Thought provoking eassay. Thanks Edgar! --- On Thu, 21/7/11, Edgar Owen <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Edgar Owen <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] Need help with the fear of death To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, 21 July, 2011, 13:04 All this was gone before you were born. Do you fear that? Every moment of the past is now gone. Do you fear that? Yesterday and your yesterday self are now gone. Do you fear that? The previous second is now gone and your existence then with it. Do you fear that? No, of course not. These are all imaginary times that exist only in your mind as memories. Your future death does not exist except as an identical imagination in your mind. So why fear these imaginary moments after you won't be here that your mind makes up? They exist only in your fears, as thoughts and not in reality. The only reality is the present moment and you are here alive in it. And you can choose to infect this present moment with fear or to release it and directly experience total life and pure consciousness within it. Personal death is an illusion because it will never be experienced. Only life is ever experienced. Only life can be experienced. Death can never be experienced so there is nothing to worry about. Thus use the freedom you have to optimize your life in the present moment since your life in the present moment is all that exists and all that ever will exist. Thus you must purify your consciousness in the present moment by paying no attention to and not dwelling on your fear of death. That will maximize life which is what the fear of death is really about - not being present maximally and totally in the present which is all that exists, which is the only place life can and does exist. Worrying about death won't make any difference about whether you will die or not so it's a waste of time that diminishes your real life right now. It's also about bravery. Remember the samurai Zen ethic - the ultimate bravery is to recognize and accept the possibility of your death as ever present and all around you and everywhere and facing it squarely to live every moment totally in the moment. In spite of that recognition choose to live totally and completely in the moment! Live every moment as your last. Worrying about death and letting it drain the reality of your life is for wimps who are not truly alive. Worrying about death is not the Zen way... Edgar http://EdgarLOwen.info On Jul 20, 2011, at 9:39 PM, D P wrote: But this will all be gone. All of it. That's what I fear. And it feels like a real fear. --- In [email protected], Edgar Owen <edgarowen@...> wrote: > > Why on earth would anyone be worried about death? After all you won't be > around or conscious to experience it! Remember you were dead before you were > born. Do you worry about not being alive before you were born? Of course not. > Then why worry about being dead after you're dead? Same thing exactly. You'll > be in exactly the same state, or rather no state at all. Death is entirely an > illusion and an illusory fear. > > And even if you are still worried about death the best answer to that is > simply to immerse yourself completely in the present moment and enjoy it and > forget death. After all death doesn't exist. That is your death will never > exist for you. All that will ever exist for you is life! > > Edgar > > On Jul 20, 2011, at 2:50 PM, D P wrote: > > > Hi, > > I am sorry hthat I haven't been on here more, but I do need some help right > > now. > > > > I just can't get over my fear of death. I know that in some ways it's not > > really an issue in zen, but it still bothers me. I can't seem to get into > > the idea of living the moment. > > > > Does anybody have any advice, koans, or books/essays to read? > > > > >
