A Sharing on Death
Below is a sharing to a fellow Buddhist on having thoughts of death. Thought this may be useful to others.
Hi ___ , thanks for sharing your thoughts. Having such thoughts flash in our mind is not as uncommon as we may think. It is just that most people do not necessarily share
it or think that it is not auspicious. But I think otherwise.
Think about it this way. When we sit in a car, we wear the seat belt. When we board the plane, there is the safety video or demonstration before the plane take off. All these are reminders of death isn’t it?
Being reminded of death can prepare us to take positive steps towards preventing accidents that can be avoided. But knowing the risks itself gets us prepared so that when it does happen, we are not taken off guard.
Insurance policies and financial planning is about planning for the unexpected, one of which is death. While nobody wishes death to come when they are in their youth and enjoying their life, being prepared is good. That way, while we live our life positively and wholesomely, we know that should the inevitable strike, we’ve got ourselves mentally prepared.
When is it unhealthy to have thoughts of death? In my opinion, when our thoughts of death preoccupies our whole life that we live our life only to die or when our preoccupation with death actually hastens and lead to death. This would be an unhealthy preoccupation with death.
Appreciating that death is part of life, we learn not to cling unto life and have the wishful thinking that death do not come or at least not when we do not want it to. Instead, knowing that life is impermanent, we should cherish our life more and live it meaningfully, to its fullest potential so that we may benefit ourselves and others while learning to not be attached to each moment for we cannot hold onto any moment even if we want to.
Live our life to the fullest, for each moment is unique and is gone the moment you think about it!
With blessings,
Bodhisattva Precepts Manual
The Bodhisattva Precepts is a set of training rules undertaken by those individuals who are striving on the path towards Buddhahood. Together with the Six Perfections, the Bodhisattva Precepts form a part of the Three-fold Practice of Sila, Samadhi & Prajna.
This
translation is based primarily on the teachings given by our late teacher Master Miu King (恩師上妙下境老和尚) on this precepts and also draws from our understanding of the Chinese Mahayana lineage and also from various sutta translations from the Pali Canon.
While we learn through the translation of this precept manual, we hope that this translation will serve to open the doors for English speaking communities to the Treasures found in the Buddha Dharma.
Should there be any typos, errors or mistranslations, please contact us so that we may put in updates and corrections where necessary.
May the merits and wisdom accrued from this translation lead to the attainment of Nirvana, Buddhahood of all sentient beings.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
(From the chapter of Precepts in the “Foundational Support Śāstra”1)
By Maitreya Bodhisattva
Translated by Tripiţakas Master Dharmarakşa (India) in Guzang, the capital of Northern Liang
Translated into English in Singapore by
Ven. Shi Chuan Guan (wakeupnow@gmail.com)
Mr. Lee Cheng Soon (ruqing@gmail.com)
Started in June 2011, first draft in November 2011.
Completed in March 2012.
菩薩戒本經
（出地持戒品中）
慈氏菩薩說
北涼天竺三藏法師曇無讖於姑臧譯
英譯
釋傳觀
李清順
於新加坡譯
2011年6月開始，2011年11月完成（初稿）
2012年3月完成
1 ~ This is identical to chapter forty on Bodhisattva Precepts found in the “Yogacarabhumi Śāstra”.
London ~ Buddhists Surge by 74% in Britain
What we may not see often in the local Singapore news. Buddhism is one of the fastest growing religion in Britain according to a research by the "House of Commons Library" in London.
Britain won't be Christian nation by 2030: Report
http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5896555
London, March 3 (IANS) Britain may no longer be a Christian country by 2030 as the number of non-believers is set to overtake the number of Christians, a media report said.
Christianity is losing more than half a million believers every year, while the count of atheists and agnostics is going up by almost
750,000 annually, the Daily Mail reported.Research by the House of Commons Library found that while Christianity has declined, other religions have seen sharp increases.
In the last six years, the number of Muslims has surged by 37 percent to 2.6 million; Hindus by 43 percent and Buddhists by 74 percent. But the number of Sikhs and Jewish believers fell slightly, according to the Mail Friday.
