​Introducing Buddhist Perspectives on Life and Death, CMC Invites Ven. Chang Jer to Speak on the Healing Power of the Dharma

On March 31^st, from 10am to 3:30pm EST, Chan Meditation Center (CMC) hosted the in-person workshop "Buddhist Perspectives on Life and Death - The Healing Power of the Dharma" with Venerable Chang Jer (常哲法師), Director of Dharma Drum Mountain Social Care Department. Nearly 60 people participated in the workshop, where they learn to view life and death from Buddhist perspectives. The workshop specifically explored the meaning and purpose of life, as well as the proactive attitude towards death – particularly in the face of aging, illness to the end-of-life stage – in order to be able to "look at life and death with joy, and say goodbye with peace in mind."

Ven. Chang Jer introduced the origins of deathbed chanting aid and the end-of-life care in Buddhist scriptures, and explained the categories, levels, and stages of arising and perishing, or life and death. The Venerable pointed out that "the matter of life and death is momentous, and impermanence happens swiftly." According to the right view of Buddhism, all physical and mental phenomena correspond to "impermanence, no-self, and emptiness." Within the briefest measure of time, countless phenomena are arising and perishing, and the changes of "arising, abiding, changing, and extinction of all existences" occur all the time. If we can understand the concept of "impermanence" and not forget that everyone has a pure and equal Buddha nature, our attachment to the body will diminish, and we will be able to better help ourselves and others to overcome the fear of illness and death.


The Venerable encourages everyone to believe in the principle of karmic causality, make good use of our own physical body coming from our parents, practice wholesome deeds, and strengthen our faith in the Three Jewels of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. He also hoped that everyone would diligently cultivate virtuous karmic roots by continuing to immerse ourselves in learning Buddhadharma, reading the teachings of patriarchs and established masters in order to learn from the virtues of the saints and sages, and find a suitable Dharma approach for themselves, such as reciting the buddha's name, mantras, or sutras. With unremitting practice, we can improve our cultivation of meditation (śamatha, cessation) and wisdom (vipaśyanā, contemplation). For example, we can recite the six-syllable "Namo Amitabha" to dispel our illusory thoughts and vexations, and transfer the merit to the Western World of Ultimate Bliss with a vow to be reborn there. If we proactively prepare ourselves for death, we can be free from stress and panic despite all the phenomena at the end of our lives, and thereby face death at ease without obscuration.


Jeng Dai-ming (鄭黛明), a senior member of the End-of-Life Chanting Group, noted that, from the stories shared by the Venerable, she felt that it is not easy to raise right mindfulness at the end of life. She also realized that the Buddhist practice is not only about "seeking blessings," but also involves cultivating meditation and wisdom, followed by the vow to extensively deliver sentient beings for the sake of benefiting self and others. She mentioned that, while sharing Buddhadharma with our friends and relatives, we should also remind them of the correct attitude for Buddhist practice. It can help them to maintain the confidence and motivation while practicing the methods, so that they can truly benefit from Buddhadharma.

Jeng Huai-chi (鄭淮芝), a senior volunteer at CMC, shared that she was also learning to let go of her attachments step by step in her work as a volunteer in end-of-life care and chanting aid. She said that the Venerable's explanations were thorough, comprehensive, and practical. She hoped that CMC would organize similar courses in the future to help more people better face and deal with the momentous matter of life and death.


Original text written in Chinese by Yang Heng (楊恆)
Photos provided by Chan Meditation Center
Translation: Siang-ling Li
Editing: Keith Brown, YKL