Years ago, my teacher sent me to sit beside a stream, to look only at the water flowing directly in front of me. Just looking … water rushing … constantly in change. Bubbling thoughts – slowing – as I relaxed – only this to do. Within still body and gentle sound I discovered the space which contains everything and is tainted by nothing.

As you read this, dissolve into the next out breath; letting all thought cease, softening hard, fearful muscles; emptying everything into the gracious out-flowing of this breath – sinking through it into space and stillness, before the next in-breath draws itself … here is a doorway through which gratitude can flow; from which comes clarity, forgiveness – security and peace beyond words and understanding.

Find it now – in the sound of the bird outside the window. Let hearing hear and see how “you”, as you have known yourself, are not needed for that. What a relief there is in this letting life live you at last! And the gift is in the silence in which the sound floats and the silence which interweaves the song itself.

Watch how each thought dies into motionless silence. Dive into that space – before the next leaps, like a bright fish, from the still surface of the lake of your mind.

There is around you, tangibly, the Wisdom and Love of Great Ones who have died before you. The Trail is already Blazed. Call on that to guide and protect you.

Ask Yourself

Who am I:

(1) When all I thought I was is gone?

(2) When all I own is taken away?

(3) When I can no longer remember everything I thought I knew?

(4) When all the people dear to me have left?

What Is this “I” Who Is Still Here?

You may ask what right I have to address you in this way. After all, it is you who have been given the terminal diagnosis, not I. And, in a way, you would be justified.

It is a truism that we are all living under the shadow of a terminal diagnosis, but for you that is perhaps a sharper reality than for those who live under the illusion that they still “have time”.

All I can tell you is what meditation is for me and the universality of its usefulness. I will certainly say it is the most useful thing I ever learned. If you are well enough, I would strongly advise finding a teacher (or using a recording). The “direct transmission” of the state of calm and clarity which is meditation’s gracious, gentle gift are most effectively and swiftly received from the presence, or voice, of a living teacher.

Meditation can help you relax enough to see straight enough to be able to get your priorities clear so that you can sort out loose ends. These will be obvious to you. It will empower you to ask for help so that what you know remains undone, but which you cannot do yourself, will be completed.

It was Milarepa who said “My religion is not to be ashamed of myself when I die” and I know this will resonate with you. Compassion, forgiveness and loving kindness are the heart essence of meditation. With so much skill revealed in you, so much can be accomplished, even in a very short time. Unresolved confusions, questions, and inner hardening of a lifetime can be undone in the twinkling of an eye. Peace and harmony can be restored.

If physical pain dogs you, meditation can help you float into the heart of it, melting its constriction, and the paralysis in the mind it causes. You can learn to “open up” the pain from within, with your kindly attention and with the subtlety of soft breath. Meditation can loosen its rigid grip. And this applies equally to all kinds of constricting emotional pain, including fear.

Meditation offers the possibility of unifying all aspects of who you are – of being at peace, or at least profoundly OK, with whatever is occurring. Of course, you will do all you can to recover; pursuing every avenue of possible healing. But the highest healing transcends the attachment to being alive in this physical form. Ultimately, it lets it finally be OK to let go of everything – even this very body. It lets us see that life is not dependent on that, and that we are that life and that can never die.

So, once you see your body is beyond repair, you can choose to move towards your transition from this form, accompanied by the profound inner support that meditation can provide, and when you pass beyond being able to concentrate, to focus, to perceive for yourself, a friend or group of spiritual friends can hold the space of help and guidance, and see you safely through to your next stage.

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Source: Based on an article entitled “Meditation” by Caroline Sherwood, taken from Buddhist Reflections on Death, Dying and Bereavement, compiled and edited by Michael Lewin, published by The Buddhist Hospice Trust.

https://buddhisthospice.org.uk/books/

This is a collection, in book form, of short articles from a range of dharma-practitioners, 21 in all, who “share their thoughts and feelings with us on the issues of death and dying”. It is aimed at anyone who is touched by these issues.

This is not an academic or dogmatic text written only for Buddhists. The universal themes and varied perspectives make this accessible to anyone.

It is inspirational, meditative, practical, personal, and even humorous.

Written from each contributor’s own perspective and personal experience, it is a source of strength and comfort which should reach right to the heart of anyone reading it and be a source of inspiration to anyone touched by death, regardless of their spiritual beliefs.

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