Life & Death
An awareness and understanding of death raises our state of life. When we are cognizant of the reality and inevitability of death we begin to seek the eternal, and become determined to make the most valuable use of each moment of life.
[The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra]
Birth, aging, sickness and death—these are the inescapable sufferings of life. They are the most pressing issues of life and the eternal questions facing humanity. . . . How can we live this impermanent, ever-changing life that transforms it into a life of enduring, positive value—a life characterized by the four noble virtues of eternity, happiness, true self and purity? This was the starting point of the Buddha’s spiritual quest, and it remains the essential challenge posed by Buddhism.
[Conversation series, “Discussions on Life and Death,” Seikyo Shimbun, Nov. 26, 2005]
Buddhism teaches that the four sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death are an inescapable part of life. The crucial thing is not to be defeated by them.
[Speech at Headquarters Leaders Meeting, Tokyo, Jan. 6, 2007]
Cycles of life and death can be likened to the alternating periods of sleeping and wakefulness. We can understand death as a state in which, just as sleep prepares us for the next day’s activities, we rest and replenish ourselves for new life. Viewed in this light, death is not to be reviled, but should be acknowledged, with life, as a blessing to be appreciated.
[Lecture at Harvard University, Cambridge, USA, Sep. 24, 1993]
Death inevitably comes to each of us. Whether it is a time of inner dignity and honor or a pitiful demise is completely reliant on how we live our lives right now, today. In that sense, the “moment of death” truly exists in the present.
[The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra]
From the standpoint of eternity, there is hardly any difference between a “long” and a “short” life. Therefore, it’s not whether one’s life is long or short, but how one lives that is important. It is what we accomplish, the degree to which we develop our state of life, the number of people we help become happy―that is what matters.
[The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra]
The experience of losing a loved one impels us toward a deeper understanding of life. Everyone fears and is saddened by death. That is natural. But by struggling to overcome the pain and sadness that accompanies death, we become sharply aware of the dignity and preciousness of life and develop the compassion to share the sufferings of others as our own.
[The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra]
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