Most of us live through life as if we are immortals — like we have all the time in the world, with innumerable chances. But we are all mortals destined to depart one fine day. This simple truth escapes us.
Meditation on death is in fact, one of the oldest types of meditation in Buddhism — which goes by the name Maranasati Meditation. The Buddha said — “of all the footprints, that of the elephant is supreme. Similarly, of all mindfulness meditation, that on death is supreme.” Bardo Thodol or more popularly known in the west as Tibetan Book of the Dead is one of the popular works in this regard. Vajrayana branch of Buddhism has laid particular emphasis on this.
In more recent times, I think Steve Jobs said it the best in his characteristic messianic tone. In his most famous Stanford commencement address, he sums it up thus —
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
Being constantly mindful of our mortal nature is a good thing for us — It sharpens our perception of things around us, weigh-in the priorities in life, we'll have fresh perspectives and helps us to live our lives more sensibly and meaningfully. We live wantonly and carelessly when we think we'll be here forever. We'll be more careful and gentle when we know we have come here with an expiry date and when we are acutely aware of the fact that our time is limited.
