A Buddhist Death: Life, decay, death, rebirth

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Life, decay, death, rebirth

Life is the co-existence of mind and matter.
Decay is the lack of co-ordination of mind and matter.
Death is the separation of mind and matter.
Rebirth is the recombination of mind and matter.

--Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera, "What Buddhists Believe"

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This blog

The purpose of this blog is to offer support and information to anyone interested in the topic of death and dying within the context of the very diverse Buddhist tradition.

My own efforts to learn about this topic have been frustrating. Many web sites and books offer information, guidelines, and instructions that purport to be "Buddhist" but in fact reflect the ideas and practices of only a specific tradition (i.e., Tibetan, Theravada, Pure Land). The doctrinal and practice differences within the overall Buddhist tradition can be vast. As I seek to overcome my own confusion, I feel drawn to help alleviate others' confusion by offering an overview of what death and dying mean in the Buddhist tradition. I also hope to help people address their needs and concerns about death and dying, both their own death and the death of others.

My approach is non-sectarian. Here, you will learn about many different Buddhist ideas and practices associated with death and dying. If you would like help within a specific tradition, please contact me and I will try to help. Through monastic friends, I have access to specific information about practices and understanding in many different schools/traditions of Buddhism. As a Western Buddhist monastic, I can also help Westerners find a way through the vastness of these traditions to create your own approach to death and dying.

May the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha support and protect you.

Dedication

This site is dedicated to my dear friend, Bill Ford, with whom I had many warm and heartfelt discussions about death. We had planned to organize a death-and-dying workshop together with our friend, Julie. Before we were able to do this, Bill died suddenly. Just as he taught me about death during his life, so he taught me a tremendous amount about death with his own death.

The death of my Dharma friend, Emily Barlow O'Donnell, provided the energy to dedicate myself to this effort.

May all their rebirths be happy and may they quickly attain liberation!

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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Life, decay, death, rebirth

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