Sutra Given to the Dying in the Anguttara Nikaya
Posted on May 27th, 2006
by 
Jennifer
Jennifer
Every moment, we take a breath and we live a new life. Every moment, we exhale and know that maybe another one will not occur. Little deaths, usually are much more subtle than that. The loss of friend, the loss of love, the loss of confidence, the loss of a dream, the loss of our own abilities, or the loss of our mindfulness (the one that occurs most often).
As I was writing a reflection for a class tonight, I remembered this teaching. I came across it in 2003, after being at a 5 day retreat with Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, and about 2 weeks before I knelt beside the body of a client, laying, surrounded on the floor, by his loving family, adorning him and remembering that he was larger than life and loved every minute of life. I was honored to recite these words to him as he was transitioning from one life to another.
My hope is that one day there who be someone who will love me enough to read to me as I become a new petal uncurling into another life: uncurling into a new me, a new life, a new existence, or a new love....... with nothing to fear and nothing that will truly die......
"This body is not me; I am not caught in this body,
I am life without boundaries,
I have enver been born and I have never died.
Over there the wide ocen and the sky wiht many galaxies
all manifests from the basis of consciousness.
Since beginningless time I have always been free.
Birth and death are only a door through which we go in and out.
Birth and death are only a game of hide-and-seek.
So smile to me and take my hand and wave good-bye.
Tomorrow we shall meet again or even before.
We shall always be meeting again at the true souce,
always meeting again on the myriad paths of life"
Thich Nhat Hanh p. 186 No Death, No Fear
Metta, Jennifer
As I was writing a reflection for a class tonight, I remembered this teaching. I came across it in 2003, after being at a 5 day retreat with Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, and about 2 weeks before I knelt beside the body of a client, laying, surrounded on the floor, by his loving family, adorning him and remembering that he was larger than life and loved every minute of life. I was honored to recite these words to him as he was transitioning from one life to another.
My hope is that one day there who be someone who will love me enough to read to me as I become a new petal uncurling into another life: uncurling into a new me, a new life, a new existence, or a new love....... with nothing to fear and nothing that will truly die......
"This body is not me; I am not caught in this body,
I am life without boundaries,
I have enver been born and I have never died.
Over there the wide ocen and the sky wiht many galaxies
all manifests from the basis of consciousness.
Since beginningless time I have always been free.
Birth and death are only a door through which we go in and out.
Birth and death are only a game of hide-and-seek.
So smile to me and take my hand and wave good-bye.
Tomorrow we shall meet again or even before.
We shall always be meeting again at the true souce,
always meeting again on the myriad paths of life"
Thich Nhat Hanh p. 186 No Death, No Fear
Metta, Jennifer
Access: Public
birth
June 2008
Love your thoughts on living and grieving, vs. grief and dying. I totally agree that this life is but a stop over to another different existance. Thank you for your thoughts, questions and ideas for more thought. We are never totally alone and have only to realilze that the thin veil separating each of us from those who have gone before us can be utilized as a means of growth and healing.
I can't agree with your last comment any more!!!!!!! I do not believe that we are ever alone. Dying people have what's called “Nearing Death Awareness” (NDEs) where they have phenomena like deceased people or angels, etc come to take them on the next part of their journey. We as the grieving have what's termed “Extraordinary Experiences” (EEs) where we experience the presence of the person whose body has died. I believe we are becoming more open about these subjects and I would love for anyone to share these experiences here.
I think too long we have bitten our tongues and not said, “I kiss his picture every night” or “I yell at her because I can't find the damned taxes from last year”, or even “That dream was so real, I felt my baby in my arms again”. They are real and they help to bring meaning to our “losses” as we perceive them. I think they do help us to keep in perspective what Thich Nhat Hanh is saying in his passage from No Death, No Fear.
Welcome Lillian and thank you for being so courageous as to put your thoughts out there. Cyber hug to you (you know us hospice folks, we do our share of hugging in the world…..)
Honoring your light and your journey.
Jennifer