So,
This session will begin with some breathing meditation and then I'll set a motivation and then we'll meditate on the three points of the nine-point death meditation.
So it's important that we don't just jump into meditation without moving to a neutral state of mind.
If we do,
Then the meditation really won't have much clarity or force.
So we'll bring our attention inward and close down our senses a little bit.
So you can first check your posture,
Do a body scan to release any tension,
Letting your spine be the support that then allows the muscles of the body to relax with each out-breath.
And of course,
Thoughts are bound to arise out of habit rather than becoming caught up in them or trying to stop them forcefully.
Simply release them with each out-breath.
So whatever comes up,
Resistance or concern,
Grief or joy,
Border most story,
Notice it,
Accept it,
And then return to the breath.
So let the body breathe itself without any influence of desires,
Expectations,
Or preference.
So we'll do that for a few minutes,
Then I'll set a motivation.
Have a nice day.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So with the COVID-19 virus in our world today,
Death seems closer than usual.
Basically death is always with us.
And we really have an opportunity as Buddhist practitioners to meet this circumstance with some clarity by using the opportunity to get more familiar with the fact that we will die one day.
And practicing accepting that we will die will influence how we die and what rebirth we take.
So this is another example of taking adversity onto the path,
Using it to transform our minds.
And as we do that then we are a step closer to our final goal of complete Buddhahood,
At which point we could benefit all living beings in the most excellent way.
So the first point in the nine-point death meditation is the inevitability of death.
The first point is that everyone has to die.
And at this time all beings in one way or another are dying.
With this point it's helpful to start with people that we know but we don't have a personal connection with.
Because most of us haven't done a whole lot of contemplation on death,
Perhaps.
And so we want to enter into this gently so that we can have a deep experience of it without overwhelming ourselves.
Start by bringing to mind historical people or people in the media or in the arts,
In society.
Make some specific examples in your mind.
No matter how much resources,
How powerful,
How well-known people were,
They still died.
And as you think about these people,
Notice your reaction.
See if you're feeling a little resistance to even do this.
See if you're very much in an intellectual headspace about this.
And so try to bring in some feeling about these people dying.
This is what I'm going to go over now.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And now next we'll move to thinking about people that we have been in relationship with,
People that are personal to us.
But we want to be very,
Again,
Gentle and very careful how we do this.
We want to bring people to mind that we can think about and still keep a balanced mind with.
If we bring in somebody to think about that we have still a lot of attachment to,
Then often our mind will fall into personal distress.
And in that painful place,
Then,
We're more thinking about the pain that we're experiencing instead of the reality that all living beings die.
So be wise in who you pick to think about,
Maybe those that have been close to you but died some years back.
So we try to keep a balance of remembering with a bit of non-attachment,
But the reality of,
Yes,
Everyone dies.
So work with your mind with that one now.
So keep yourself connected with somebody you've never met before or find someк that's going to Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And continuously.
This is something that if we think about it,
We know that moment by moment everything is changing and we are getting older moment by moment.
So let's think about two different scenarios from the time that we have left in this life.
Let's think about if we didn't put our attention on the moment by moment changes that we distracted from the idea of death coming at some time.
And then when we are dying,
What would our mind be like?
Play that scenario out a little bit to see what that would be like.
And then when we are dying,
What would our mind be like?
Play that scenario out a little bit to see what that would be like.
And then when we are dying,
What would our mind be like?
Play that scenario out a little bit to see what that would be like.
And then when we are dying,
What would our mind be like?
Play that scenario out a little bit to see what that would be like.
And then when we are dying,
What would our mind be like?
Play that scenario out a little bit to see what that would be like.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Now let's play out the second scenario that we train ourselves to remember death every day,
Not in a maudlin way,
But just in a realistic way.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
