We left Thornlands on a peaceful Sunday morning for the Czechoslovakian Club in Burbank and travelled along the two-lane country highway with bushland on both sides. As our turn-off on the left-side was approaching, I began to slow down and turned on the indicator lights to let cars behind us know of our intention to turn off the main road.
Regrettably, behind us the driver of a black Subaru grew impatient. Accelerating, he suddenly swerved out to overtake our car – not noticing the closeness of oncoming traffic on the brow of the small hill. For a split second, a crash seemed certain and imminent. Thankfully, a head-on collision with the on-coming car was avoided, but only barely! It was truly a near-miss, potentially fatal accident! Beyond doubt, we, and others, were protected that morning!
This sobering incident was a vivid reminder of the uncertainty and instability of life. We never know what can happen from one day to the next. Here today, gone tomorrow – plunged into our next existence? It made me think sombrely: How ready am I for the end of life? Do I have my affairs in order?
In the Indian epic poem, the Mahabharata, the sage Yudhisthira is asked: “Of all things in life, what is the most amazing? He answers: “That a man, seeing others die all around him, never thinks he will die.”
A reminder of death, however, should not be dark or depressing. Rather, it can encourage us to use our life in the best way, both for our own good and the benefit of others. Nevertheless, for each of us, death will inevitably come – and as we were suddenly reminded that morning – the timing, causes, and conditions that will bring about our individual life’s end are completely unknown and unpredictable!
And so, may we realize how precious our lives are and that every moment has value. May we focus on what is truly important, while we have the time. Finally, may we be able to die without regrets, and be deeply at peace with ourselves and all of life.
Alexander and Eva Peck
Who knows when the demon Death will come? Now you need to stand on your own two feet …
Death is like a demon—powerful, awesome, and fearsome. We don’t know with certainty when the demon of death will catch us. If we knew when our death was coming, then we could make a plan to enjoy worldly pleasures for a little while and then practice the Dharma later, but we can’t plan our lives in that way because we don’t actually know when the demon Death will come.
It could be in a few years, or it might be a long time from now. Or death could come suddenly—we don’t know.
If our death doesn’t come for a long time, that’s good. But if it happens now, when we haven’t done anything to prepare for it through the Dharma, then this human life would be wasted. We would not have done anything meaningful, and we would have lost the chance for our future lives as well.
So we need to act now. Knowing that we have begun to practice the Dharma and prepare for death gives some peace of mind. Then we know that in the future we will be able to reach the ultimate result. Therefore it’s important to practice the Dharma right now.
(Thrangu, Khenchen. Advice from a Yogi: An Explanation of a Tibetan Classic on What Is Most Important. 2015.)
