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Clarke Scott is a fully ordained Buddhist monk trained in the Tibetan tradition. A student of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Clarke has received personal instructions—direct one-to-one instructions—on Madhyamaka philosophy and meditation from His Holiness. Recently Clarke moved to Tasmania to pursue a Ph.D in Buddhist philosophy from the University of Tasmania.

Why do Buddhists meditate on death

I have heard people ask this question before. I’ve even seen friends and relatives turn away in fright when the subject of death meditation comes up. But the purpose of meditating on death is not to be morbid, negative or to induce fear. Anytime you think that Buddhism is being negative, I can guarantee you that you have misunderstand something. Buddhism is about replacing dysfunctional states of mind with functional minds. So the question is really what is the purpose of meditating on death.

Generally speaking we are so busy with our lives that finding time to sit down and practice is not an easy task. Even when we really want to meditate, life can get in the road! This is where death meditation come into play as it is a powerful motivating force. Why, because death is final! Once you are dead you aint got no more time to practice…the jig is up!

So just as sports people us different techniques to motivate themselves and their team mates, Buddhist use the finality of death to motivate themselves, and to reinforce a sense of urgency about the real situation.

So you can see that it is not something to be frightened by but, in fact it can be the rocket fuel that will help you become a great meditate. Of course if you have read this far then you are less likely to issues with death meditation. So lets get into the meaty stuff.

Developing an aspiration for benefiting future lives

Qualm: Why do I need to develop an aspiration to benefit a life that has not even come into being!
Answer: By not doing so you run the risk of becoming too focused on this life and in doing so you can weaken your practice. Sure you need to take care of your family, friends, you need to work to pay the bills. This is not what is meant by too focused.
Being too focused means you become more concerned with how other people see you and so your reputation becomes very important to you. This in turn mans you start to act in a way that you think they will like! You seek the approval of others.

That one example, another might be money. Many people worry unnecessarily about money. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think about it, work in order to get more. It means worrying about it is unless! Worry and doubt are very be problems and quite a debilitating mind. A disease of the mind, in that it can rot your mind getting worse and worse over time.

The faults of not meditating on death

By not meditating on death you will not remember the dharma. Of course even if you do remember the dharma you won’t practice as you think something like…ah I’ll do it after dinner or when I retire or over the weekend. Even if you practice the dharma you will not do so purely because you are focused on this life. You might think something like by learning meditating I will become very peaceful and attractive and then everyone will love me. It’s clear that mediating with a motivation like that is not good in fact from a Mahayana point of view this would not even be regarded as a Buddhist meditation. My teacher says that meditating like this is selfish, meditation is about benefiting both yourself and others.

Without an awareness of your own immortality you will lack persistence with meditation and are much more likely to perform non-virtuous actions as you will mistaken think that there is plenty of time to fix it later. Or you might just not care!

Unfortunately without this awareness you will die with regret. Now I have seen this happen first hand. Someone coming to our center year in year out. Dies of cancer with the thought I could have done more! Oh god I wish I had practiced more!

This is very sad to watch someone struggle like this.

Below is a 9 round death meditation. It is made up of 3 propositions, 9 reasons and 3 decisions.

How to meditate on death

Death is definite

1: Death will definitely come, nothing can stop it.

2: Life span is continuously decreasing

3: Death will come regardless of whether you have made time to practice or not

Decision: It is definite that I will die and so I must practice dharma!

Time of death is uncertain

1: The life span of beings is this world is uncertain

Shantideva, Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds

Remaining nether day nor night,
This life is constantly slipping by
And never getting any longer.
Why will death not come to one like me!

2: There are more factors conductive to death than life
a: External factors
b: Internal factors
c: Things that generally support life can become the cause of your demise

3: Our bodies are very fragile

Decision: As I am not sure when I will die, I must practice dharma now!

At the time of death, only the dharma can help

1: Friends cant help – you have to leave by yourself.

2: Your wealth cant help you – you cant take your money with you or buy a first class seat into the next life.

3: Body cannot help you through the death process.

Decision: As nothing but the dharma can benefit me at my time of death. I must practice dharma purely!

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