| Buddhist Monk 2005-12-05, 11:01 am |
| Dependent Origination - Death - Quotations by Zen Master Rama, Dr.
Frederick Lenz
Main Page:
www.ramaquotes.com
Dependent Origination - Death:
www.ramaquotes.com/html/death.html
*******************************************************************
You have all died many times before and none of you look the worse for
it.
Death is a doorway. It is a very small, thin doorway and only a
portion of our being can walk through.
At the time of death we walk through a doorway and our spirit, which is
very thin, slides through into another world.
Life is forever. Death is only a temporary abridgment. It is just a
state of transition where you will move from one world into another.
You will move from the physical to the causal, from matter into pure
energy.
Death is not the end of who we are. It is only a brief pause in the
endless cycle of our lives. Each of us is a spirit that cannot die.
The perceptual body that you are at the time of death ceases to be. It
is not structured quite so tightly.
When you die you pass into inner worlds and continue to perceive.
Death is not the dissolution of the self. Death is rather just a
change in perception.
When you see that you are not the body, that the body comprises only a
small fraction of the aggregate of your awareness, then death is no
fear, life is no fear, there is no fear.
If you can die, you are confused because death is a perception of
something ending and something else obviously beginning, which means
we're still hung up on qualities.
Anything that ends with death isn't really mind, just the things that
pass through a mind.
There is no life and there is no death. Life and death are moving
shadows cast upon the ground by clouds that sweep across the sky.
Dying is easy; it's living that's difficult.
Death is simply a change in perception. It is not an end to perception
as a finite being.
Death is only a summer vacation for us. We don't really change or lose
what we have learned or who we have been when we die, because we are
our karma.
If someone we love dies, normally the experience might create misery
for the rest of your life. But the Kundalini can be released so we can
see that there is no death, that the person has just gone on like we
all must. We will be following them soon.
The greatest power in the universe is the power of unity, of oneness.
All other powers are secondary. It is the only the only power that
outlasts death. Death is the power of separativity; it separates us.
When you die you forget. Death is a sleep, a forgetting. You forget
about your previous lifetime. The essence of your being is the same.
But at death, the personality dissolves.
The personality structure at the time of death dissolves. You will
never be exactly the you you are again.
The good news is that we don't last. Thank heavens! Because to
continue the drama of who you are, is boring, ultimately. The universe
is our friend because it kills us - and that's what friends are for.
Death doesn't change anything. It just gives you a new location. The
physical mind dissolves. But the overriding state of mind that you die
in is the state of mind that you are born into.
Attraction and aversion create a sense of self. There is no self.
They are just thoughts. They are insubstantial. When you die, all the
ideas of self will go away.
Knowing about reincarnation helps us relax. It assists us with an
understanding of death and dying. Death is not an end, quite the
contrary.
Life is eternal and it's worth living. What we do in this life is not
futile. Death is not the end. Our practice in this life will assist
us in our next life.
There are people in the Himalayas who are thousands of years old. It
would seem to me that would suggest a tremendous aversion to the
experience of death.
Only one who has achieved immortality of awareness can laugh with life
and laugh with death.
Don't be afraid to take a chance, to jump. Because death will always
swallow you up anyway. Death is a friend; it encourages us to become
aware, to become free.
Sometimes I think death is a greater awareness than life. Life gives
us the illusion of immortality, whereas death gives us the certainty of
immortality
Since you're going to die anyway, why not go do whatever it is you are
in the mood to do. To postpone anything is ridiculous, if it's
important to you.
Timelessness and time. Life and death. Your existence is passing
before you. Grains of sand in the hourglass. Will you be liberated?
Or will you die? The only way you can beat death is liberation.
The best things in life are free. Sunsets and sunrises are free. Air
is free. Love is free. Death is free. The best things in life are
free.
- Zen Master Rama
www.ramaquotes.com
Thank you in advance for your religious tolerance.
|