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Monday, March 30, 2015

Fear of Death

Student: Can you explain the connection between death or fear of death and zazen?

SR: Oh. Yeah. That's very good question. Fear of death, you know. For religious mind there is no fear of death. The fear of death exists in the realm of thinking or emotional realm. When you attach to something, that is the beginning of the fear of death. When you attach to your body, that is fear of death. And when you don't know what you will become of you, you will become very uneasy. That is fear of death. 


But for a man who has become aware of his inmost request or his inmost nature or his absolute nature, that is more important than your physical body. It is so. When you are not serious enough, you have fear of death. But when you become very serious about you yourself, you will not afraid to lose your body. 

Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 65-07-30-C as found on shunryusuzuki.com - Edited by DC