Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic EvolutionSM
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Death Avoid the nails! (According to Jung Chang, in her book Wild Swans, "Avoid the nails!" was a Chinese command uttered by the oldest son while kneeling by the side of a parent's coffin. Tradition held that if this was not done, the dead person would be hurt by the nails...) |
"'Yes,' he said softly after a long pause. 'One of us here has to change, and fast. One of us here has to learn again that death is the hunter, and that it is always to one's left. One of us here has to ask death's advice and drop the cursed pettiness that belongs to men that live their lives as if death will never tap them.'"
- don Jaun to Carlos Castaneda in Journey to Ixtlan
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"Clearheaded people need to come to terms with reality, even when it is harsh, and if death is the end of the line for all of us, then we need to face that fact and live our lives accordingly."
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I beg to urge you, everyone: life-and-death is a grave matter, all things pass quickly away; each of us must be completely alert: never neglectful, never indulgent. Evening message, Daily Zen Sutras, Diamond Sangha, Honolulu and Haiku, Hawai'i |
"There is nothing you can hold onto, so man, let go..." - Alan Watts in his talk, The Journey from India (#6) |
"..., in the field of medicine, it has become possible to prolong life in cases which just a few years ago would have been hopeless. This can, of course, be a source of great joy. But quite often, there arise complicated and very delicate questions concerning the limits of care. I think that there can be no general rule in respect to this. Rather, there is likely to be a multiplicity of competing considerations, which we must assess in the light of reason and compassion. When it becomes necessary to make a difficult decision on behalf of a patient, we must take into account all the various different elements. These will, of course, be different in each case. For example, if we prolong the life of a person who is critically ill but whose mind remains lucid, we give that person the opportunity to think and feel in a way that only a human being can. On the other hand, we must consider whether in doing so they will experience great physical and mental suffering as a result of extreme measures taken to keep them alive. This in itself is not an overriding factor, however. As someone who believes in the continuation of consciousness after the death of the body, I would argue that it is much better to have pain with this human body. At least we can benefit from others' care whereas, if we choose to die, we may find that we have to endure suffering in some other form."If the patient is not conscious and therefore unable to participate in the decision-making process, that is yet another problem. And on top of everything, there may be the wishes of the family to take into account, along with the immense problems that prolonged care can cause them and others. For example, it may be that in order to continue to support one life, valuable funds are kept from projects which would benefit many others. If there is a general principle, I think it is simply that we recognize the supreme preciousness of life and try to ensure that when the time comes, the dying person departs as serenely and peacefully as possible."
- His Holiness The Dalai Lama, in his book Ethics for the New Millennium, pp. 154-155
"... primal peoples usually aren't very interested in life after death. This life is sufficiently full to hold their attention."- Christoph Manes
Nerthus supplement to the Earth First! Journal
May 1, 1988 (Paganism as Resistance) p. 22.
"It is this sadness of wasted life which probably he will be aware of only at the moment of his death - and then it will be too late."- J. Krishnamurti
The Second Penguin Krishnamurti Reader p. 127
"The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."- Edward Abbey
A Voice Crying in the Wilderness, p. 36
"Ed had not been feeling too well and had wanted to talk to the guy who was our doctor. And shortly thereafter, within 15 or 20 minutes, he actually keeled over right on the floor so Clarke and I loaded him into the truck and took him off to the hospital. The next day Ed was diagnosed as having pancreatic cancer and he turned to me and said, 'Well Jack, I guess I won't have to floss anymore.'"- Jack Loeffler from the documentary [Note: Although Abbey actually died shortly after pancreatic cancer was a misdiagnosis...]
Edward Abbey: A Voice in the Wilderness
"Well then, as I said at the beginning, if a man has trained himself throughout his life to live in a state as close as possible to death, would it not be ridiculous for him to be distressed when death comes to him?""So if you see anyone distressed at the prospect of dying, said Socrates, it will be proof enough that he is a lover not of wisdom but of the body. As a matter of fact, I suppose he is also a lover of wealth and reputation--one or the other, or both."
- Plato Phaedo
All our times have come
Here but now they're gone
Seasons don't fear the reaper
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain
We can be like they are
- Blue Oyster Cult
"Ordinary people seem not to realize that those who really apply themselves in the right way to philosophy are directly and of their own accord preparing themselves for dying and death."
- Plato
The Last Days of Socrates, p. 107
We all have different ideas about death. And, in my best estimation that's all they are - ideas about an afterlife that don't have a lot evidence to back them up. I have my own ideas, too, and decided to create this entry a few days after cancer surgery while the topic was still big (huge!) on my mind. Not only for the obvious reasons but also because of my half dozen or so experiences under anesthesia for that operation and a few others throughout my life.Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of anesthesia and will easily agree to it anytime my doctor suggests its need. However, as I kind of explain on the aforementioned cancer page, anesthesia is about the closest I believe I've ever come to what it's like being dead. When I was really young, about five years old, I had my first experience when my tonsils were removed. Back then my anesthesia experience started out with an interesting dream about my family sitting around a slowly spinning kitchen table. The spinning speed of everyone, their chairs, and the table increased until I completely "blacked" out. I kind of like this memory mostly because it's so innocent and "untainted" - it was at a time when I was extremely young and without much knowledge of the bigger world other than a Christian upbringing...
In contrast, at age 50 during cancer surgery, I took a few deep breaths through the mask they provided and I didn't even know I was "going under" or being "knocked out" - there was absolutely no consciousness, sense of life, or even dreaming. It wasn't until I awoke, a few hours later, that I even knew I had succumbed to the anesthesiologist's craft. I had no memory of what had happened nor any sense having been "away" or dreaming or anything - there was simply nothing. Of course I recognize that memory agents were used, to wipe out any bit of consciousness that may have lingered, but there's still a certain innocence in this as well in that there is no memory of anything other than absolute "nothingness."
So, I'm pretty convinced that's what death and the "afterlife" is going to be like - a lot of nothing for eternity. Not bad, really - I think I can deal with it (or, more than likely, none of us will have a choice in the matter!). Either way, it's not my intent to convert you or make you believe differently than you already do now. I know there are tons of "near death" and "afterlife" experiences out there but I remain skeptical. Anyway, most of us will "know" soon enough as death awaits us just a few decades away, at most...
- Roger J. Wendell
Golden, Colorado
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Once upon a time there was a conquering army going through villages, killing and pillaging as it went. The soldiers caused
terror in the hearts of the people in the countryside, and were especially harsh with the monks they found in the monasteries, not only humiliating them but often subjecting them to terrible physical torture.
There was one particularly harsh army captain who was infamous for his cruelty, and when he arrived in a certain town, he asked his adjutant for a report about the people who lived there. His inferior reported: All the people are very frightened of you and are bowing down to you." This gave the captain great pleasure, of course. Then the adjutant continued, "In the local monastery all the monks have fled to the mountains in terror. Except for one monk." Hearing this, the captain became furious and rushed to the monastery in search of the monk who dare to defy him. When he pushed open the gates, there in the middle of the courtyard stood the monk, watching him without fear. The captain walked up to him and asked in his haughtiest voice, "Don't you know who I am? Why, I could take my sword and run it through your belly without blinking an eye!" "And don't you know who I am?" replied the monk, gently. "I could have your sword run through my belly without blinking an eye." It is said that the captain, recognizing the greater truth of the moment, sheathed his sword, bowed, and left." - excerpt from Ram Dass' book, Still Here |
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 Dublin General Post Office |
Cast a cold Eye on Life, on Death. Horseman, pass by!
W. B. Yeats |
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of powe'r, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Await alike the inevitable hour: The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
- from the ninth stanza of Gray's |
Definitions:
Miscellaneous Death:
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"O'Malley is dead and O'Grady don't know it, O'Grady is dead and O'Malley don't know it, They're both of 'em dead and in the same bed And neither one knows that the other one's dead." |
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