Self-Realization and the Acceptance of Death : หน้า 157/216

Part Five: Truth for the Family 2. Self-realization: Habitually reflect on the fact that it is natural for us to die. We have not yet gone beyond dying. We do not know when we are going to die. We must sooner or later be separated from all of our loved ones and treasured possessions. Knowing this, how can we think about death? We can think about death as inevitable. We can wait for death to come for us, yet without cultivating boonya or doing anything good, it is a waste of a precious human life. But, since death is unavoidable, we can make the most of our physical existence by cultivating the maximum number of good deeds. All physical life ends at death. Yet, death could never be the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to cultivate boonya and purify ourselves from kilesa in order to attain inner happiness. Since kilesa will still remain after the death of our body, we should never stop doing good deeds, even when our last day arrives. This is the best recommendation that anyone can offer us. Daily reflection on death and the separation from all loved ones and treasure things helps develop consciousness and progress in meditation. If we perform this reflection, we will live our life with prudence and preparation. We tend not to seek any extra attachment to animate or inanimate things, focusing instead on the performance of good deeds. We are unafraid of any hardship. We realize that death is creeping ever closer, like a shadow that has followed us from birth and is ready to assault us in moments of weakness. In considering death, we should also think about how we can cultivate the greatest amount of boonya. The objective Family Day By Day 155 A Journey's Preparation