Understanding life in death
The mediaeval text was most insistent: “Mors certa, hora incerta.” My Latin was definitely a bit scratchy, but even I could work this one out: “Death is certain, the hour uncertain.” The mediaeval philosopher who wrote this text also added, somewhat severely, that due to its uncertain nature, every man, woman and child should be prepared for death at all times.
For our ancestors, death was very much anchored in day-to-day life. For hundreds of years, Western European culture literally reverberated with the presence of death. Time and again, its influence on literature, religion, ritual life, mythology, art and, most certainly, philosophy was profound and immense. The great cathedrals scattered across the European landscape were not only active places of worship but served as ritual gateways to a safe passage through Purgatory for the souls of the dead.
Yet, with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and the speed of technological progress, death suddenly became passé. Within a matter of years, mortality became a taboo subject that had no place in a progressive European society … until now. Today, quantum physics has formed a somewhat unusual “marriage” with spiritual mysticism and the result has been a “resurrection” of interest in ancient teachings on death and dying from all over the world. Each of these revered texts states that the mystery of all life in the universe is said to lie in the knowledge of death. Death is far too important a subject to be ignored.
Attitudes to death
Christians say: “In my end is my beginning.” Buddhists believe passionately that it’s only through the process of dying and eventual death that we truly learn about life. Transmigration of the soul also plays an important part in Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and other Indian religions. In the final moments of mortal life, we are said to hold within us the tension of the paradox of our life, the spark of a new life, the workings of a new consciousness, even of a new fate. The great cycle of Prana, the breath of life that animates all matter in the universe, actually begins here … in death.
Sadly, though, in Western nations the emphasis is very much on living, on getting as much out of life as you can, while you can and, in some instances, of even defying death. An entire industry has sprung up fuelled by many people’s desire to stay forever young.
Today, for millions of Westerners, old age and death are simply not accepted as a natural part of life. Lulled by the false comforts of medical and technological advancement, Western culture dreams that progress will somehow “domesticate” once and for all the senseless malignancy of death.
Yet death is the one inevitability for every living thing on the planet. Death comes to us all. There is nothing we can do to stop it however hard we try. And, when it does come, many of us expect an automatic, painless oblivion. A journey into nothingness. For millions of Westerners, the contemporary godless perspective on death is almost anaesthetic.
In the East, however, death is seen rather as a door through which we must pass on a transition that can be worse than fatal for the unprepared or badly misdirected individual. The Tibetan people take death so seriously that their lamas have written guidebooks for the journey between former, present and future lives. The present incarnation of the living Buddha, the Dalai Lama, often quips that he cannot die, that he is destined to remain with the human race until Nirvana is at last attained.
The teachings of the New Testament clearly state that Christ, too, will be “with us until the end of time”, while the annual Lenten passage is focused on growing through death. The power of the crucifixion for all Christians lies in the resurrection of the Son of God — through His death, the human race has been liberated. This and this alone is the enduring power of the cross over the darkness of night. As prana flowed out of the physical body of Jesus, the light of the sun was eclipsed in one of the most powerful and moving passages of New Testament script.
The parallels between these two great spiritual disciplines (Buddhism and Christianity) on the critical subject of mortality simply cannot be ignored. The energy that leaves us at death starts afresh at birth. Thus, death is the greatest of all teachers for it is the gateway to a different form of life. Death represents a release of energy that has been strictly limited in duration by the thoughts and acts of the individual who has just died.
Defining death
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, death is the “final cessation of vital functions”. From the perspective of Western medicine, it is the cessation of heartbeat and brain activity — the “flatline” on the EEG. Death is the ultimate scientific concept of nothingness. It is the “I” that ceases to be and the void that swallows up life.
Feared by the contented and dismissed by the rich, death can also be welcomed by individuals who live in perpetual misery or by those who grapple day after day with unbearable pain or anguish. Gravestones through the centuries bear testimony to this latter attitude and have likened death to a state of deep sleep filled with peace, everlasting rest and perpetual silence.
Yet the universal fear of death persists. Why? The truth is we are afraid of death not because we know it is nothing, but because we know instinctively that it cannot bring us nothing. As usual, our instinct is right.
Near-death experiences
We get a glimpse of what lies beyond the veil of death through individual near-death experiences (NDEs). Amazingly, the first serious study of NDEs was undertaken not by a famous psychologist or even a psychiatrist, but by a leading 19th century Swiss geologist, Albert Heim.
Following a near-fatal fall in the Alps during which he had a mystical experience, Heim became acutely interested in episodes associated with life-threatening situations and with dying. For many years, he systematically collected accounts from numerous survivors of serious accidents. In 1892, Heim’s findings were finally presented to a meeting of the Swiss Alpine Club. In a staggering 95 per cent of the cases he had investigated, regardless of individual circumstances, the experience remained unchanged.
According to the study, mental activity sharpened immediately and became acutely enhanced during near-death experiences. Perceptions of events and the outcome were very clear, while time itself was greatly expanded and individuals acted with lightning speed and accuracy. This phase was always followed by a sudden life-reflection and review with the final experience being one of extraordinary peace and tranquillity — with visions of great beauty and the sound of celestial music.
But for those observing these sudden confrontations with death, the experiences themselves were often harrowing, frustrating and cruel. The overwhelming feeling enveloping bystanders remained one of helplessness and, frequently, enduring trauma.
In 1971, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa, Russell Noyes, expanded on Heim’s earlier work by studying an even larger group of individuals facing death. What he uncovered was a pattern in three successive stages.
Noyes labelled the first stage Resistance, as this was characterised by recognition of danger, fear of death, struggle to save life and, finally, acceptance of death. The second phase he termed Life Review as the individual relived important past memories or experienced a condensed panoramic replay of his/her entire life. During the final stage, Transcendence, the experience tended to be one of a profoundly religious, mystical, even “cosmic” state.
The most common sensation is that of leaving the body. Many people have described how, in a comatose state or even after physical death, they observed themselves and the scene from a distance and heard doctors, nurses and relatives discuss their condition.
According the ancient texts, though, the deceased are not transported directly to their final destination. First they have to undergo a series of unusual adventures, or Deals and even trials. The soul may have to encounter and combat strange beings and travel through dangerous landscapes before attaining Divine Judgement.
This theme runs throughout Judaic, Moslem, Christian, Egyptian and even Zoroastrian traditions as well as in the Oriental religions of India, China, Japan and Tibet. Priests of Egyptian and Tibetan cultures especially shared a deep belief in the continuation of consciousness long after physical death and they developed elaborate rituals to ease the transition of the deceased to the Beyond.
In these cultures, as the death process occurs, prana is cut off from its thread-like connection at the navel and is freed from the shell of the physical body. The subtle body, which remains unchanged and which holds within it all the elements for a new life, then leaves the physical body. The visible manifestation of the exit of prana for all humans is bleeding/weeping eyes or nose, or open mouth or nose. The last gasp of life or the death throes, as it is sometimes called, is prana leaving the confines of the body.
As the great Victorian novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870) lay dying, those sitting at his bedside noticed that a large tear welled up from his right eye and trickled down his cheek as he breathed his last. Thus prana left his body.
Many Eastern teachings insist that if we accept death as part of life, then when death does come, we will accept it more easily. And this acceptance is critical to the journey the spiritual body, or soul, is now set to undertake.
The life of the soul
With the death of the body, the soul does not evaporate into nothingness but instead embarks on a great journey. This complex energy, the product of ten thousand lives, is clothed with many attributes or qualities the Buddhists call skandhas. The connection between limitless dimensions and universes is karma. In fact, life between birth and death is a veritable field of karma in which we sow, reap and sow again. Our physical body may wither, but our karma lives on.
Essentially, karma is the universal law of cause and effect and is the sum total of the experience you as an individual have created in a given life. Your karma remains the subtle force that shapes your life with every decision you ever make. Good deeds lead to rebirth in a higher state. Evil deeds may lead to rebirth as a slave or even as an animal.
There is no doubt that today Eastern teachings on death are the most widely known, but they are by no means unique. Books on dying such as the Tibetan Book of the Dead have their counterparts in Western cultural traditions. In the twilight years of the Middle Ages the Ars Morendi or The Art of Dying was in widespread use throughout Austria, Germany, France and Italy. The focus of the work was two-fold: to elaborate on the experience of dying and to provide concrete instructions for the dying person and their helpers during the last hours of mortal life.
Essential to “a good death” was said to be a courageous confrontation of death — avoidance of death and a reluctance to surrender to it were considered to be two of the major dangers facing the dying individual. In a direct and remarkable parallel to Buddhism, the impermanence of existence and the futility of worldly attachments are stressed throughout the work time and time again.
Compassion and dignity
Dying with dignity is accepting the truth of our lives. Even if we reach the stage (as Adam did) of being unable to feed ourselves, or speak or even toilet without assistance, we are still worthwhile. Our life is a gift from God and to the world.
This was something the Dalai Lama reminded us of during his trip to Australia in 2007. Having compassion for another’s suffering helps people to die with dignity by helping them to live intensely the final chapter of their lives. This is our gift to the dying and their final incredible gift to us.
Cautioning against “mercy killings”, His Holiness warned that ending a loved one’s life for convenience was not really helpful in the long run as the dying person would be compelled by karma to suffer the same fate all over again in another life. “It is better,” he told the Melbourne audience, “to die surrounded by love and compassion.”
There were exceptions, he stressed, but these were rare, such as when the entire family is suffering hardship keeping the loved one alive, for instance. Intentionally ending a life, even if it is a life of suffering and dependence, can have repercussions. Death by euthanasia, he cautioned, is never death with dignity.
The gift of death
A good life and a good death … our human cultures reverberate with the imagery of death regardless of contemporary fashion. The ancient Britons amazed their Roman overlords with their complete fearlessness of death and their staunch belief in reincarnation. North American Indians aspired to the Happy Hunting Ground, while Viking warriors were transported by the Valkyries, the fierce battle-maidens of Odin, the Norse god of war and death, to Valhalla, hall of the slain. There’s the Isle of Avalon, where King Arthur still sleeps, and, of course, the ultimate goal for many remains the pearly gates of Heaven, presided over by St Peter, complete with celestial keys.
When the great current of life ceases and the soul must ascend to another place, those left behind can feel lost, lonely and despairing. Death can cast a shadow over the living and it’s worth remembering the beautiful saying in the Jewish mystical text The Zohar” “There are palaces,” the text goes, “whose gates open only to tears. In the desert of the heart, let the healing fountain start.” By accepting the gift of death as a part of life, we can deepen our relationship with the divine.
Death is the true liberation of the soul.
Claire Porter has been a freelance investigative journalist for the past 30 years and has worked for newspapers and magazines throughout Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia.
