That is not much time left

“We should continuously think like we may one day see a doctor and be diagnosed with a fatal illness with not much time left.”

“…As for us, we should be mindful of death constantly, for if the doctors were to diagnose us with a fatal illness leaving us with no more than three months of life, what would we do? Would we still seek money, possessions, fortune, status, fame, or pleasure through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body, or would we seek a refuge for our mind?

Without a refuge for our mind, when the body is dying, our mind will be greatly painful and tormented. One who knows that death approaches and not much time remains will no longer have any desire to seek money, worldly possessions, or pleasure through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body but will only desire a refuge and happiness for the mind.

We should continuously think like we may one day see a doctor and be diagnosed with a fatal illness with not much time left. Thinking like this, we will not waste time seeking things that are of no value to the mind, but will seek a true refuge. We will then be totally committed to making merit, maintaining our virtue wholeheartedly, practising meditation wholeheartedly, and listening and practising Dhamma wholeheartedly.

For we know that doing this will be a refuge for the mind that can enable us to accept the death of our body. This is something we ought to deeply contemplate. If we do not reflect and contemplate old age, sickness, pain, and death, we will forget and be distracted by all kinds of issues. Though we know that birth is followed by old age, sickness, and death, in our forgetfulness it is like we do not grow old, become sick, or die.

We will then be forgetful and immersed in activities that do not benefit our mind or provide a refuge for our mind. When the time comes to face the reality of death, we will not have a refuge. We will not have enough time to build a refuge for our mind. Then we will end up living with mental pain and torment. We will be unable to eat or sleep; we won’t know what we should do.

Thus we should recollect and reflect on the nature of old age, sickness, pain, and death continuously to benefit ourselves through merit making by giving, nurturing our virtue, meditating, and listening to and practising Dhamma. Do what you are doing today more and more regularly. Don’t come just once or twice over a long interval because our practice is just like filling a barrel with water.

If we fill the barrel with a cup just once or twice over a long interval of time, the barrel will not be full. If we don’t meditate regularly, but only once or twice, we cannot build up a refuge that will stay with our mind 100%. At best, what we get is only bits and pieces…”

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto