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Where there is birth, there will be death...... ”
The most precious thing in life, is life itself. Although everyone is aware that where there is birth, there will be death, yet it is difficult for people to let go of life and death.
During the Buddha’s time, there was a mother who was mentally tormented after her baby died soon after it was born. Her agony was so intense that she became deranged. She held the body of her dead baby and went around begging (for someone to save it), hoping to bring her child back to life. Eventually, she came to the Buddha.
The Buddha knew that the mother was unable to calm down, so he said to her: “Yes, you can bring your child back to life. But you have to try very hard to do something first.”
Having heard what the Buddha had said, the mother felt hopeful; she was willing to do whatever it took to bring her child back to life. The Buddha continued, “You must find mustard seeds from a family that has never lost any of its family members due to death.”
Mustard seeds were very common in India. After hearing what the Buddha had said, the mother placed the body of her baby in front of the Buddha and went from door to door to request for mustard seeds.
Before asking for mustard seeds from a household, she would first ask, “Has anyone died in your family before?”
And it turned out that every household she visited had mustard seeds, but she could not find a home where no one had died before.
She searched from dawn to dusk and came back to the Buddha empty-handed, feeling very down. The Buddha compassionately asked her: “Did you manage to find any?”
The mother replied sorrowfully, “Every home has mustard seeds, but I cannot find any home where no one has died before.”
The Buddha thus said, “Where there is birth, there will be death. Life is impermanent, and there is no certainty as to how long a person can live. We come to this world due to karmic causes and conditions and leave when the causes and conditions end. Why is there a need to incessantly cling to life?”
After listening to the compassionate teaching of the Buddha, the mother calmed herself down and finally realised that one can never force a dead person to come back to life. Since the child had already passed on, there was nothing she could do but let go.
Indeed, when life has come to an end, we can’t do anything but let it go. Won’t every life in this world come to an end eventually? But who can endure the pain of becoming permanently separated from his dearest loved ones? There is always separation in life or death in this mundane world. Such pain is truly hard to endure; it really causes unspeakable suffering!
It is human nature to fear death, (but there has never been a single person in this world who can live eternally). We have never heard of anyone who is exempted from death just by protecting his life and being scared of death. Therefore, death is part of nature.
Modern day people love and treasure their lives very much. People are particular about enjoying life, having a nutritional diet and many other things. Why are we so particular about so many things? The answer is: to protect and maintain the health of our body. In order to achieve that, people are particular about various things, but little do they realise that they are wasting their life by letting the days pass by just like that. If we are conscious of how time diminishes day by day, we will know how to make good use of our life to do more meritorious deeds and to cultivate wisdom.
What is a meritorious deed? A meritorious deed is one that is beneficial to humanity and society. It is known in modern times as “blessing”. In other words, it refers to creating blessings for the world.
It is not easy to be born human. Since we are blessed with a life as a human being, we should live out the meaning of life. Even though life is very valuable, there won’t be much value in life if we do not make good use of it. Moreover, if we do not fulfill our duties in life, then what makes us different from the rest of the living beings? Human beings are the most intelligent living beings on Earth. If we don't know how to give of ourselves and care for other living beings, then our lives are not much different from those of other animals.
We must love all sentient beings, especially our own kind. If people can't support or work for the good of one another, what other meaning is there in life?
When the Buddha came to the world, he was able to enjoy wealth and riches as well as family bliss and joy. Yet, he chose to give up everything to engage in spiritual practice in order to expand his wisdom. With the wisdom he gained from enlightenment, he spent his lifetime benefiting the masses and awakening the innate wisdom in everyone’s mind. (This is how the Buddha came to this world and lived out the value of life.)
Where there is birth, there will be death. During our lifetime, we must carefully contemplate how we can contribute more and help more people—this is the Buddha’s ideal of life. As disciples of the Buddha, we should ponder on the value of our life (and how we can contribute to the world).
To be human is to be responsible for the well-being of living beings. Therefore, it is the duty of monastics to shoulder the Buddha’s missions and propagate his spirit so that it becomes widespread and widely known by all, thus guiding everyone onto the broad path (of Buddhahood)—this is the value of life.
Whether we are giving of ourselves to benefit others or working hard on our spiritual aspirations, time will still come to pass. Hence, we must seize every second of our life. I often say that we do not have ownership of our life. Even though one may be living the noblest life, when impermanence strikes and one stops breathing, everything will come to an end.
Since we do not have any ownership of our life, (we do not need to overly protect it). We should instead make good use of life by making good use of the time we have, be it a year, a day or even a second. If we are able to fully understand the value of life, when the time comes for us to pass on, we will be able to face death with ease and let go, instead of struggling in pain.
To practise Buddhism is to learn how to feel at ease in life and to let go of our attachments. But we must seize the limited time that we have and fulfill our duties in life. This is the duty of a true practising Buddhist. The Buddha said that if we work hard to live out the Bodhisattva Path with wisdom and compassion, it won’t be difficult for us to let go of our life in the face of death.
The most crucial element in spiritual cultivation is to have compassion and wisdom. By being compassionate, one can not only take care of oneself but others as well. A compassionate person will be able to feel the pain of others and feel for the plight of the suffering. This is because all lives are interconnected as one and are interdependent. Having wisdom means that we must not only regard all living beings on Earth (as part of our endless cycle of life), but also unleash our wisdom in the diligent service of others. Only we can safeguard our wisdom-life.
In fact, I find that it is very important to know the value of our physical body and how we can make use of it (to do good). Hence, we must diligently practise the Bodhisattva Path with compassion and wisdom. If we are able to promote and spread the Bodhisattva Path with the power of wisdom and compassion, then it won’t be hard for us to let go of our life when it’s time for us to depart this world.
When life is about to end, we must let go of everything. I urge everyone to always be mindful of impermanence. Only then will we be diligent in our spiritual practice. Since we have chosen the broad path of the Buddha’s wisdom, we must advance continuously with diligence.
Extracted from 《生死皆自在》“Sheng Si Jie Zi Zai”
Translated by the Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
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