World-renowned Buddhist teacher Sogyal Rinpoche - author of the bestselling The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying - is quite obviously obsessed with the finite nature of our lives. Not that you would have noticed as he charms a packed auditorium with his particular brand of mischievous "lama" humour and teachings.
Laughter and Dying
Happiness and its Causes 2012 is the setting, and for a conference seemingly devoted to our contentment and wellbeing, death does seem a slightly incongruous topic for this pre-conference event. But here I am listening to his views on this terminally morbid subject, chuckling. I have to concede he must be onto something.
The laughter that punctuates his morning delivery gives me the sense that he is very much at ease in this setting. Rinpoche is after all a regular on the international speaking circuit. This is addition to involvement in a host of other initiatives including spiritual retreats, movements for peace and serving the dying in hospice settings. But make no mistake; the humour is always used to illustrate the deep spiritual nature of his message.
Facing Up to Death
But back to the subject at hand – death. Let's face it – our inevitable death and demise is not part of our day to day conversation. In fact "we" westerners are quite averse to the topic, however easily we may laugh it off. To the Buddhist tradition, we miss the whole damm point. As Rinpoche explains our "impermanence", the inevitability and reality of death is instead a fact to be accepted and embraced. Rinpoche illustrates this with a simple, concise observation – one of many which pepper his address. "Fear of dying is the fear of facing ourselves. The notion of our death gives us the opportunity to see the true nature of ourselves, to reflect."
Time to Reflect
He goes on to point out that westerners don't give themselves enough time to reflect – a condition he refers to as "active laziness". This is definitely something that strikes a personal cord – or am I an exception? We are so busy living our lives we only begin to consider death when we are forced to confront it. His message is straightforward. "Our state of our mind at the time of death is critical. What we should we be doing is preparing for death now. Confronting death affords us a valuable opportunity for personal reflection and transformation."
Finding Happiness
So, how to confront and come to terms with our inevitable dissolution? For this Rinpoche has another uncomplicated pearl of wisdom. "Don't engage with negative emotions." He goes on to point out another central principle of Buddhist teachings, freedom from attachment, or as he puts it "grasping". "Love is not attachment, it is giving. You should avoid dying with anger, attachment or other negative attitudes and aim to die with a positive, peaceful state of mind. Fill your life with love, compassion and joy."
And with that I leave the hall with a smile on my face, somewhat less intimidated by it all.
Originally published on Mar 16, 2012
