Practising the Recollection of Death
~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~
The Buddha often spoke in praise of practising the recollection of death. He declared that if well cultivated it leads to the deathless. When he once asked a group of monks how they developed this practice one replied that he thinks, ‘May I live just a day and a night so that I may attend to the Buddha’s teaching. I could then accomplish much!’ The Buddha was not satisfied. He judged such an attitude to be sluggish and heedless.
The Buddha was most pleased by the replies of two other monks. One said that he thinks, ‘May I live just the length of time it takes to chew and swallow a single mouthful of food so that I may attend to the Buddha’s teaching. I could then accomplish much!’ The other went even further: ‘May I live just the length of time it takes to breathe out after breathing in, or breathing in after breathing out.’
Even if we acknowledge what a precious opportunity this human life grants us to practice the Buddha’s teachings for liberation, motivation is hard to sustain. Recollecting the fragility and unpredictability of life is an excellent means of creating the sense of urgency that is needed to make progress on the path.
The Buddha concluded his instruction wit an exhortation: ‘You should train like this: ‘We will dwell heedfully. We will keenly develop mindfulness of death for the ending of defilements.’ Thus you should train yourselves.
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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.
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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.
