Gomchen Lamrim review: Two meditations on death

• The purpose of meditating on death
• The nine-point death meditation
• Imagining our own death
• Reflecting on our future lives and the two kinds of rebirth

Gomchen Lamrim 22 Review: Meditation on death (download)

Contemplation points

1. Go through the 9-point death meditation. What is the wisdom fear that we should have coming out of the death meditation? How does this wisdom fear act as an antidote to the usual fears we have about death?
2. What kinds of excuses do you come up with for putting off spiritual practice?
3. What kinds of negative karma have you created in relation to possessions, friends and relatives, and your own body that you will carry with you at the time of death? Take time to purify these things and determine to abandon the eight worldly concerns.
4. Go through the points of the meditation on imagining your own death. Having meditated in this way, what do you want to do with the time you have left? What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
5. His Holiness the Dalai Lama says that the state of our mind as we approach death is very important as it steers the course of our rebirth. With this in mind, in addition to the fact that we do not know when we will die, how do you want to direct your mind in each moment? Is anger or jealousy or greed worth it if you could die in the next moment?
6. Why is it important to consider the possibility of being born in a lower realm? How does this benefit our practice?