Death & Eternity
by Eckhart Tolle
When
you walk through a
forest that has not
been tamed and
interfered with by
man, you will see
not only abundant
life all around you,
but you will also
encounter fallen
trees and decaying
trunks, rotting
leaves and
decomposing matter
at every step.
Wherever you look,
you will find death
as well as life.
Upon closer
scrutiny, however,
you will discover
that the decomposing
tree trunk and
rotting leaves not
only give birth to
new life, but are
full of life
themselves.
Microorganisms are
at work. Molecules
are rearranging
themselves. So death
isn’t to be found
anywhere. There is
only the
metamorphosis of
life forms. What can
you learn from this?
Death is not the
opposite of life.
Life has no
opposite. The
opposite of death is
birth. Life is
eternal.
Sages and poets
throughout the ages
have recognized the
dreamlike quality of
human existence –
seemingly so solid
and real and yet so
fleeting that it
could dissolve at
any moment.
At the hour of your
death, the story of
your life may,
indeed, appear to
you like a dream
that is coming to an
end. Yet even in a
dream there must be
an essence that is
real. There must be
a consciousness in
which the dream
happens; otherwise,
it would not be.
That consciousness –
does the body create
it or does
consciousness create
the dream of body,
the dream of
somebody?
Why have most of
those who went
through a near-death
experience lost
their fear of death?
Reflect upon this.
Of course you know
you are going to
die, but that
remains a mere
mental concept until
you meet death “in
person” for the
first time: through
a serious illness or
an accident that
happens to you or
someone close to
you, or through the
passing away of a
loved one, death
enters your life as
the awareness of
your own morality.
Most people turn
away from it in
fear, but if you do
not flinch and face
the fact that your
body is fleeting and
could dissolve at
any moment, there is
some degree of
disidentification,
however slight, from
your own physical
and psychological
form, the “me”. When
you see and accept
the impermanent
nature of all life
forms, a strange
sense of peace comes
upon you.
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