to mindfulness of the three marks of existence: anitya,
duhkha,and anatman.
Meditation on pollution is similarly aimed at deep-
ening one’s acceptance of the reality of death, but in
this practice the point is driven home by actually go-
ing to look at decaying human corpses. As described
in the Suttanipata(202–203), when the practitioner
sees the corpse, he “sees the body as it (really) is” and
thinks, “As is this (body of mine), so is that (corpse);
as is that, so is this.” Statements like this express one
strain in Buddhist thought that regards the body as
essentially foul and not the locale of one’s identity. But
despite one’s proximity to corpses in various degrees
of decay—a remarkably bold concept considering
the contagious nature of pollution in Hinduism—
Buddhaghosa tells us that ultimately the meditator
comes away from this exercise feeling not angst but joy
because now that he has accepted the reality of death,
he knows he is on the path to defeat it. In Thailand
this meditation is often performed at morgues.
Belief that one’s state of mind at the moment of
death not only passively reflects but can actively in-
fluence what happens after death led to the corre-
sponding belief that the true purpose of all praxis is
preparation for that final moment. For example, the
Dantabhumi-suttapoints to this final “act of time”
(kalakriya) as something “tamed” or “untamed.”
In East Asia, a variation of death-mindfulness is the
use of death as an existential KOANin the CHAN
SCHOOL. This is apparent in the charismatic Chinese
teacher YANSHOU(904–975), who believed that suicide
“reciprocated the kindness of the dharma” if done with
the proper state of mind. He saw this as a way to ac-
tualize the perfection of giving (danaparamita) and
thereby attain enlightenment. Yanshou reflects Bud-
dhist ambivalence about suicide, manifesting the prin-
ciple that one’s life is only a tool that can be
manipulated or even given away when necessary.
Death also shows up prominently in the rhetoric of
Japanese Zen during the Tokugawa period (1603–
1868). Suzuki Shosan (1579–1655), for example, was
motivated to pursue Zen practice by an obsession with
death, and he felt grateful to death for having deep-
ened his practice. The great Rinzai teacher HAKUIN
EKAKU(1686–1768) is famous for teaching the imper-
ative of an explosive spiritual breakthrough he called
the “great death.” In a similar vein, Shido Bunan
(1603–1676) wrote:
Die while alive, and be completely dead,
Then do whatever you will, all is good.About which the modern Zen master Shibayama
Zenkei (1894–1974) comments, “The aim of Zen train-
ing is to die while alive, that is, to actually become the
self of no-mind, and no-form, and then to revive as
the True Self of no-mind and no-form” (p. 46). In this
form of spiritual death, one’s known identity is dis-
solved, rather abruptly according to Hakuin, yielding
a new, more genuine self untainted by discursive, judg-
mental thinking and totally free to think and act as one
pleases.Memorializing the death of the Buddha
The Mahaparinibbana-sutta (DN 2:140–142) de-
scribes in some detail the circumstances of the Bud-
dha’s passing, how he viewed his upcoming death, and
how his body was treated afterward. Despite his ad-
monition against attaching value to his corpse—
“What is there in seeing this wretched body? Whoever
sees dharma, sees me.”—the Buddha instructed his at-
tendant ANANDAto give him a funeral like a “king of
kings,” explained as wrapping the body in five hun-
dred layers of cloth, placing it inside an iron vessel,
and then burning it on a funeral pyre. He also autho-
rized the building of one STUPAat a crossroads to
house his remains, extolling the welfare it would bring
believers who visited and paid their respects. But even
this bow to relic worship was not enough: There was
such a clamoring for his s ́arlra(relics) by the eight
kings of the region that all were given portions after
the cremation, leading initially to the construction of
eight stupas containing them, with two more later
erected that enshrined the bowl used to collect the
relics and the ashes from the pyre. The sutra also
promises rebirth in heaven for anyone who makes PIL-
GRIMAGE “with hearts of reverence” to four sites
memorializing the Buddha’s historical presence—
where he was born, achieved enlightenment, delivered
his first sermon, and passed away.
The sutra is probably only canonizing pilgrimage
routes that began immediately after the Buddha’s
death. Stupa worship increased during the third cen-
tury B.C.E. under King AS ́OKA, who is said to have
opened up the original ten stupas and distributed the
relics therein among eighty-four thousand new stupas
built throughout the land. Images of the Buddha also
served as public memorials to the founder after his
death, though they appear in mass quantities some-
what later. Their similarity to stupas in this regard can
be seen in the fact that both often contain relics, sym-
bols of their animation. Stupas and images thus be-
came symbols of the corporeal presence of the BuddhaDEATH