DP:
 
I also sense that fear of death is also fear of life.  I suppose that when one 
lives in the present moment, which I can assure you is pretty difficult to do,  
A lot of the fears seem to lessen more and more.  On the other way round, when 
I forget to be fully present in my body and mind in the present moment is when 
all my troubles start all over again.  I know that my fear of death is related 
very much so to my fear of life.  Only by living in the present moment I can 
embrace what it comes and as it comes.  
 
Mayka
 

--- On Mon, 30/8/10, DP <dave.dplat...@gmail.com> wrote:


From: DP <dave.dplat...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Zen] Re: Death
To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, 30 August, 2010, 15:50


  




Namaste, and thank you.

I will think long and hard about your words (I've been doing zazen for awhile 
now, but not without difficulty). 

I do find some of the comments (and I apologize to anyone here) a little 
condescending, like "you haven't figured that out yet?" On another site, I just 
got cryptic comments like "fear of death is fear of life," which didn't really 
help at all.

--- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, "salik888" <novelid...@...> wrote:
>
> Peace
> 
> I think there are two things you can do. And I want to take this time to tell 
> you not to become discouraged by posters that offer obvious solutions and 
> realizations that are supposedy inherent to their way of living and thinking. 
> I can tell that it is not useful. You are not going to be able to think 
> yourself out of this one though.
> 
> 
> Here is what I have found. Anyone who is telling you that they are not afraid 
> of death, you have to assume that they are lying -- lying to themselves and 
> others. Even if they are wandering around not thinking about it, they are 
> avoiding thinking about about it, or sensing it. 
> 
> In your case, you have expressed a compulsive disorder with death. I would do 
> the following.
> 
> Bill Smart and others here can reaffirm of give you explanation of Zazen, to 
> bring Shikan Taza into your life. I would begin a good practice of Zazen and 
> stick to it. Put great emphasis (still thinking, thus fearing) observing your 
> thoughts, non grasping, just letting them go. You can do this with your Zazen.
> 
> Having said that, the practical matter of things is that you have to walk 
> around in your life and deal with this throughout your day. I would expose 
> yourself to the work of Albert Ellis, the cognitive psychologist who started 
> REBT Therapy. There has been some analysis written on his work and Zen, since 
> he is basically a sort of ego as function sort of Philosopher. He doesn't 
> believe in enlightenment that I know of, but what he does offer is thinking 
> as function and the refuting of obsessional thinking. These two together may 
> be helpful. I have seen Albert Ellis's Therapy help many people. It is very 
> practical and very useful. 
> 
> Of course I always recommend reading only within of context of learning, the 
> whole idea of Sufis "learning how to learn, knowing how to know, etc . . ."
> 
> To the Sufi way of thinking, fear of death operates out of the lower self, 
> the commanding self, that has been conditioned and enhanced by culture and 
> the false self (ego). Operating out of the realm can be useful if your 
> intention is to transcend it, in fact, the fear of death can be more of 
> blessing than someone who mindlessly goes around says, "well when I'm dead I 
> won't know it." Oftentimes they are just ameliorating themselves with their 
> own mind candy. 
> 
> Keep this in mind, all human beings fear death in some proportion, you are 
> just tuning into it. However, it is possible to use this on the so called 
> path. 
> 
> Sometimes with people Yahoo Groups of the so called religious nature you get 
> posters who are really just posting for themselves, transmitting and 
> projecting something they want to feel or sense, and want others to feed back 
> to them. So, don't pay much attention to them.
> 
> Having said that, it really is about Zazen, and feeling a certain intention 
> and gratitude toward working with your obsession, for it can help you in the 
> end. No pun intended . . . 
> 
> K among the deathers 
> 
> --- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, "DP" <dave.dplatt72@> wrote:
> >
> > ARe there any good meditations I can do which helps me deal with my fear of 
> > death? I just finished Thich Nhat Hanh's No Death No Fear, and I liked it, 
> > but I feel such a hard time getting around the idea of continuance - it's 
> > too much for my materialist mind. So maybe I need a different tack...
> > 
> > How do I confront the reality of death with the aim towards lessening my 
> > fear of this?
> >
>






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