| Precious human life, gained
but once, Has great potential but is easily lost. Inspire me to remember this constantly And to think day and night of taking its essence. - The Foundation of All Perfections, Verse 2 Relying upon the boat of this human life, Free yourself from the great river of pain! As it is hard to find this boat again, This is no time for sleep, you fool. - Shantideva, Bodhisattvacharyavatara, VII(14) |
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| Head on Fire ChatGPT-4/DALL-E3, 2023-12-16 |
There he addressed the monks,
"Monks, mindfulness of death, when developed and pursued, is of great fruit and great benefit.
It gains a footing in the deathless, has the deathless as its final end.
And how is mindfulness of death developed and pursued so that it is of great fruit and great benefit, gains a footing in the deathless, and has the deathless as its final end?
"There is the case where a monk, as day departs and night returns, reflects:
'Many are the (possible) causes of my death.
A snake might bite me,
a scorpion might sting me,
a centipede might bite me.
That would be how my death would come about.
That would be an obstruction for me.
Stumbling, I might fall;
my food, digested, might trouble me;
my bile might be provoked, my phlegm...
piercing wind forces (in the body) might be provoked.
That would be how my death would come about.
That would be an obstruction for me.'
'Many are the (possible) causes of my death.
A snake might bite me,
a scorpion might sting me,
a centipede might bite me.
That would be how my death would come about.
That would be an obstruction for me.
Stumbling, I might fall;
my food, digested, might trouble me;
my bile might be provoked, my phlegm...
piercing wind forces (in the body) might be provoked.
That would be how my death would come about.
That would be an obstruction for me.'
"Then the monk should investigate:
'Are there any evil, unskillful qualities unabandoned by me
that would be an obstruction for me were I to die in the night?'
If, on reflecting, he realizes that there are evil, unskillful qualities unabandoned by him
that would be an obstruction for him were he to die in the night,
then he should put forth
extra desire,
effort,
diligence,
endeavor,
relentlessness,
mindfulness,
and alertness
for the abandoning of those very same evil, unskillful qualities.
'Are there any evil, unskillful qualities unabandoned by me
that would be an obstruction for me were I to die in the night?'
If, on reflecting, he realizes that there are evil, unskillful qualities unabandoned by him
that would be an obstruction for him were he to die in the night,
then he should put forth
extra desire,
effort,
diligence,
endeavor,
relentlessness,
mindfulness,
and alertness
for the abandoning of those very same evil, unskillful qualities.
Just as when a person whose turban or head was on fire
would put forth extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, relentlessness, mindfulness, and alertness
to put out the fire on his turban or head,
in the same waythe monk should put forth
extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, relentlessness, mindfulness,and alertness
for the abandoning of those very same evil, unskillful qualities.
would put forth extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, relentlessness, mindfulness, and alertness
to put out the fire on his turban or head,
in the same waythe monk should put forth
extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, relentlessness, mindfulness,and alertness
for the abandoning of those very same evil, unskillful qualities.
""But if, on reflecting, he realizes that there are no evil, unskillful qualities
unabandoned by him
that would be an obstruction for him were he to die in the night,
then for that very reason he should dwell in joy and rapture,
training himself day and night in skillful qualities.
that would be an obstruction for him were he to die in the night,
then for that very reason he should dwell in joy and rapture,
training himself day and night in skillful qualities.
"Further, there is the case where a monk, as night departs and day returns, reflects:
'Many are the (possible) causes of my death.... That would be an obstruction for me.'
Then the monk should investigate:
'Are there any evil, unskillful qualities unabandoned by me
that would be an obstruction for me were I to die during the day?'
'Many are the (possible) causes of my death.... That would be an obstruction for me.'
Then the monk should investigate:
'Are there any evil, unskillful qualities unabandoned by me
that would be an obstruction for me were I to die during the day?'
"If, on reflecting, he realizes that there are evil, unskillful qualities unabandoned by
him
that would be an obstruction for him were he to die during the day,
then he should put forth extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, relentlessness, mindfulness,
and alertness for the abandoning of those very same evil, unskillful qualities.
that would be an obstruction for him were he to die during the day,
then he should put forth extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, relentlessness, mindfulness,
and alertness for the abandoning of those very same evil, unskillful qualities.
"Just as when a person whose turban or head was on fire would put forth
extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, relentlessness, mindfulness, and alertness
to put out the fire on his turban or head,
in the same way the monk should put forth
extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, relentlessness, mindfulness, and alertness
for the abandoning of those very same evil, unskillful qualities.
extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, relentlessness, mindfulness, and alertness
to put out the fire on his turban or head,
in the same way the monk should put forth
extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, relentlessness, mindfulness, and alertness
for the abandoning of those very same evil, unskillful qualities.
But if, on reflecting, he realizes that there are no evil, unskillful qualities
unabandoned by him
that would be an obstruction for him were he to die during the day,
then for that very reason he should dwell in joy and rapture,
training himself day and night in skillful qualities.
that would be an obstruction for him were he to die during the day,
then for that very reason he should dwell in joy and rapture,
training himself day and night in skillful qualities.
"This, monks, is how mindfulness of death is developed and pursued
so that it is of great fruit and great benefit,
gains a footing in the Deathless,
and has the Deathless as its final end."
That is what the Blessed One said.
so that it is of great fruit and great benefit,
gains a footing in the Deathless,
and has the Deathless as its final end."
That is what the Blessed One said.
Gratified, the monks delighted in the
Blessed One's words.
"Maranassati
Sutta: Mindfulness of Death (2)" (AN 6.20).
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.