..续本文上一页s that the obvious proximity of death makes teaching the Dharma both easier and harder—easier in that the patient is freed from extraneous responsibilities and can see clearly the need to understand and gain release from pain; harder in that the patient may be too weakened physically or emotionally, through fear or worry, to put the instructions into practice. But whatever the case, it”s worth noting that up to the moment of death the Buddha would have you focus less on the limitations of the situation than on the potential opportunities. Even one moment of insight in the midst of pain and suffering, he said, is worth more than one hundred years of good health.

　　From my own personal experience—both in watching my teachers implement these instructions and in trying to implement them myself—I”ve learned two major lessons. One is that the patients best suited for making the most of the Dharma when sick or dying are those who are not tormented with memories of cruel or hurtful things they did in the past, and who have already developed a meditative or contemplative practice prior to their illness. Even if that practice isn”t Buddhist, they intuitively respond to the Buddha”s message on pain and are able to use it to alleviate their own sufferings. The lesson here is that as long as you know you”re going to die someday, it”s a good idea to avoid cruel actions and to get started on a meditative practice of your own, so that you”ll be prepared for illness and death when they come. As my teacher, Ajaan Fuang, once said, when you meditate you”re gaining practice in how to die—how to be mindful and alert, how to endure pain, how to gain control over wayward thoughts and maybe even reach the Deathless—so that when the time comes to die, you”ll do it with skill.

　　The second lesson is that if you want to help other people overcome their fear of death, you have to learn how to overcome your own fear of death as well, by abandoning attachment to the body, abandoning attachment to sensual pleasures, avoiding cruel actions, and gaining direct insight into the Deathless. With your fears overcome, you”ll be much more effective in teaching the Dharma to those on their deathbed. You won”t be disturbed by the physical horrors of death, you”ll be able to communicate directly to the needs of the dying person, and your words will carry more weight, for they come from direct experience. Your compassion will be educated not by books or feelings, but by a clear insight into what dies and what doesn”t.

　　Ultimately, these two lessons boil down to one: Meditate, as an act of compassion both for yourself and for others, even if death seems far away. When the time comes to die, you”ll be less of a burden on those who are caring for you. In the meantime, if you”re called on to comfort those who are sick or dying, your compassion will be more genuinely helpful, and you”ll have a more effective message to teach.

《Educating Compassion》全文阅读结束。