Birth and death is happening every moment within our body. All the thoughts, feelings, sensations, regeneration of cells, each heart beat and each breath are arising and passing away from moment to moment. Birth and death is not just about living beings being born and die. It is the impermanence of everything. The present moment is both the past and the future. It is a continuos existence from moment to moment. The past moment is not separated from the present moment or the next moment.
People usually celebrate births but are very afraid of deaths. Death is being seen as something bad or sad. Everyone has a strong survival instinct to avoid injury and death towards this physical body. This is due to not knowing the true nature of living beings.
If there is birth, there will be death. If we want to be free from death, we need to know how to be free from birth. When there is no birth, there is no death. It is the same for other things. If we want to be free from unhappiness or suffering, we need to know how to transcend happiness. If we are still looking for happiness; and want to have happiness, we will not be free from unhappiness.
The teachings of yoga and Buddhism is that our true nature is untouched by birth and death. Birth and death only happen onto the physical body, the mind, the energy, the elements and all the things that is with names and forms. The true Self or pure consciousness is beginningless and endless. It has no birth and no death, no qualities, no intentions and untouched by time, space and causation. It is unlimited and unconditioned. It is pure existence. It is the embodiment of peaceful silence, no colours, no shapes, no sounds, no smells, no tastes, no feels, no thoughts, no elements, no energy, no inside, and no outside. When we understood this and identify ourselves with this true Self, we will have no fears and worries at all. There is no differences between birth and death. It is beyond birth and death, good and evil.
Some people couldn’t grasp this state of namelessness and formlessness. They perceive that it means we do not exist at all. They misunderstood about selflessness and non-self. They think that it means there is no Self at all and we don’t exist once we are enlightened. When the mind is still full of impurities and the intellect is impure and couldn’t perceive something that is beyond names and forms, people will have this great fear about losing themselves in meditation. Actually selflessness is about letting go of the selfish ego or the lower impure self, and identify with the unselfish higher self that is pure consciousness, pure existence, pure bliss and pure knowledge. While non-self actually means everything that we can perceive through the mind and the senses are not in our control and there is no certainty and solid essence in all these things. Nothing in this world can exist without the elements of space or ether, fire, water, air and earth. Names and forms cannot exist independently.
May all beings be blessed with pure intellect to be able to grasp this true Self that is unaffected by birth and death, happiness and unhappiness.
