We have already spoken these phrases or heard from friends and relatives at some point in our lives. It even sounds natural, so many times we've heard these and other phrases. But we need to deal with this sometimes complicated issue more naturally.
We didn't come into this world for no reason. We are all born with a mission to fulfill, a goal to be accomplished that only we discover along our journey. And death is nothing more than the conclusion of this journey. The pain of loss is natural, once we get attached to people and the longing will be a fact, but what we need to try to understand is that our time is limited. Our body, time or another, will become more and more worn out, and then we will die. The most important thing is the actions we take while alive, how many achievements, how much love and kindness we leave for people.
Usually the Western religions view of death explains that when we die, we go to another existential plane, called heaven or hell. On the other hand, Eastern religions such as Buddhism hold the view that death is the next step in the mission. The body that inhabits life has its “expiration date”, however life is infinite.
The experience of losing a loved one drives us to gain a deeper understanding of life. Josei Toda, the second president of the Soka Gakkai, used to talk about the deep sadness he felt when he lost his daughter. She had died a few years before he converted to Buddhism. He remembered how she had cried all night holding that cold body in her arms:
The day my daughter died was the saddest day of my life. I thought to myself, 'What if my wife dies?' It made me shed tears. Then she really passed away. Later, I thought about what I would do if my mother died. I was certainly very attached to my mother. Reflecting more deeply on the events, I shuddered at the thought of my own death.
While I was in prison during the war, I spent some time reading the Lotus Sutra, and one day, suddenly, I got understanding. I had finally found the answer. It took me more than twenty years to resolve the issue of death. I had shed tears all night over the death of my daughter, I shuddered to witness my wife's death and to think that I, too, would die. It was because I was able to finally solve this mystery that I became the president of the Soka Gakkai.
For humans, the fear of death is natural. Even President Toda was shaken by death. It is impossible for anyone not to have shuddered in the face of death, or to be completely indifferent to life or death. The only way is to work hard to develop that unshakable state of life.
Everyone fears and is saddened by death. This is natural. However, as we strive to overcome the pain and sadness caused by death, we become more aware of the dignity of life and develop a sense of sharing the sufferings of others as if they were our own.
This thought brings us comfort in knowing that our mission is great while we are alive and that the most important thing is what we leave as a legacy for people.
Therefore, live each day as if it were your last, with the feeling full of gratitude and determination, we learn that death is only a brief rest.
- Written by Bruno Melo of the Eu Sem Fronteiras Team.
