Topic: Art of Dying

[goggle-eyed dandelion]

[goggle-eyed dandelion]

[mayflow]

The Dharma-Kāya of thine own mind thou shalt see; and seeing That, thou shalt have seen the All -- The Vision Infinite, the Round of Death and Birth and the State of Freedom.' -- Milarepa.

Jetsün Kahbum, xii (Lāma Kazi Dawa-Samdup's Translation.)

Maybe, Milarepa shoud have called it the "art" of Freedom?
- for what art could possibly be higher than the art of freedom? 

[daphne]

Maybe, Milarepa shoud have called it the "art" of Freedom?
- for what art could possibly be higher than the art of freedom? 

Perhaps death is our door to freedom... so to speak 

[nakashi]

the ultimate death
in my opinion
is to not los anything..
and retain
everything

[mayflow]

Perhaps death is our door to freedom... so to speak 

This may be true as like in Buddha's case, his death was called by many the
 para-nirvana. The ultimate release. I think it can only be that if you have
already found nirvana in your life before you die, though.

I just wrote a little about this in Ellen's form too, where I don't think you can
call death a complete demarkation point, or a complete transformer. It seems
to me that as you respond to other situations in life, so you will respond to
death. It all works and integrates together.

[goggle-eyed dandelion]

It seems to me that as you respond to other situations in life, so you will respond to
death. It all works and integrates together.

That's precisely why it is so hard to accomplish what nakashi said - 'retain everything' or retain awareness. To do that, one must fundamentally transform one's way of living, one's very beingness.

[daphne]

It seems to me that as you respond to other situations in life, so you will respond to
death. It all works and integrates together.

Perhaps, Mayflow, yes. In responding to different situations in life, for myself, it has been rather dependent on the situation. For me, I recognize that some situations have brought forth a response, and others a reaction. My work has been to turn that reaction into a response, so that it will be my natural state. I find that in response there appears to be - to me - an infinitesimal moment, that in some ways feels like a membrane between 2 spaces. In that moment, if I am aware, I am able to respond; and if I am not, I find myself reacting. I have explored this in great detail 

Like both Nakashi and Erik have just stated, the key for me is awareness. So I work on becoming more aware. I have found that in situations of 'crisis', my awareness is heightened. When I had my car accident, I found myself in the same state of heightened awareness. I like to think that when death finds me, I will be in that state too. I have also found it strangely different to "fear" states - in fear states I feel a bodily response, like an adrenalin jerk, an immediate reaction. The heightened state I experienced in my car accident was void of that - perhaps that was the body's "shock" reaction? I don't know.

I think I will only know as the event occurs    until then I practice awareness.

[goggle-eyed dandelion]

Traffic and driving - it all happens so fast there...no time to marinade in fear.

I was driving yesterday on a motorway and passed relatively steep curve at 60-65 mph when one car, instead of letting me go by, took off from the side of the road and blocked half of my lane. It was maybe 20-30 yards in front of me. Simultaneously two cars appeared from behind the curve in the opposite direction at a distance of maybe 70-80 yards. I automatically aimed my car into the narrow gap between the car in front of me and two cars coming toward me, and accelerated.

I managed to squeeze in and take over before car in front of me managed to reach the center of lane. There were maybe two feet between me and cars coming toward me, and me and the car blocking my way.

No adrenalin rush, nothing unusual followed. I analyzed the whole event later and found that had I tried to break, it probably would not had worked - I had no space. Apparently, the thing I did was a correct course of action, but I registered only that my mind quickly touched the thought of breaking and thought of accelerating without any deeper analysis. Decision was made in an instant and action followed without delay.

[daphne]

...no time to marinade in fear.

Love that! 

Decision was made in an instant and action followed without delay.

Yes.. I have experienced that myself - very different from other types of "decision making" that I have been rather ambivalent over. I used to have great difficulty in making decisions - would spend copious amounts of energy (both thought and emotional) over avoiding them.
I sourced that to a fear of "making a mistake" - in itself related to not wanting to take responsibility for a perceived potential or past "mistake". I have worked (and am working) long on that. And yet in certain situations - which were far more "critical". I could instantly decide and take action. It's as if there was no place for "mistakes" and hence there was no dithering around about responsibility - there was just straight forward response-ability.

[goggle-eyed dandelion]

And yet in certain situations - which were far more "critical". I could instantly decide and take action. It's as if there was no place for "mistakes" and hence there was no dithering around about responsibility - there was just straight forward response-ability.

Strong stuff! 

[goggle-eyed dandelion]

Another example of such a emotionless and all-encompassing awareness I could draw from shooting (a pistol).

When I was inexperienced, I tended to expect a shot - narrowed my eyes, focused excessively on pulling the trigger, and was a bit of confused by the bang.

Yet with growing experience it all changed until one moment I caught myself shooting so that my both eyes were wide open, and at the moment of shot they registered slide moving back, and bullet hitting the target. The bang of shot became totally unimportant as became all other previous sources of tension.

I'd guess such an 'unblinking' awareness at the moment of passing the gate of death is one of  preconditions for retaining awareness.

[John]

Perhaps death is our door to freedom... so to speak 

No it isn't and you are one of the few to know why.

The path to freedom is created while alive. Indeed. Even in the moment of Death, the warrior is alive. That is thanks to his or hers increased awareness. Not expanded awareness or spiritual connection, alive simply due to the increased awareness.

Simple, but difficult to obtain as long as the mitote continues.

[John]

I don't think you can
call death a complete demarkation point, or a complete transformer.

Of course death is the final, most complete and ultimate transformation.
I suppose You still "think" too much May. How about to enter reality some day?
Reality for you means too meet the pain that you shuffled under the carpet long ago and to get in touch with your heart.

 .~.

[John]

Like both Nakashi and Erik have just stated, the key for me is awareness. So I work on becoming more aware. I have found that in situations of 'crisis', my awareness is heightened. When I had my car accident, I found myself in the same state of heightened awareness. I like to think that when death finds me, I will be in that state too.

See!

You are close.