Jeweled Tree Dharma

February 1, 2021

Life and Death - Neither Beginning nor End

<p>This is a Dharma Glimpse that I originally presented on 9/15/19 as a &nbsp;participant in the Lay Ministry program of the Bright Dawn Center of &nbsp;Oneness Buddhism.<br> <br> Originally posted at https://jeweledtree.blog/2019/10/27/a-dharma-glimpse-life-and-death-neither-beginning-nor-end/ <br> <br> I was recently on an outing with a friend visiting the grounds of a &nbsp;local Vietnamese Zen Temple located in Frederick, MD. The Temple grounds &nbsp;are located inside a wooded area and feature many large, traditional &nbsp;statues of different Buddhas and Bodhissatvas, as well as other &nbsp;structures that stand alongside the various paths that run through the &nbsp;campus. While observing some of the statues we suddenly heard a subtle &nbsp;rustling in the trees above us, a noise which ended up being a large &nbsp;wasp tackling a large cicada to the ground next to us, killing it.<br> <br> While &nbsp;animals and insects in the wild frequently hunt and kill as a means of &nbsp;nourishment, the act of killing has a much more complicated point of &nbsp;view when it comes to humanity. “Do not kill” is a common guideline for &nbsp;right, moral living. It is the “law of the land” in virtually all &nbsp;nations, it is the sixth commandment of Abrahamic religions and it is &nbsp;the first precept of Buddhism. From the most strictest of &nbsp;interpretations, this is an impossibility to completely observe – we can &nbsp;go our whole lives without intentionally harming another mammal, living &nbsp;vegan and saving each insect that we may happen to notice enter our &nbsp;dwellings: We will still almost certainly harm other insects or animals &nbsp;in one way or another. Yet, we can all certainly agree that this is &nbsp;still a right and moral observance, one that helps us foster a greater &nbsp;sense of reverence for life around us. But what about once a form of &nbsp;that life has ended?<br> <br> As I looked to the insect who had fallen &nbsp;prey to the attack of its predator, I couldn’t help but ponder the new &nbsp;state in life that this insect had just entered: death. As a culture, we &nbsp;so frequently add a layer of social stigma to death: perhaps seeing it &nbsp;as the end of the road, the finale or a “dead end”, the erasure of all &nbsp;that ever was of us or someone or something else. But does a parent’s &nbsp;affect on the world cease when they expire? Or the contributions of a &nbsp;teacher to their students? And what of the remains of these individuals? &nbsp;<br> <br> From a certain perspective – in all life, we can see the entire &nbsp;stream of life itself from the beginning of time. All life that has &nbsp;ever interacted with any other life will continue on in that life and so &nbsp;on and so forth. As for the physical remains, the scientific law of &nbsp;conservation of matter goes: “Matter cannot be created or destroyed”; &nbsp;The physical remains of the deceased will simply continue on in the &nbsp;world in some other form. Life (or more accurately birth) need not be &nbsp;viewed as the beginning and death need not be viewed as the end. &nbsp;Rather, they are merely stages along this constant cycle of life and &nbsp;death that we are constantly walking around. Let us bear this thought &nbsp;going forward in our recognition of all of life in its various forms and &nbsp;stages around us, recognizing the oneness of it all.<br> <br> May all beings be happy and at peace. <br> </p>