Death Is No Big Deal
One problem, sort of, with being on the Buddhist path is that Buddhists tend to hold unusual opinions on topics that many people in the United States think are very important, but think about in foolish ways.
A friend who is both on the Buddhist path and a hospice nurse talks about her former mother in law having “a good death.” This is not a phrase one hears very often in the United States. The increasing use of hospice in general is a good development, since hospice involves honestly facing the fact of impending death.
The Buddha was very clear: we’re all going to die. According to the official story, the Buddha started on his path to realization when he was still a pampered, over privileged prince and went out of the palace, where he saw a sick person, an old person, a wandering mendicant, and a corpse. The official story says that he had never seen such persons at all before, but it is more plausible that he had just never processed the thought that his wealth and privilege would not protect him from old age, sickness, and death, such that this was the first of several critical realizations that led him to his awakening.
Again, realizations are common and critical on the Buddhist path. Awakening is just the final, ultimate realization. A realization does not require new information, but a new perspective on existing information.
