Mindfully Facing Disease and Death: Compassionate Advice from Early Buddhist Texts

by Anālayo

Praise for Analayo:

"Serious meditation students will benefit tremendously from the clarity of understanding that Venerable Analayo's efforts have achieved."—Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Happiness

This book provides a practical guide for those facing disease and death by helping them to access the ageless wisdom of the Buddha's teaching.

Disease and death are undeniably integral parts of human life. Yet when they manifest we are easily caught unprepared. To prepare for these, we need to learn how to skillfully face illness and passing away. A source of practical wisdom can be found in the early discourses that record the teachings given by the Buddha and his disciples.

Analayo's chief aim is to provide a collection of passages taken from the Buddha's early discourses that provide guidance for facing disease and death. He focuses on the theme of compassion, and is concerned with anukampa: compassion as the underlying motivation in altruistic action.

Analayo uses his own translations from the Chinese originals, presented here for the first time. Taken together with his practical commentary, we thereby gain a first-hand impression of what early Buddhism had to say about disease and death.

Analayo is a professor of Buddhist Studies at the Sri Lanka International Academy in Pallekele. He teaches at the Center for Buddhist Studies of the University of Hamburg and researches at the Dharma Drum Buddhist College in Taiwan.

Genres: Buddhism, Death, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Religion, History

350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Ven. Anālayo, born in 1962, was ordained a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka in 1995, completing his Ph.D. on satipaṭṭhāna at the University of Peradeniya in 2000. He is a contributor to the Encyclopaedia of Buddhism.

Reviews

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for a scholarly take on several core teachings from Early Buddhism on pain, illness, and death this is the book for you. It also works as a basic, terse survey of the core teachings of Buddhism through the lens of illness and death. Each chapter sets out a topic, presents a sutta, provides a discussion/application, and provides references to follow up on the finer points. It's a phenomenal undertaking. Yet, there were a few passages that really resonated for me on suffering. What was lacking was any deep sense that human beings were undertaking this practice in any kind of emotional way. The reader will have to bring that perspective with them. Therefore this is book for a more experienced practitioner.

[james · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book for advice on pain relief. I already meditate and I have a small foundational understanding in Buddhist literature, so the terms and suttas are not unfamiliar. What is new is having all of these specific discourses in one place and realizing again the goal of Buddhism is the relief of suffering, or liberation. Analayo places emphasis on mindfulness over other means of seeking relief from painful experiences. Those skilled in meditation may be able to cut off bodily sensation of pain through cessation, but this is still a secondary way to deal with pain. Mindfully acknowledging the pain, its arising and falling or increasing and decreasing, gives direct and undeluded knowledge which allows for the avoidance of an additional and unnecessary layer of psychological pain. Also discussed is the importance of recognizing the nature of the human body to be disposed to illness, sickness, decay and death. To be healthy is good and fine, but understand the body is constantly at risk or in danger. This is the reality of our lives. Analayo covers the Girimananda Sutta which lays down a very comprehensive ten step contemplation to nurture one back to good health. The whole work is generated out of compassion and though it may not heal you completely of what has made you sick, it offers much helpful advice to those seeking relief from what may be horrible and intractable pains.

[Roberta Paccione · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, informative, practical!

Mindfully Facing Disease and Death is not only for those facing disease and death at a moment in time. It is a practical guide that allows for the possibility in the here and now to “let go” and be with what is, to be at peace. Thank you Bhikkhu Analayo🙏

[Catherine YS · Rating 5 out of 5]

From impermanence to supreme letting go

This is an excellent book on mindfully facing disease and dying. I would recommend everyone to read this book and contemplate on its teaching when one is still relatively healthy so that one can be better prepared for an unexpected disease and dying experience. This book also helps one to live more fearlessly each and every day.

[Vishvapani · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent selection of sources from the Discourses including the Buddha's guidance on illness and death. Erudite, clear and serious.

[Carolyn]

made for great discussions with my meditation peeps

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know that disease and death are inevitable, yet I avoid it. While I sometimes discuss it with others about its inevitability, I know it is just conceptual knowledge full of platitudes including “all things are impermanent”, “don’t cling”.

However, deep down, I know I harbour a deep terror of disease and dying. On the physical level, I fear pain. At the social level, I fear indignity. At the existential level, I have a fear of disappearing into the unknown or being re-born in an unwholesome state. It is a terror that lurks under the surface of my daily life, and I am sure, even manifests unconsciously in my sleep. It is a deep unease that exists even when I am well and happy, and drives me to distract myself with mundane worries and tasks, or to seek enjoyment and pleasures to soothe myself and remove the terror temporarily.

Do you have this underlying terror too? *

The entire point of Buddha’s teachings is about the inevitability of suffering in existence, and how to liberate oneself from it. He said he has discovered the path to escape, and that if escape were not possible, he would not have taught so. But we have to walk that path ourselves, and not depend on someone else externally to do that for us. So sincere students and aspirants should listen attentively, practise diligently, and know directly.

With a recent loss of a dear pet who had been with me for close to 16 years, I realised that the years had just passed in the blink of an eye and that my dear cat is now just a memory and the times we had together is now just like a dream. So, it is with this loss and this suffering that I realise I need to double down on my own understanding and my own practise – and not to waste my time and my life.

Because if what Buddha taught was true, and possible, I would need also need to take his challenge to practise and test the teachings myself, over the gradual path that he advised. I have to walk it myself.

I am grateful to Bhikkhu Analayo for compiling the texts and elucidating for us its meaning for actual application and practise. And to Aiming Tu for being the driver for this book. It is essential reading for all practitioners and also for the curious – because death is the culmination of this life and our practise is towards this mountain that we all eventually face. All that we do, say and think about during out lifetime will certainly come to this question at our deathbeds – what was it all about?

What was it all about?

I will give a more detailed review of the actual book itself when I read it a second time. Suffice to say, that for now, I feel uplifted that disease and dying also has its unexpected enlightening moments. But I need to practise now in preparation, and also contemplate that life may end unexpectedly us at any moment.

While “letting go” can be a platitude if uttered thoughtlessly, it contains deep wisdom if we apply that mindset skillfully. This can be letting go of the unwholesome in our daily life - our cravings and ill-will, and replacing them with benevolance, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. Or it can be the more subtle and profound efforts of letting go of our sense of self and identity, and everything that makes up our sense of self including our body, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and consciousness.

It can be a scary exercise from my current standing point. Yet there have been so many noble ones that have walked the path before me. And to be able to have the opportunity to to walk the path of the Buddha and the arahants, the non-returners, the once-returners, and the stream-enterers – that thought gives me some courage that the path is not an untrodden one.

*When I later read Bhikkhu Analayo's book "Satipatthana: A Practise Guide", on the chapter on contemplation of death, he said that if you there are many studies under the topic of "Terror Management Theory" - of how humans come up with different ways to manage their existential fears.