Re: About this thing called Death...

"Death is our eternal companion. It is always to our left, an arm's length behind us. Death is the only wise adviser that a warrior has..."

Death is normally thought to be against life... for this reason death is thought to happen at some time in the distant future. Because of placing death in the distant future, one can avoid thinking about it. But then life is taken for granted. In this way one avoids death but also misses life as well.  And death always happens when one least expects it. It always happens when one is in the middle of doing something, with so many things yet to do...yet to accomplish. It comes when you still have many strings left untied. It always comes in this present moment. 

Death is not an enemy, it is a friend. If one believes death is opposed to life, then one is not only afraid of death but is afraid of living life as well.  Death in fact is as close to you as your very breath. With birth comes the first in-breath. At the very end of life goes the very last out-breath. In between birth and death one goes breathing... goes on dying to one's past and being born again to each new moment. With each in-breath, another small birth... and with each out-breath, dying to that which has just moved into the past.  From infancy one dies and is born into childhood, from childhood one again dies and born again into youth... from youth dying and born again into adolescence... dying and born into adulthood... then into parenthood... and then again born into old age.

Death is with us at every moment. Becoming aware of this, one has the opportunity to live a more full life.