Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

Teacher:
Even though few of us talk about it, nearly every rational person
fears death. This precept is worth trying, yet most people do not
even see their own fear of death as a real fear. This is because we
push all thoughts of death off into some dark corner in the back of
our minds. And why should we not? Most people have colored the
idea of what happens when we die with ideas that are quite
monstrous! Very often, we do not even allow ourselves to admit just
how horrible our concept of what happens at death really is.
Take for example those who believe in reincarnation. You will be
reborn into another life where you will receive the rewards or
punishments for your actions in this life. It sounds well and good on
the surface, but every person reading this knows that they have
gotten away with some truly awful stuff. Don’t lie, you know you
have... Every adult reading this was once a teen and teens take

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many actions for which they give very little forethought about
possible consequences. When these consequences do not turn up,
they know that they got away with something. In this sense, the
thought of a cosmic reckoning can be a nightmare!
Or, maybe you believe in heaven and hell... This belief contains an
understanding that upon your personal death, you will stand before
the Supreme Being, God, and you will be judged for your actions in
this life. If you were good, you will be allowed to enter heaven, and if
you were not, you will be sent to a place where you will be punished
forever and always. And once again the understanding that we have
gotten away with all but murder in this life sends chills down our
spine when we pause to consider the divine judgment that awaits us.
Still others believe that nothing happens at all. We die, we’re buried,
and our bodies become worm-food. Many people envision that idea
as being shut in a box forever and ever, while others might see it
akin to falling asleep and never ever waking up. That thought gives
us the heebie-jeebies.
In this space, it is not my intent to go into which idea is correct, or
even which one I subscribe to. I merely wished only to illustrate
some of the ideas which give people their fears about death. Clearly
there are more than the three I just covered…
Now to address this precept.
Fearing death, to a practical person, is a waste of energy.
You are going to die. I am going to die. Everyone you know is going
to die. Everyone you hear about on the news is going to die. Your
favorite celebrities and favorite people and favorite pets are all going
to die. Death is a simple, unpleasant, and undeniable fact that goes
with the reality of living. Just as tall and short, up and down, and big
and small contrast one another, the same applies to life and death.
Most people get the chance to never really think much about their
own mortality. They live their life with the thought of dying as
something that they push to the back of their minds, even to the
point of forestalling estate planning or avoiding making a will. This

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allows them to place a greater importance on the trivialities of life.
But in many cases it also limits the experiences of life.
Others have had moments where they knew they were about to die,
they knew there was no way out, this was the end, and in many of
these cases, ended up with a moment of accepting their own
mortality and ultimate demise without consideration of what might
happen after the actual event of death. For these people, should
they end up not dying in that moment, nothing is ever the same after.
They live much more fully and much more happily from that point on.
There is that deep and real understanding that all of this will end.
They understand at their very core that no amount of angst or denial
or fear or sheltering will change that. And this understanding
changes you at an incredibly deep level.
Once you stare death in the eye, you understand in a way that most
other people do not that this life only goes on for a little while and
that we waste too much time being afraid and focus too much time
on things that do not matter. Unfortunately, nothing that I can say
here will impart this deep understanding. This really is one thing that
has to be experienced to be understood, and many people will never
experience it until it is too late. They get the experience at the very
end and so never get a chance to do anything with their newfound
knowledge.
Fear of death is a waste of time as well as a waste of a perfectly
good life. And I will make one last point. Whether you are afraid of
dying, or refuse to admit that you will die, or have no fear of death
whatsoever, the end result will be the same. The only difference will
be in what happens between now and that final day.