Buddhist Reflections on Death

Summary

This is an audiobook of Wheel Publications No. 102/103 Buddhist Reflections on Death by V. F. Gunaratne, narrated by Jonathan Nelson. 

"To most of us, at some moment or another, the spectacle of death must have given rise to the deepest of thoughts and profoundest of questions. What is life worth, if able bodies that once performed great deeds now lie flat and cold, senseless and lifeless? What is life worth, if eyes that once sparkled with joy, eyes that once beamed with love are now closed forever, bereft of movement, bereft of life? Thoughts such as these are not to be repressed. It is just these inquiring thoughts, if wisely pursued, that will ultimately unfold the potentialities inherent in the human mind to receive the highest truths.

"According to the Buddhist way of thinking, death, far from being a subject to be shunned and avoided, is the key that unlocks the seeming mystery of life. It is by understanding death that we understand life; for death is part of the process of life in the larger sense. In another sense, life and death are two ends of the same process and if you understand one end of the process, you also understand the other. Hence, by understanding the purpose of death we also understand the purpose of life."

—V.F. Gunaratne

"Buddhist Reflections on Death" is in Volume 8 of The Collected Wheel Publications published by Pariyatti (https://store.pariyatti.org/collected-wheel-publications-bpe) and as a free eBook from the BPS website (https://www.bps.lk/library-search-select.php?id=wh102).