Trusting the heart is trusting what is real.

Dying Without Regret

Recollection of death stops us investing too much in what is unreal, so that at the time of death we can let it all go.

If we have an attitude of continuously recollecting that death can strike at any moment, this (1) gives us a realistic perspective on life and its problems, and (2) inspires us to practise Dharma and take full advantage of the present opportunity to do so. That is how to die without regret.

Suffering Less at the Time of Death

Anyone who has thought about the inevitability of death and developed the habit of letting things go will suffer less at the time of death. This is an attitude we can encourage everyone to adopt towards life and the things of this life they may be attached to.

Natsok Rangdröl quotes an authoritative text:

All people feel attachment to their possessions—

To children, cattle, and wealth;

‘That I have done, now I do this.

When this has been done, I will then do that.’

While people are thus being fooled by distractions,

They depart, snapped away by the Lord of Death.

Becoming Prepared for Death

At its deepest level, remembering death and impermanence is the gateway to realizing (1) the emptiness of what we take to be real, and (2) the undying quality of what is truly real.

By constantly remembering death and impermanence, we become increasingly aware of the dream-like and illusory nature of our life and experience, so that it does not come as such a shock when we are confronted with death.

The deeper we realize this truth, the more prepared for death we are, and the nearer to Awakening. 

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Source: Based on Hookham, Lama Shenpen. There’s More to Dying than Death: A Buddhist Perspective. Cambridge, UK: Windhorse Publications, 2006. [Sub-headings added by website designer.]

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