Heiliger Hieronymus
Albrecht Dürer, 1521
So far, we have considered the first of the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind: the advantages and rarity of a "precious human life". We now turn to the second thought: the impermanence of this life and the sense of urgency that this imparts.
For spirit quivers in flesh like a bubble in water,
And after death one's good and evil deeds
Trail after one like the shadow trails the body. Remember your creator in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come,
and the years draw near when you will say,
"I have no pleasure in them";
...before the silver cord is snapped,
and the golden bowl is broken,
and the pitcher is broken at the fountain,
and the wheel broken at the cistern,
and the dust returns to the earth as it was,
and the breath returns to God who gave it.
To focus our thoughts, the Lam Rim provides a three-point meditation on death(*).
1. That we shall die is certain.I too will become nothing. Likewise all will become nothing.
Just like a dream experience, whatever things I enjoy will become a memory.
Whatever has passed will not be seen again....
Remaining neither day nor night, life is always slipping by, and never getting any longer.
Why will death not come to one like me?
- Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, II(36-37,39)
2. The time of our death is uncertain.
Waits not for things to be done or undone;
Whether I am sick or healthy,
This fleeting lifespan is unstable.
- Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, II(33)
3. At the end, only our own spiritual development can help.
While I am lying in bed,
Although surrounded by my friends and relatives,
The feeling of life being severed
Will be experienced by me alone.
When seized by the messengers of death,
What benefit will friends and relatives afford?
My merit alone shall protect me then,
But upon that I have never relied.
- Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, II(34a,40-41)
The purpose of reflecting on death is not to cultivate fear or despair, but to awaken us from distraction and complacency. When we deeply appreciate that life is fragile, that its end may come at any time, and that our spiritual qualities alone will enable us to die without regrets, our priorities begin to change. We become less concerned with possessions, status, and fleeting pleasures, and more attentive to love, compassion, wisdom, and virtue. In this way, the contemplation of death becomes a source of energy and freedom, encouraging us to make good use of this precious human life while the opportunity remains.
(*) A more detailed, 9-point contemplation is given in Volume 1, Chapter 9 of Tsongkhapa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lam Rim Chen Mo).