[vn-families] Is life only for the living?

[Pham, Quoc Binh]

Cha`o qui' vi.,

To^i co' tho'i quen quan sa't ca'ch so^'ng cu?a nhu+~ng ngu+o+`i
chung quanh\. Nhie^`u ngu+o+`i trong so^' na`y so^'ng theo kie^?u
la` ddo+`i so^'ng bi`nh thu+o+`ng se~ ke'o da`i ma~i ma~i\.

Co' ngu+o+`i co`n tin la` ne^'u tho+` tha^`n ..., thi` se~ ddu+o+.c
so^'ng ddo+`i ddo+`i (= ti? ti? na(m)\. Cho nhu+~ng vi. na`y, to^i
co' mo^.t ca^u chuye^.n ngu. ngo^n:

Cha(?ng hay, na(m nay chi. bao nhie^u tuo^?i \?

Thu' tha^.t vo+'i anh nhe!, na(m nay em ddu+o+.c 1 ti? hai tra(m
trie^.u 3 tra(m ta'm chu.c nga`n 4 tra(m 42 tuo^?i\. Em co' 4
ddu+'a con\. DDu+'a lo+'n nha^'t ddu+o+.c 1200380422 tuo^?i, va`
ddu+'a be' nha^'t ddu+o+.c 12000380410 tuo^?i\.


Cha`o

Vie^.t Li.ch: 4886, Pha^.t Li.ch: 2551, A^m Li.ch: 11.6 DDinh Ho+.i

Pha.m Quo^'c Bi`nh
http://vmdd.tech.mylinuxisp.com/buddhism/
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Source: 
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Is_life_only_for_the_living/articleshow/2228605.cms

Is life only for the living?

24 Jul, 2007, 0230 hrs IST, Mukul Sharma , TNN

Death happens to us from everywhere, not just from inside our
bodies when we die. Thats because if there's one certainty
which is at least numerically more significant than the loss
of our own selves its the demise of others around us all the
time. Also, the closer they are to us emotionally, the more
significance they garner.

Yet the only thing we end up doing about them is mourn, and that
too after the event because even though such things are bound
to take place we go through our lives believing they wouldnt
happen in a hurry  not to us at any rate. Which is why the
lamenting and grief which comes later finds such stunning ways
to sadden and sometimes diminish us.

Obvious common sense would seem to dictate, therefore,
that we prepare both ourselves and others for such a great
leave-taking. In Japan and elsewhere where a form of Mahayana
Buddhism called Zen is practiced, Zen masters sometimes know
when they are going to die.

For example, once master Hofaku called his monks together and
said, "This last week my energy has been draining, but theres
no cause for worry; its just that death is near."

A monk asked, "You are about to die! What does it mean? We
will go on living. And what does that mean?" "They are both the
way of things," the master replied. "But how can I understand
two such different states?" To this, Hofaku answered, "when it
rains it pours," and then calmly died.

Swiss-born psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, author of On Death
and Dying, talked somewhat along the same lines when she said,
"For those who seek to understand it, death is a highly creative
force. The highest spiritual values of life can originate from
the thought and study of death."

Thus to be preoccupied with death is not that morbid a condition
as it appears or is sometimes made out to be. At best, its
just as pathological as to being constantly preoccupied with
life which we all are and which passes all tests of normalcy
till one is suddenly confronted with its opposite  either
personally or in relation to others.

Actually "preoccupation" is perhaps not the right word here;
"awareness" is more like it. Master Hofaku it turns out was as
aware of his living as he was of his dying and could comfortably
and continuously exist in both worlds.

It would be a good idea if every one of us had a talking alarm
clock which woke us in the morning each day saying, "Get up,
this could be the first day of your death." The last day of
our lives would then proceed far more significantly.