Death Meditation

Imagine you are going to die tonight, will you regret or will you take joy in what you have achieved so far in your life? According to the traditional Tibetan wisdom, there is one thing for sure. That is, we are all going to die, and we cannot know when we are going to die. Some people are so unprepared to death so that when the time comes, they panic. I think this same kind of feeling is also true in other things we do in life. For example, my time at Yale is going to end soon, and I am wondering whether I will be prepared to leave this place or not.

I always feel like, we are always preparing, but at the end of a major period of life, we are still very unprepared. I am wondering, now reflecting on my past 23 years of life, have I really got something meaningful?

I think in order for us not to have regret when something comes to an end, the best thing to do is to constantly keep the ending in mind and by doing so try to motivate us to do meaningful things everyday and every moment. Or to put it more practically, live in the presence, the now, and be always vigilant in whatever we are doing. Or like my father always tells me, "focus on the process."