Traditions around dying in Thailand. [Culture/Thailand] [Death] // [Tranquility] [Chanting] [Teaching Dhamma] [Clear comprehension] [Rebirth]
7. Readings: MN 143, SN 2.20: Death of Anāthapiṇḍika [Great disciples] [Death] // [Sense bases] [Relinquishment] [Teaching Dhamma] [Lay life] [Deva]
8. “What is Jeta's Grove?” [Buddha/Biography] [Death] // [Great disciples] [Ajahn Sucitto]
Vinaya: Anāthapiṇḍika purchases Jeta's Grove (Kd 16.4.8). [Generosity]
9. “Why is the story of Sarakāni controversial in Sri Lanka?” [Stream entry] [Intoxicants] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism] [Death] // [Stages of awakening]
Sutta: SN 55.24-25: Sarakāni
Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo regarding the wide range of views about stream entry. [Views]
10. “The suttas say 'The wise protect their diligence as their greatest treasure.' How does one protect one's diligence?” [Heedfulness] [Ardency] [Death] // [Sickness] [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Mindfulness of mind] [Right Effort] [Happiness] [Spaciousness]
11. “Is there a meditation practice to use with someone who is dying?” [Meditation] [Death] // [Faith] [Simplicity] [Happiness] [Recollection/Death] [Ageing] [Sickness]
Story about Ram Dass's dying mother: "Richard, shut up!" [Ram Dass] [Death] [Fear] [Restlessness and worry]
12. Comments about uncertainty, impermanence, and denial of the reality of one's own death. [Impermanence] [Culture/West] [Heedfulness] [Virtue] [Death] [Recollection/Death]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
13. Comment: We can't know the kamma or state of mind of someone who is dying. Because the dying person's consciousness can be very open, it's useful to remind them of their wholesome actions. Contributed by Jeanne Daskais. [Kamma] [Consciousness] [Spaciousness] [Recollection/Virtue] [Death]
Story: Sri Lankans keep a lifelong record of the good things they have done. Friends and relatives read this to them at the time of death. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Skillful qualities] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism]
14. Story: A woman dies peacefully while retelling the story of their life together with her partner of 60 years. [Relationships] [Family] [Recollection/Virtue] [Death]
15. “Living in the West, chances are most of us will die in a hospital, which could be quite chaotic. Any advice?” [Culture/West] [Health care] [Death] // [Spiritual friendship] [Community] [Saṅgha]
Story: The Abhayagiri community attends to a dying lay supporter. [Abhayagiri] [Death]
Comments about hospitals contributed by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.
16. Story about creating sacred space around her dying husband. Told by Beth Steff. [Health care] [Devotional practice] [Relationships] [Death]
17. Comment: One can sign oneself out of hospital against the physician's wishes. [Health care] [Death]
18. Comments about hospital care and advance directives. [Health care] [Commerce/economics] [Death]
19. “Is it possible to dedicate merit to our four-legged companions after they pass?” [Animal] [Merit] [Grief] [Death] // [Generosity]
Sutta: AN 10.177: Jāṇussoṇī
20. Comment: As a Westerner who hasn't participated in dedication of merit until this winter–it's worth trying. [Culture/West] [Merit] [Death]
21. “Can you dedicate merit to someone who is approaching death?” [Merit] [Death]
Story: Ajahn Paññānanda speaks out against superstition but tells the story of a shipwrecked sailor who benefited from dedication of merit. [Ajahn Paññānanda] [Superstition] [Suffering]
22. “I read about the advice given to dying devas. Should more people know about the cosmological background of the Buddha's teachings?” [Deva] [Realms of existence] [Death]
Sutta: Iti 83: Five omens that appear when a deva is about to pass away. [Death] [Rebirth]
23. “In Vajrayāna you visualize a column of light and going out the top of your head in preparation for death. Is there a related practice in this tradition?” [Vajrayāna] [Visualization] [Recollection/Death] [Theravāda] [Death] // [Tranquility] [Mindfulness]
Reference: "Our Real Home" in Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 145.
24. “If beings are reborn immediately, how does ritual [sharing of merit] benefit the person who has passed?” [Rebirth] [Ceremony/ritual] [Merit] [Death] // [Theravāda] [Realms of existence] [Goodwill]
Sutta: AN 10.177: Jāṇussoṇī
25. Comment: Merit is faith driven, so there aren't any limitations to where that can take you, and it has real value. [Merit] [Faith] [Realms of existence] [Death]
Story: Two Thai doctors take temporary ordination to make merit to rejoin their deceased brother in a future life. [Culture/Thailand] [Death] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Temporary ordination] [Family] [Rebirth]
Story: The mother of a woman killed in a bus crash dedicates merit so that the dead woman will be reborn in the family. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ghost] [Relinquishment] [Ceremony/ritual] [Kamma] [Volition]
Quote: “We live in a fairly limited concept of the world; it's very material in the West. There's a lot more happening than what we can see.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Nature of the cosmos] [Culture/West]
26. “If a family member who has passed turns into a hungry ghost, how might one help them when they're in that realm?” [Family] [Rebirth] [Ghost] [Compassion] [Death] // [Merit]
Sutta: AN 10.177: Jāṇussoṇī
Follow-up: “Does it work the same way if the person hasn't made much merit?” [Kamma] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Human]
1. Introduction to Ajahn Yatiko's reflection. [Christianity] [Death]
2. Information about the memorial service for Iris Landsberg. [Abhayagiri] [Funerals] [Culture/West] [Death]
3. Reflection by Ajahn Yatiko: "Authenticity and Freedom": Ajahn Yatiko reflects on his brother Glenn’s life, values, and suicide from the perspective of a “Siamese twin joined at the soul” and from the perspective of a Buddhist monk. Originally offered at Glenn’s memorial service on September 30, 2013, at Ascension Lutheran Church in Edmonton, this talk was replayed during the 2014 Upasika Day on Death and Dying. [Family] [Suicide] [Truth] [Liberation] [Death] // [Christianity] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Mental illness] [Idealism] [Spiritual search] [Judgementalism] [Impermanence] [Kamma]
4. Reflection by Jeanne Daskais: How Dhamma practice helped me be with my mother's death and support my family through the process. [Family] [Sickness] [Buddhist identity] [Death] // [Grief] [Christianity] [Health care] [Relationships] [Recollection/Death] [Generosity]
Sutta: SN 47.19: The Bamboo Acrobat
5. Reflection by Debbie Stamp: Caring for dying and grieving Abhayagiri supporters and family members. [Abhayagiri] [Sickness] [Family] [Grief] [Death] [Health care] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Christianity] [Forgiveness] [Fear] [Impermanence] [Merit] [Doubt]
Reference: Debbie transcribed Ajahn Pasanno's 2008 Metta Retreat, published it as Abundant, Exalted, Immeasurable, and dedicated the merit to her mother. [Meditation retreats] [Dhamma books]
Story: Ajahn Ñāṇiko hikes to the top of Mount Dana to dedicate merit to deceased relatives. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Death]
6. “Have you found a difference between being afraid of death and being afraid of dying?” Answered by Debbie Stamp. [Fear] [Death]
7. Comment by Jeanne Daskais: The reflection on kamma has helped me watch this person [my stepmother] disappear through the course of Alzheimer's disease and other loss. [Kamma] [Sickness] [Grief] [Death] // [Recollection/Virtue] [Compassion] [Right Speech]
8. Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: It's hard to convey the naturalness of death in Western culture. [Naturalness] [Culture/West] [Death]
9. Stories about being with dying relatives. Told by Debbie Stamp and Jeanne Daskais. [Family] [Children] [Death]
10. Comment: I appreciate the Buddha's saying that the real stable investment is your merit. [Merit] [Commerce/economics] [Death]
11. Comment: When we stop fixing the dying process, we can be with it in such a different way. [Naturalness] [Death]
12. Comment: In Western culture, we're not given enough space to be with death. [Culture/West] [Spaciousness] [Grief] [Death]
Story: Hospice workers took the body of my father-in-law away too quickly. [Death] [Health care]
Story: When my husband died, we kept and washed the body. [Death] [Ceremony/ritual]
Response by Debbie Stamp.
13. Stories about ageing and dying relatives. [Grief] [Humor] [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death]
14. “Ajahn Pasanno, in your Dhamma talk "Letting Go of the Wheel," you described a driver who saw an oncoming car cross into his lane and let go of the wheel. Is this a metaphor?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relinquishment] [Similes] [Death]
Quote: “When there's death in your face, you don't start negotiating. You have to be willing to let go.” [Death]
Follow-up: “So do you let your merit carry you?” [Death] [Merit]
16. Stories of two dreams about deceased Abhayagiri supporter Iris Landsberg. [Dreams] [Abhayagiri] [Death]
17. Comment: You spoke of death as the dissolution of the body and awareness coming home. The life that we think we're leading is not the life that we know about when we're aware. [Form] [Knowing itself] [Nature of mind] [Death]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: When death comes, our life is like something that is built up out of crystal that becomes a pile of rubble in the end. It's so important to recognize that within that there is this possibility of awareness and purity of heart. [Similes]
1. Comment: I notice a connection between a person who is preparing for transition and going though agonal breathing. It's one breath per minute or two, and it's relaxed. [Death] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Release] [Clinging] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “You have to keep letting go until there is no remainder.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation]
10. “Thank you for so many wonderful teachings. I am contemplating cessation and would like to hear more about the cessation of the body-death. I have been with a few beings as they have died, 1 human and a few pets. Is the manner of death important to having a “good” rebirth? Does being afraid or suffering a great deal affect the next life directly or is the experience of death just added to ones overall karma?” [Death] [Rebirth] [Cessation] [Fear] [Suffering] [Kamma] // [Stream entry]
1. “Do you need to be a non-returner to be free from the fear of death?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Non-return] [Fear] [Death] [Sensual desire] // [Arahant] [Conceit] [Stream entry] [Faith]
[Session] Ajahn Pasanno reads email from Ruth Denison's caretakers describing her declining health condition and leads the Abhayagiri community in chanting blessings for this elder teacher followed by a ten-minute meditation and dedication of merit. Ruth passed away on February 26. [Ruth Denison] [Sickness] [Death] [Goodwill]
9. “Is the goal (Nibbāna) a thought-less state of mind?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Nibbāna] [Heart/mind] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Formless attainments] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Relinquishment] [Impermanence]
"Who is the only person who doesn't think? An arahant? A Buddha?" "No. The only person who doesn't think is a dead person." – Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant] [Buddha] [Death]
2. Discussion about kamma and the results of kamma. Led by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Kamma] [Conditionality] [Feeling] // [Abuse/violence] [Abhidhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Vajrayāna] [Sickness] [Compassion] [Culture/India] [Equanimity] [Disasters] [Christianity]
Quote: “Too much Dhamma.” — Ajahn Buddhadāsa. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa]
Sutta: AN 4.77 Acinteyya: "Vexation or madness."
Story: Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Munindo: "If it wasn't supposed to be this way, it wouldn't have been this way." Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Munindo] [Self-pity]
Thai saying: "That's as far as their merit takes them." [Culture/Thailand] [Death] [Merit] [Thai]
7. “I volunteer in hospice and was in attendance for the passing of my parents. I notice vast differences in the way people experience their passage. What can we do, while still alive, to prepare for a peaceful and “wakeful” passing? Other than “being present,” is there anything that can be of benefit to others?” [Death] [Grief]
15. “In a Dhamma talk at Abhayagiri, you quoted Luang Por Chah as saying “Nibbana lies on the shores of death.” Could you say more about this?” [Nibbāna] [Death] [Ajahn Chah]
7. “I'm concerned about Alzheimer's disease and getting stuck between life and death, loosing all I've learned about mindfulness practice and all my dignity. Where is the silver lining in this life's challenge?” [Death] [Sickness] [Ageing]
8. “What chants would you recommend as suitable to use for patients who may be in hospice or close to death? Can Buddhist monks give last rites?” [Death] [Chanting]
20. “I have attended many deaths and that last breath appears to be really difficult to relinquish. Does this training really help?” [Death] [Relinquishment] [Long-term practice]
15. “AN 5.38 says, 'Not by sorrow can even the slightest good come.' How does this work with the natural process of grieving?” [Grief] [Skillful qualities] // [Cultural context] [Family] [Ajahn Chah] [Death] [Characteristics of existence]
14. “In the Catholic tradition, when someone dies, a priest is often brought in to administer last rites (extreme unction). Is there any similar tradition in Buddhism to be with the dying practitioner?” [Christianity] [Death]
5. Comment: It's important for the Saṅgha to look after all members in terms of sickness and ageing. [Sickness] [Ageing] [Death] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]
Vinaya: Kd 8.26.1-8: The Monk with Dysentery [Buddha/Biography]
2. Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 40-41: Ajahn Chah's father's dying request [Family] [Death] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand] [Meditation]
12. “What can you offer dying people who didn't have the opportunity to engage in Buddhist practice?” [Death] [Compassion] // [Listening] [Patience] [Tranquility] [Equanimity] [Fear] [Right Speech] [Chanting]
6. Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 646-647 "Por Buapah" [Ajahn Chah] // [Death] [Grief] [Personal presence]
Story: Por Buapah did the cement work for the original shine at Wat Pah Nanachat and the bell tower at Wat Pah Pong. [Stupas/monuments] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Wat Pah Pong]
10. Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 662-664 "Por Puang" [Ajahn Chah] // [Temporary ordination] [Wat Pah Pong] [Generosity] [Recollection/Death] [Sickness] [Death] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Three Refuges]
14. “What are your thoughts about maintaining a practice you're at the bedside of someone actively passing away?” [Sickness] [Death] // [Listening] [Fear] [Personal presence] [Intuition]
Story: Ram Dass anxiously tries to guide his stepmother through the dying process. [Ram Dass] [Death] [Teaching Dhamma] [Restlessness and worry] [Mindfulness of mind] [Recollection/Death]
15. “Was there specific advice from the Buddha to the monks about [advising a dying person]?” [Monastic life] [Death] // [Sickness] [Compassion] [Goodwill]
Vinaya: Kd 26.7: Attributes of a carer.
1. “In Canada, medical assistance in death is legal. As an old person who will be sick and dying not too far off, it raises the question: If I got to the point where I felt even with good palliative and hospice care, I couldn't withstand the pain any longer, it's an option. But what about the first precept of not taking life?” [Sickness] [Pain] [Health care] [Euthanasia] [Killing] // [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Idealism]
Quote: “Being present for the falling apart of the body opens doorways to release that don't really happen with, 'I just want to be done with this. This totally sucks.'” [Present moment awareness] [Death] [Mindfulness of body] [Release] [Aversion] [Fear] [Clinging] [Saṃsāra]
2. “For some people, death comes with extreme pain. Part of being able to navigate through the dissolution of self requires clarity of mind. My understanding is that a lot of pain management involves morphine or other mind-numbing drugs. How does one navigate the pain?” [Death] [Pain] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Clear comprehension] [Health care] [Intoxicants] // [Fear]
5. “Years ago I considered the Buddha someone wbo practiced harm reduction. But having worked in the field, I've started to have a lot of conflict around when people request paraphanelia to help them use [drugs]. The idea is to keep them alive, but now it's become very complicated because people are still dying. Is this a violation of right livelihood? Could you speak about wisdom and compassion?” [Intoxicants] [Health care] [Death] [Right Livelihood] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Gratitude] // [Right Intention] [Crime] [Politics and society]
Quote: “As a person who is trying to help, you have to learn harm reduction to yourself.” [Depression]
3. Comment: Coming out af a long-term relationship where someone was killed in an accident after 42 years, the way you presented the disadvantages and advantages of a conventional loving relationship was perhaps a little light on the advantages. [Relationships] [Death] // [Monastic life/Motivation] [Gratitude] [Long-term practice] [Suffering] [Courage]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Saṅgha] [Saṃsāra] [Sense of urgency]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha/Biography] [Ageing] [Rebirth] [Treasures]
Reference: AN 4.55: Nakula's mother and father aspire to see each other in this life and the next.
1. “Ajahn Chah was ill for the last ten years of his life. How could he endure that and why did this take place?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness] // [Perfections] [Teaching Dhamma] [Saṅgha] [Death] [Monastic teachers] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Upatakh] [Generosity]
3. “Did vibhavatanha arise in any of the monks at the loss of the Buddha? How do we notice vibhavatanha in practice, and what is a wise and compassionate response?” [Craving not to become] [Death] [Grief] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography] // [Stream entry] [Stages of awakening] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Three Refuges] [Precepts] [Spiritual friendship] [Devotional practice] [Suffering]
Sutta: DN 16: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta [Death] [Nibbāna]
Story: The funeral of a close Wat Pah Nanachat supporter. [Funerals] [Death] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
7. “When the Buddha accepted the meal from Cunda, did he know what the consequences would be, and if so, why do you think he did that?” [Food] [Sickness] [Death] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography]
Sutta: DN 16: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta
9. Comment: The Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16) brings the Buddha's quest full circle. [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death]
8. “Any advice to guide me after retirement? How to get rid of the fear of death?” [Ageing] [Fear] [Death] // [Happiness] [Merit] [Generosity] [Virtue] [Meditation] [Mindfulness]