Merely Another Beginning

17 Apr 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Merely Another BeginningThe funeral of Margaret Hilda Thatcher was performed with dignity and a degree of humour, befitting such a huge political figure. I was pleased that, although there were occasional expressions of dissent from the crowds lining the funeral route, there was no apparent protest.

Whilst many people harbour angry memories of the policies of Mrs Thatcher during her time in government, I was privatised myself whilst working for British Telecom, her death is not, in my opinion, a fitting time to resurrect those feelings in any public fashion. Of all the aspects of life, death is the one and only event that comes to us all, whether we be rich or poor.

The Christian funeral service celebrates the passing of the soul from this world into the next, an ending of earthly things and a beginning of heavenly ones. In this respect, Christianity and Buddhism agree, death is not the end, merely another beginning.

Buddhism looks at death in a similar way to sleep, it is not the end of something, it is a period of rest before the beginning of something new. In the case of sleep, it is the beginning of a new day. Death, on the other hand, is the beginning of a whole new life.

So I do not fear death, though I do not wish to hasten its coming. I intend to make the most of each and every day, and when death does arrive, as it will, I will enjoy the rest before being reborn into a new and exciting experience.

Don’t Leave It Too Late

08 Apr 2013 7 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Don't Leave I Too LateOn the day that saw the passing of Margaret Thatcher, it might be a good point to remind ourselves to make the most of our time.

If you think about it, although we may not be destined to die five minutes from now, we are all, without exception, going to die at some point. We can count on it 100%. There is nothing surer than this.

Victor Hugo said, “We are all under sentence of death, but with a sort of indefinite reprieve.”

Ideally, we should live every minute of our lives mindfully, as if it were the last moment of our lives. Those who live aimlessly are left with a sense of emptiness at the end of their lives, but those who live all-out, striving to achieve their goals right to the end, will die peacefully.

Leonardo da Vinci said “As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death.”

One who is aware that death could come at any time, will live each day to the fullest. So don’t wait for something to happen, or someone to come along, before you start living, do it now.