7.3.3 We Must Prepare for Death


We Must Prepare for Death [1]

When suddenly one day one of your loved ones dies, and you don’t know what to do to help, you’ll feel so confused, so lost. Recently a Buddhist student of mine told me this is what happened to her when her father died unexpectedly. This made me think that knowing how to help others at the time of death is such important education to have.

As you get oder, you’ll definitely hear about people dying – family members will die, friends will die, even your enemies will die too! – so you will need to be prepared to help them. This just doesn’t apply to people who work with the dying; everyone should learn to know how to help people when they die.

Helping our loved ones at the time of death is the best service we can offer them, our greatest gift. Why? Because death is the most important time of life: it’s at death that the next rebirth is determined. By providing the right support, the right environment, you can help your loved one die peacefully, with virtuous thoughts, and thus have a good rebirth.

[1] Contents of this web page prepared by Len Warren of Pure Land of the Indestructible Buddha, Hayagriva Buddhist Centre, 64 Banksia Terrace, Kensington 6151 Western Australia, September 2017. It is based on How to Enjoy Death: Preparing to Meet Life’s Final Challenge without Fear, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, compiled and edited by Robina Courtin, Wisdom Publications: Somerville USA, 2016, pages 1-4

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