Hearing the Dharma at the End of Life and Practicing Regularly

Original Chinese text by Prof. Aming Tu (杜正民, Former Vice President of Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts)

As depicted in the Sutra 1023 of the Saṃyukta-āgama, Venerable Phagguna was suffering from a serious illness at Mṛgāramātuḥ prāsāda in Eastern Park and might not have much time left. When Ānanda found out about it, he informed the Buddha and asked him to comfort Phagguna. After meditating that afternoon, the Buddha visited Phagguna in Eastern Park and imparted the Dharma to him.

The sutra often encapsulates the process of the Budda's Dharma talk with the following four words: "Inspiration, Teaching, Benefit, and Joy." This means to expound the Dharma, give instructions, encourage by helping gain benefit, and uplift by rejoicing in virtuous conduct. Shortly after the Buddha's departure, Phagguna passed away. At the time of his death, his faculties indicated that he passed away joyfully; his appearance was clean and clear, and his skin was bright and fair.

After making offerings to Phagguna's relics, Ānanda returned to the Buddha. Curious, Ānanda asked, "Bhagavān! At the time of Venerable Phagguna's death, his faculties indicated that he passed away in joy; his appearance was clean and clear, and his skin was bright and fair. What is the destiny of his rebirth? What will happen to him in the afterlife?" Ānanda was not alone, since all of us are curious about the world after death. However, instead of answering his question directly, the Buddha delivered a Dharma talk.

The Buddha depicted three teaching scenarios for each of the two kinds of bhikkhus: those whose mind is not yet freed from the five lower fetters before they become ill, and those whose mind is freed from the five lower fetters before they fall ill.


Hearing the Dharma at the End of Life is of Utmost Importance

If there is a bhikkhu who is not ill and has not yet freed his mind from the five lower fetters, which are the five fetters in the desire realm—sensual desire (kāmacchando), ill will (vyāpādo or byāpādo), belief in a self (sakkāya-diṭṭhi), attachment to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāsa), and doubt or uncertainty about realities (vicikicchā)—then, when he becomes so ill that the disharmony of his body and mind makes his vitality feeble, he may face the following three scenarios:

1. If a bhikkhu hears the teachings and Dharma talks of a master, his mind can be freed from the five lower fetters. This is known as "the benefit of hearing a master's teachings."

2. If no master is available to impart the Dharma, but erudite practitioners or those who cultivate pure practices (brahmacaryā) expound the Dharma, then the bhikkhu’s mind can be freed from the five lower fetters after hearing their teachings. This is known as "the benefit of hearing the Dharma talk of well-versed practitioners."

3. Even without the opportunity to meet a great master or virtuous practitioner, a bhikkhu who attentively contemplates and observes the teachings he has learned and practiced throughout his life can free his mind from the five lower fetters. This is known as "the benefit of contemplating and observing all the Dharma that one has ever learned in life."

The Buddha mentioned three sources of benefit from hearing the Dharma at the end of life: hearing a master's teachings, hearing Dharma talks from well-versed practitioners, and contemplating and observing the Dharma one has learned in life. Regardless of who imparts the Dharma, as long as one hears it and puts it into practice, the result is the same—freeing the mind from the five lower fetters.

Therefore, when seriously ill or at the end of our life, it's not necessary to hear the Buddha or a master impart the Dharma in person. As long as there is a virtuous friend (kalyana-mitra), or even without anyone giving a Dharma talk, we can still be our own virtuous friend. Through this story, the Buddha encourages us to cultivate the habit of contemplating and observing in solitude, so that we have the mental strength to practice at the end of our life.

Hence, the most important aspect of end-of-life care is to offer Dharma talks. For those who have been practicing a specific Dharma method regularly over a long period, we should guide them in applying their method. For those who have not yet engaged with Buddhist practice, we should help them calm their minds.


Nurturing the View of Equality

The other kind of bhikkhus is "those whose minds have already been freed from the five lower fetters before falling ill." This means that, while their minds are liberated from the five lower fetters prior to illness, they have not yet attained "the supreme liberation of the elimination of craving, the liberated mind that gives rise to no defilements (āsrava)." When they become so ill that the disharmony of their body and mind render their vitality feeble, they may face the following three scenarios:

1. If they can be taught and instructed in the Dharma by a master, they will attain the supreme liberation of the elimination of craving, which gives rise to no defilements, and thus be freed from desires. This is known as "the benefit of hearing a master's teachings."

2. If no master is available to impart the Dharma, but erudite practitioners or those who cultivate pure practices (brahmacaryā) expound the Dharma, then the bhikkhu can still attain the supreme liberation of the elimination of craving, which gives rise to no defilements, and be freed from desires. This is known as "the benefit of hearing the Dharma talk of well-versed practitioners."

3. Even without the opportunity to meet a great master or virtuous practitioner, a bhikkhu who attentively contemplates and observes the teachings he has learned and practiced throughout his life can still attain the supreme liberation of the elimination of craving, which gives rise to no defilements, and be freed from desires. This is known as "the benefit of contemplating and observing the Dharma that one has learned in life."

The "supreme liberation of the elimination of craving, which gives rise to no defilements," refers to being freed from five higher fetters—the five afflictions in the form realm and the formless realm: lust for material existence and material rebirth (rūparāgo), lust for immaterial existence and rebirth in a formless realm (arūparāgo), ignorance (avijjā), conceit (māna), and restlessness (uddhacca). This might sound a bit inconceivable—how can a sick person achieve such an accomplishment? There is a huge gap between being freed from the five lower fetters and being freed from the five higher fetters, the latter of which are especially difficult to attain. Perhaps this is because we usually have too many random thoughts. However, when we are ill, we don't have much energy to engage with external objects and random thoughts. In such a moment, if we have virtuous friends to guide us properly, we can indeed attain the supreme liberation of the elimination of craving, which gives rise to no defilements, and thereby be freed from desires!

What the Buddha emphasizes in this sutra is the view of equality: it is equally beneficial to be guided by a Buddha or a non-Buddha. We should even make practicing a habit in life, without necessarily relying on others. (Excerpted from Healing through Hearing the Dharma, 法的療癒)


 


Resource: Issue 452 of Humanity Magazine (April 2021), Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation
Translation: Li Siang-ling
Editing: Keith Brown, Ven. Yan Siang (演香法師)