One Frightened and Terrified of Death One Not Frightened and Terrified of Death

Brāhmin, there are those subject to death that are frightened and terrified of death, but there are also those subject to death that are not frightened and terrified of death.

And, Brāhmin, who are those subject to death that are frightened and terrified of death?

Here, someone is not free of lust, desire, wants, thirst, passion, and craving for sensual pleasures. When he incurs a severe and debilitating illness, he thinks: ‘Oh, the sensual pleasures dear to me will leave me, and I will have to leave those sensual pleasures.’ He sorrows, suffers, and grieves; he cries beating his breast and becomes confused.

This is one subject to death who is frightened and terrified of death.

Again, someone is not free of lust, desire, wants, thirst, passion, and craving for the body. When he incurs a severe and debilitating illness, he thinks: ‘Oh, this body dear to me will leave me, and I will have to leave this body.’ He sorrows, suffers, and grieves; he cries beating his breast and becomes confused.

This, too, is one subject to death who is frightened and terrified of death.

Again, someone has not done what is good and wholesome or made a shelter for himself, but he has done what is evil, cruel, and defiled (unwholesome). When he incurs a severe and debilitating illness, he thinks: ‘Oh, I have not done anything good and wholesome, nor have I made a shelter for myself, but I have done what is evil, cruel, and defiled (unwholesome). When I pass on, I will meet the appropriate fate.’ He sorrows, suffers, and grieves; he cries beating his breast and becomes confused.

This, too, is one subject to death who is frightened and terrified of death.

Again, someone here is uncertain, doubtful, and unclear about the good wholesome Teachings. When he incurs a severe and debilitating illness, he thinks: ‘Oh, I am uncertain, doubtful, and unclear about the good wholesome Teachings.’ He sorrows, suffers, and grieves; he cries beating his breast and becomes confused.

This, too, is one subject to death who is frightened and terrified of death.

These are four subject to death that are frightened and terrified of death.

And, Brāhmin, who are those subject to death that are not frightened and terrified of death?

Here, someone is free of lust, desire, wants, thirst, passion, and craving for sensual pleasures. When he incurs a severe and debilitating illness, he does not think: ‘Oh, the sensual pleasures dear to me will leave me, and I will have to leave those sensual pleasures.’ He does not sorrow, suffer, and grieve; he does not cry beating his breast and become confused.

This is one subject to death who is not frightened and terrified of death.

Again, someone is free of lust, desire, wants, thirst, passion, and craving for the body. When he incurs a severe and debilitating illness, he does not think: ‘Oh, this body dear to me will leave me, and I will have to leave this body.’ He does not sorrow, suffer, and grieve; he does not cry beating his breast and become confused.

This, too, is one subject to death who is not frightened and terrified of death.

Again, someone has not done what is evil, cruel, and defiled (unwholesome), but has done what is good and wholesome and made a shelter for himself. When he incurs a severe and debilitating illness, he thinks: ‘Indeed, I have not done anything evil, cruel, and defiled (unwholesome), but I have done what is good and wholesome and made a shelter for myself. When I pass on, I will meet the appropriate fate.’ He does not sorrow, suffer, and grieve; he does not cry beating his breast and become confused.

This, too, is one subject to death who is not frightened and terrified of death.

Again, someone is certain, doubt‑free, and clear about the good wholesome Teachings. When he incurs a severe and debilitating illness, he thinks: ‘I am certain, doubt‑free, and clear about the good wholesome Teachings. He does not sorrow, suffer, and grieve; he does not cry beating his breast and become confused.

This, too, is one subject to death who is not frightened and terrified of death.

These, Brāhmin, are four subject to death that are not frightened and terrified of death.

(Reference: AN 4.184)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how an individual who is subject to death can be frightened and terrified of death, and how one who is subject to death is not frightened and terrified of death.

The Buddha provides guidance on what leads to fear of death and what leads to no fear of death. These are Teachings that are exactly opposite of each other.

What leads to fear of death is:

1. Someone has craving/desire for sensual pleasures.

2. Someone has craving/desire for the physical body.

3. Someone has done evil, cruel, and unwholesome things in the world.

4. Someone is uncertain, doubtful, unclear about these good wholesome Teachings.

In this case, the individual dies with sorrow, suffering, grieving and becomes confused at death since the mind is not liberated.

What leads to not having fear of death is:

1. Someone does not have craving/desire for sensual pleasures.

2. Someone does not have craving/desire for the physical body.

3. Someone has not done evil, cruel, and unwholesome things in the world.

4. Someone is certain, doubt-free, clear about these good wholesome Teachings.

In this case, the individual dies without sorrow, suffering, grieving and does not become confused at death since the mind is experiencing more peace and tranquility at death.

Being “subject to death” means that one’s mind is not yet liberated by having attained Enlightenment. A being who is not subject to death is described as “the deathless” in Gotama Buddha’s Teachings. An Enlightened being’s physical body will die, and the mind separates from the body, this is referred to as Final Enlightenment, but it is not considered death because it is just the impermanent nature of existence. An Enlightened being has liberated the mind from all defilements and there is “no self” to die. Instead, it is viewed as just the separation of the body and the mind at the end of life to experience Final Enlightenment.

“The Deathless” is another way of referring to Enlightenment. One who has attained Enlightenment has escaped The Cycle of Rebirth and will no longer experience the constant rounds of birth, sickness, aging, and death. Therefore, The Buddha refers to one who has attained Enlightenment as “The Deathless”.

Having attained Enlightenment in this life, a being is so peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy that the mind never experiences any discontent feelings. The mind has eliminated 100% of all fears, including the fear of death. For the rest of one’s life, they will never again experience any discontent feelings. So, at the time of their last death, there is no death. The physical body dies and the mind separates from the physical body, referred to as “Final Enlightenment”.

Therefore, because there is no “you”, (i.e. an Enlightened being has realized The Universal Truth of Non-self), then “you” have not died but instead, the body and mind have just separated. This is referred to as “the breaking-up of the body after death”. It is the physical body that dies and the mind that separates from the physical body at death. But, for one who has attained Enlightenment, there is no longer any rebirth through The Cycle of Rebirth, therefore, an Enlightened being is considered to be “The Deathless”.

The Buddha left The Teachings of what happens when one attains Enlightenment and dies as an “undeclared” Teaching. He did not share what does or does not happen once Enlightenment is attained and there is death.

I suspect The Buddha did this for one of these reasons:

1. The Buddha only ever taught what he had direct knowledge of and had experienced for himself. Because he had never attained Enlightenment and died, he may not have known what was next, if anything, so therefore he left what happens after the death of an Enlightened being as “undeclared”.

   
   

2. If The Buddha was aware that there is something next after a being has attained Enlightenment and dies, it must be as good or better than Enlightenment itself. If there is something that does happen after death of an Enlightened being, The Buddha could have wisely left this as an “undeclared” Teaching so that the unEnlightened mind does not develop a craving/desire/attachment (i.e. mental longing with a strong eagerness) for what may come after death.

   
   

   An unEnlightened Practitioner has so many cravings/desires/attachments to eliminate from the mind, a wise Teacher who knows of something beneficial that comes after the death of an Enlightened being would not provide Teachings on what that is as a way of ensuring their Students do not develop a craving/desire/attachment for any potential afterlife. Gotama Buddha, if he did know of something that does come next, wisely left this as an undeclared Teaching ensuring his Students did not develop a craving/desire/attachment for any potential afterlife hindering Enlightenment. The goal of a Teacher who is sharing Teachings on The Path to Enlightenment, and definitely the goal of a Buddha, is to guide Students to Enlightenment. Through leaving any potential discussion of an afterlife as undeclared, this would be a compassionate way to ensure one’s Teachings are not creating hindrances towards the attainment of Enlightenment but instead, eliminates any and all hindrances through sharing The Teachings that do lead to Enlightenment.

   
   

3. The Buddha only ever shared Teachings that lead to Enlightenment. While all the wisdom a Buddha acquires as part of their independent journey to Enlightenment is represented by all the leaves in all the trees of the forest, what is needed to attain Enlightenment is represented only by the few leaves collected in one’s hands.

   
   

   If there is something that happens for an Enlightened being after death, knowing that is not required for the attainment of Enlightenment. Only those Teachings that are needed for the attainment of Enlightenment need to be shared with Students so they can focus the mind on learning, reflecting, and practicing those Teachings. Anything beyond that, would just be distracting and potentially take away from the core and central Path to Enlightenment. 

   
   

   An Enlightened being’s mind is so peaceful, calm, serene, and content with joy residing only in the present moment, an Enlightened being is not going to care or be concerned with what is next after death. They have overcome the most significant challenge ever, which is to eliminate 100% of all discontentedness in the mind. Having attained that goal through determination, dedication, and diligence to one’s practice and having overcome the fear of death, an Enlightened being is not going to care what is next, if anything at all.

   
   

   At death, an Enlightened being will not be reborn in The Cycle of Rebirth. There is no reason to ever share what may or may not happen to an Enlightened being after death.