Applying Effort Before Death

[From a Morning Reflection, 2005]
One of the American monks in Thailand, Tan Paññāvuḍḍho, has just died. He had been spending the Rains Retreat at Ajahn Dtun’s monastery. Yesterday morning, he didn’t show up for alms round. A monk was sent to check on him, and he was found lifeless in the bathroom. It looked like he fainted while standing up, fell, and hit his head on the way down.

We remind ourselves of these concepts:
I am of the nature to age – I have not gone beyond aging; I am of the nature to sicken – I have not gone beyond sickness; I am of the nature to die – I have not gone beyond dying.

We may think these concepts apply to sometime in the future–somewhere else, not now–but that is not the case. We carry old age, sickness, and death with us all the time.

Something that is very mundane and we do all the time, such as getting up at night to go to the toilet – well, tonight may be the last time for us to do that. It’s always important to recollect and remember that, making sure we are using our time skillfully.

Tan Paññāvuḍḍho was a very diligent and sincere monk. He had a career track waiting for him in the world but chose not to take it. Instead, he became a monk, used his time skillfully, and put effort into his spiritual life.

However long we have to live, it is so important to put effort into that which is skillful, directing our effort toward the deathless. This can have an extraordinary benefit, not only for us, but for everyone else. The effort we put into disentangling ourselves from saṃsāra–cyclical rebirth–is of immense benefit. Saṃsāra keeps weaving its entangling web because of the inappropriate effort we make buying into it.

However, by looking at the realities of the human condition, we can apply appropriate effort to free ourselves from saṃsāra and do that which is of the most benefit for our lives.

This reflection by Luang Por Pasanno is from the book Beginning Our Day, Volume One, (pdf) pp. 127-128.