Now let’s do the third meditation in this series, and we’re going to start by doing the nine-part death meditation.

But first, sit comfortably. Your body should be relaxed but firm and stable. Bring your mind inside and focus all your attention on your breath as it goes out and comes in through your nostrils. Do this for a few minutes, as you have time, again using the pause and play buttons on your CD player.

Motivation

Now generate bodhicitta motivation for doing this practice. Think, “I must reach enlightenment for the sake of all the kind mother sentient beings. Therefore, I’m going to practice this meditation on impermanence and death.”

The nine-part meditation on impermanence and death

The nine-part meditation on death has three roots, nine reasons and three determinations.

The first root: the inevitability of death.

The first reason. Think, “My death is inevitable because nothing can prevent it. No matter who I am, I am going to die. Ever since human beings evolved on Earth, not one has managed to escape death. No matter where I go, there is no way I can escape death. No matter how strong I am, how much money I have, what medicines I take, whatever powerful mantras I recite, there is nothing I can do to escape death. So many powerful, famous people have died; so many spiritually realized beings, including the Buddha himself, have also passed away. This whole earth, this whole solar system, will eventually crumble and disappear. There is no way I can escape death.” Think deeply on the meaning of these words.

The second reason. Think, “Not only am I going to die; I’m dying every moment. I’ve been dying from the moment of my conception. My lifespan cannot be extended and is constantly decreasing. Like a waterfall plunging into the pool below, like a pebble dropped into a well, like an arrow shot towards a target, like an animal led to slaughter, every breath I take is bringing me closer to death. Even if I live a hundred years, each passing month brings me closer to death. Even now, I’m getting closer to death. Months are made of days; as each day passes, I get closer to death. Days are made of hours; as each hour passes I get closer to death. Hours are made of minutes; as each minute passes I get closer to death. Minutes are made of seconds; as each second passes I get closer to death. As each second passes, my life of a hundred years’ duration is rapidly coming to an end. And it’s not only my death that’s getting closer; my next life is also rapidly approaching. All I have to do is breathe out and not breathe in and I’ll almost certainly find myself in a horrible body, in the three lower realms. As I see things changing outside of me—day becoming night; night becoming day; seasons changing: summer turning into autumn, autumn turning into winter, winter turning into spring and spring back to summer again—internally, I am also changing, plunging headlong to my inevitable death without a second’s delay.” Think of the meaning of these words and develop a deep feeling for subtle impermanence.

The third reason. Think, “Not only is death certain and rapidly approaching but I also spend most of my precious life in non-Dharma activities, doing things for the benefit of only this life; things that cause me to create much negative karma and bring absolutely no benefit to lives beyond this one. I spend so much time asleep, so much time eating, so much time at work, so much time on entertainment, watching movies, listening to music, playing or watching sport, watching television, reading novels; things that are of no benefit whatsoever. I spend so much time on my relationships, time that has nothing to do with the practice of Dharma. So many years of my life passed before I even met the Dharma, and now that I have, how little time do I spend practicing it. This is a terrible waste, beyond words.”

The first determination. Think, “Since nothing can prevent my death, my life is constantly finishing and I spend little time practicing Dharma, I must practice Dharma.”

The second root: the uncertainty of the time of death.

The first reason. Think, “The lifespan in this world is not fixed. Not only am I going to die; I have no idea when. I could die virtually at any moment. People die in the womb, during delivery, in the first few days of life, in infancy, in early childhood, in middle childhood, in late childhood, as young adults, as middle-aged adults, as old people. Human beings like me can die at any time. Even today, many people exactly my age have died. Therefore, there is no certainty as to the time of my death.”

The second reason. Think, “There are more factors contributing to death than to continued life. I could be killed by other people, animals or insects, other external factors, such as buildings collapsing, car accidents, tree branches falling onto me—the list is endless. There are so many ways in which I could be killed. I could die of disease, by imbalance of the four elements of earth, water, fire and wind. Even things that are meant to preserve or enhance my life can turn against me. I could die by choking on food or food poisoning; my family and friends, who are supposed to protect me, could turn against me; I could even die from medicine through an allergic reaction or an overdose or during surgery—things that are supposed to prolong my life can finish up making it much shorter. Therefore, there is no certainty as to the time of death.”

The third reason. Think, “My body is fragile; as fragile as a water bubble. The prick of a tiny thorn can kill me; a virus too small to be seen under a microscope can kill me; one tiny cell can become cancerous and destroy my life. It’s a wonder that I’m still alive today.”

The second determination. Think, “Since the time of death is extremely uncertain and I could even be dead tonight, not only must I practice Dharma; I must practice it right now, from this very moment on, without postponing it for even another second.”

The third root: the only thing that can help at the time of death is Dharma.

The first reason. Think, “My wealth and possessions can’t help me when I am dying. I can’t take even an atom of physical matter with me. At death, my mind slips out of my body like a hair pulled out of butter. Therefore, since death can occur at any time, I should not put any effort into accumulating such things or be attached to any of them, even from this moment.”

The second reason. Think, “My family and friends can’t help me at the time of death. I’m born alone and must die alone, and if I’m attached to other people, this will only cause me great suffering, especially if they’re gathered around me, weeping and clutching at my body, begging me not to die. Far from helping at the time of death, they’ll only make things worse; they’ll cause me to die with attachment, fear and sorrow, and I’ll be reborn in a negative state of mind. Since my time of death is uncertain, I must cut off attachment to family and friends even from this very moment.”

The third reason. Think, “Even my most cherished body can’t help me at the time of death. And like material possessions, family and friends, is likely to be my worst enemy when I pass away. I’ve spent my whole life working for my body—looking after it, trying to keep it healthy, keeping it warm, keeping it clean, making it feel good—but no matter what I’ve done, my body has constantly been getting sick and aging, getting injured and decaying. And as I die, as my mind begins to leave my body and I have the terrifying thought, ‘I’m becoming non-existent,’ I’ll crave for and grasp at my body. This will only cause me to continue to be reborn in samsara, the world of pain, and since death can come at any time, I must not be attached to my body, even now.”

The third determination. Think, “Since none of these things—power, position, possessions, family, friends or body—can help me at the time of death and only cause me great suffering, I must not only practice Dharma and practice it right now; I must also practice only Dharma.

So this, very briefly, is how to do analytical meditation on the roots, reasons and determinations. But, as Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey says,⁶² a good way to do this nine-part death meditation is to begin by glancing at the six disadvantages of not remembering death and the six advantages of remembering it, and having spent five or ten minutes on that, then glance through each of the three roots, with its corresponding reasons and determination. Then take your mind back to the first reason of the first root and hold it there for twenty or thirty minutes, entering into stabilizing meditation on that point. On the first day, do stabilizing meditation on the first of the nine reasons; on the second day, on the second reason; and so forth, gradually working your way through the entire meditation. Thus, you can spend half an hour or even more on each of the nine reasons.

When doing analytical meditation, as you meditate on each point, bring the different teachings that you’ve read or received on that topic, your life experiences and creativity into your contemplation, always keeping in mind the main point, the main purpose of the meditation, the realization you want to achieve, which here is to cut attachment to the happiness of this life and to come to the conclusion, “I must practice Dharma, practice it from this very moment on, and practice only Dharma.”

Exoteric meditation on the aspects of death

In the time that remains in this session, we’re going to do a brief, exoteric meditation on the circumstances of death. Here, you’re going to visualize that you’re actually dying. You can do this in different ways to make it more real, for example, lying on your bed, the kitchen floor, in the bathroom—as if you’ve suddenly collapsed somewhere and are really about to die. Think, “I’m dying. This is it; now I’m really dying.”

However, the way you should do it here is as a formal meditation on your cushion, the way you’ve been practicing so far. Visualize that you’re lying on a hospital bed after a period of illness, surrounded by your friends and loved ones, and think, “Now I’m really about to die. My friends and family, who’ve always enjoyed being with me, have always laughed and smiled with me, will soon be crying and talking about my death. This body, which I’ve always covered with clothes and protected from the elements, will soon become like stone or wood, with no feelings whatsoever. This body, which couldn’t bear being touched by even the tip of a burning stick of incense, will soon be cremated in a fire. This body, which I have preserved so well, will soon become a pile of ash. This body, which I always took around to different places all over the world, will soon be put in a box and buried under six feet of dirt. This body, which couldn’t bear being stung by a tiny mosquito, will soon be full of worms, eating it from the inside out. Soon, I won’t be able to see, hear, talk, or even breathe. Soon I’ll be a corpse, and the people who loved to hug and touch my body won’t even be able to look at it, let alone touch it.”

Think these and whatever other similar thoughts you can come up with as if you’re actually dying and check to see how you feel. Are you ready to go without regret? Practice this meditation over and over again. When you go to bed at night, instead of thinking that you’re going to sleep, think that you’re dying and see how you feel.

Dedication

Now we should dedicate the merit of having done this meditation. We started out by generating bodhicitta and then meditated on the Buddha’s teachings on the path to enlightenment, so we should dedicate the merit we’ve created in this way in harmony with our motivation and action. Think, “Because of this merit, may our teachers live long and healthy lives, may the Dharma spread throughout the infinite reaches of space, and may all sentient beings quickly reach enlightenment.”

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Notes

⁶²  See Death and the Way, required reading. [Return to text]

Sources for this publication can be found on the References page.