***There is one particular episode in Buddhist scriptures that relates to this topic very closely. There was a woman named Gotami-tissa who was from a poor family and very skinny. Because of this she was looked down on by her husband's family, until that is she gave birth to a son at which point their contempt for her turned to respect. Unfortunately, a few years later, the boy died and she was beside herself with grief. So much so that she wandered from house to house, begging for medicine that would bring her dead son back to life. Of course, the householders told her that there was no medicine in the world that could bring a child back to life.

***In total desperation, she went to the Buddha to see what medicine he could provide. The Buddha told her to go to the city and to bring back a mustard seed from every household that had not experienced death. She thought that there was something in the mustard seeds she collected that would be able to bring her son back to life. But as she progressed first to one household and then to another she met with the same response. None of the households she visited were free from someone who had died. By the time she returned to the Buddha she had come to realize that death was ubiquitous and that what had happened to her had also happened to everyone else. There was, in fact, no cure for death but she herself had been cured of her grief.

***For Buddhism, therefore, death is a reality that should not be shied away from. It is a fact of life to be accepted. As he himself lay dying the Buddha talked about how all things are subject to decay and death. Impermanence is a key feature of life. On the other hand, life is precious and should be sustained through right living. The Buddha asks his followers to be aware of death, to accept the inherent impermanence of life and to use this as a motivation for right effort.

Buddha.....