ABSTRACT
The thematic paper was the main purposes to study the death and a way of human death according to the contemplation on death in Buddhism and to analyze facing the peaceful death according to the contemplation on death in Theravāda Buddhism. This was a qualitative research to collect all data from academic paper, books and related researches.
A result of this study was found that death was the end of five aggregates’, or the end of a body and mind. There were two types of death: Kālamarana (death after the proper time’s appearance) and Akālamarana (death before the proper time’s appearance). Causes of death in human beings and animals were found because of a result of the individual good action and bad action. A way of practicing the contemplation on death was to be conscious of the phrase, “we are assured to be dead” every breath. This object of meditation was possibly practiced everyday and every chance. Generally, human beings thought of death in three levels. Firstly, common people thought of death with fearing the death. Secondly, the educated people thought of death as a factor to remind them of carefulness and encourage them to make merit. Thirdly, wise people lived with wisdom to think of death as it really was according to the principle of cause and effect.
The consideration of dearth was a way to learn the reality of life in five aspects: oldness, pain, death, separation, and action. When the action had the authority over the life of human beings and animals, they could not be free from those aspects. To practice the contemplation on death caused the mental development without mindfulness while a person was dying. On the contrary, the common people were actually different from the self-control while they were dying. After losing the self-control, they died without mindfulness in the last breath or the state of depressed mind, hopeless, unhappy and anxious. The ended mind without mindfulness did not assure a person that he went to the happy existence. To face the death according to the principle of contemplation on death was a way to prepare mind before its appearance. It was a way to be conscious of death coming to oneself and the other people. It was a factor to instruct mind free from delusion, carelessness in making merit, to make mind stable in moral action, and to live with mindfulness and wisdom. Here, mind was powerful to take out all anxiety and fear. It was free from defilement, pure from all enemies, able to cease all defilement, full of mindfulness and consciousness, courageous to face the death, and finally, able to make a person full of happiness in the daily life.
Download
|
