The Book of Joy

are creatures will ever fathom the infinitude that is God, heaven is going
to be forever a place of new discovery.” The Archbishop’s eyes were
transfixed, his gaze distant. “I would say, ‘Oh, God, you’re so beautiful.’
And I will call, I will call, ‘Come, come and see,’ and this other one will
say, ‘Have you seen just how beautiful God is?’”
The Archbishop fell silent.
Perhaps death and the fear of death is truly the greatest challenge to
joy. Well, when we are dead, it does not really matter, but it is the fear of
its approaching, of the suffering that often precedes it, and ultimately the
fear of the oblivion and the loss of our personhood that frighten us. Many
psychologists say that the fear of death lies behind all other fears, and
many historians of religion argue that religion arose to try to solve the
mystery of death. Modern life keeps that fear at bay, as we don’t interact
with the very old or the very sick, and illness, frailty, and death get
tucked away behind institutional walls from our everyday lives.
After a few moments the Dalai Lama began speaking.
“I think, for thousands of years, the human mind has been curious
about death, and many traditions have many ideas and concepts of what
will happen next. Heaven, as you mentioned, is a beautiful understanding.
Shintoism in Japan also has the idea that after death you automatically go
to heaven where all your ancestors are living.
“When many people think about death, they are very, very afraid.
Usually I tell them that you should accept that death is part of our life.
There’s a beginning and there’s an end, as you mentioned. So once we
accept that it is normal and that sooner or later it will come, our attitude
changes. Some people are embarrassed when asked about their age or
pretend that they are still young. This is silly—deceiving oneself. We
should be realistic.”
“Yes, yes,” the Archbishop agreed.
“If a person is sick,” the Dalai Lama said, “it is much better to accept
that you have some kind of illness and get medical treatment, rather than
saying nothing is wrong and deceiving yourself.”
While the Archbishop was in Dharamsala we had arranged for him to
see Yeshi Dhonden, one of the Dalai Lama’s doctors. Rachel is an