英文原文
As a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, working as a Buddhist chaplain at several of Melbourne's hospitals and as well as Melbourne assessment prison, I have witnessed many personal tragedies faced by the living and of course the very process of dying and that of death and many of these poor people faced their death with fear, with misery and pain before departing this world. With the images of all these in my mind, on this occasion, I wish to share my view from the perspective of a Buddhist and we hope that people would feel far more relaxed in facing this inevitable end since it is really not the end of life, according to our belief.
Death and the impermanence of life
In the teaching of the Buddha, all of us will pass away eventually as a part in the natural process of birth, old-age and death and that we should always keep in mind the impermanence of life. The life that we all cherish and wish to hold on.
To Buddhism, however, death is not the end of life, it is merely the end of the body we inhabit in this life, but our spirit will still remain and seek out through the need of attachment, attachment to a new body and new life. Where they will be born is a result of the past and the accumulation of positive and negative action, and the resultant karma (cause and effect) is a result of ones past actions.
This would lead to the person to be reborn in one of 6 realms which are; heaven, human beings, Asura, hungry ghost, animal and hell. Realms, according to the severity of ones karmic actions, Buddhists believe however, none of these places are permanent and one does not remain in any place indefinitely. So we can say that in Buddhism, life does not end, merely goes on in other forms that are the result of accumulated karma. Buddhism is a belief that emphasizes the impermanence of lives, including all those beyond the present life. With this in mind we should not fear death as it will lead to rebirth.
The fear of death stemmed from the fear of cease to be existent and losing ones identity and foothold in the world. We see our death coming long before its arrival, we notice impermanence in the changes we see around us and to us in the arrival of aging and the suffering due to losing our youth. Once we were strong and beautiful and as we age, as we approach our final moments of life we realize how fleeting such a comfortable place actually was.
Grieving
It is natural to grieve the loss of family members and others we knew, as we adjust to living without their presence and missing them as part of our lives. The death of a loved one, or even someone we were not close to, is terribly painful event, as time goes on and the people we know pass away along the journey of life, we are reminded of our own inevitable ends in waiting and everything is a blip of transience and impermanent.
At a certain moment, the world seems suddenly so empty and the sense of desperation appears to be eternity. The greater the element of grief and personal loss one tends to feel sorry for oneself.
Some of us may have heard the story of the women who came to the Buddha in great anguish, carrying her dead child pleading him to bring the child back to life. The Buddha said Bring to me a mustard seed from any household where no-one had ever died and I will fulfill your wish. The woman's attempt to search for such seed from houses were in vain and of course she could not find any household in which no-one had ever died and suddenly she realized the universality of death.
Karma
According to Buddhism, our lives and all that occurs in our lives is a result of Karma. Every action creates a new karma, this karma or action is created with our body, our speech or our mind and this action leaves a subtle imprint on our mind which has the potential to ripen as future happiness or future suffering, depending on whether the action was positive or negative.
If we bring happiness to people, we will be happy. If we create suffering, we will experience suffering either in this life or in a future one.
This is called the Law of Karma, or the Law of Cause and Effect. Karmic law will lead the spirit of the dead to be reborn, in realms which are suitable appropriate to their karmic accumulations.
According to His Holiness, the 14 th Dali Lama of Tibet, that to cultivate the good karma, our good actions are an excellent way prepare for our death. Not performing evil deeds, keeping our heart and mind pure, doing no harm, no killing, sexual misconduct or lying, not using drugs or alcohol has very positive merit which enable us to die as we have lived.
The way we pass reflects the way we lived our lives, a good death putting a good stamp on a good life. As Leonardo Da Vinci once wrote in his notebook; Just as a well spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings a happy death. If we have lived a life of emotional turmoil, of conflict selfish desire unconcerned for others, our dying will be full of regrets, troubles and pain. It is far better to care for the lives for all around us rather than spending a fortune in prolonging life or seeking ways to extend it for those who can afford it, at the expense of relieving suffering in more practical ways. Improving the moral and spiritual quality of life improves its quality for us all rather than the selfish individualism that benefits the elite few who draw most resources.
Preparing for death and Buddhist rituals associated with dying
Buddhist clergy often remind their followers about closeness of death, emphasize the importance in getting to know death and take time to prepare for their own demise.
How do we prepare for death?. It is really simple, just behave in a manner which you believe is responsible, good and positive for yourself and towards others. This leads to calmness, happiness and an outlook which contributes to a calm and controlled mind at the time of death.
Through this positive and compassionate outlook of life, always being aware of the impermanence of life and having a loving attitude towards all living things in this transient existence we will be free of fear in opposite to grasping selfishly to life due to not having experienced happiness in life.
Having lead a responsible and compassionate life and have no regrets when death approaches enables us to surrender without a struggle to the inevitable and in a state of grace which need not be as uncomfortable as we are led to believe. A dying Buddhist person is likely to request the service of a monk or nun in their particular tradition to assist in this process further, making the transitional experience of death as peaceful and free of fear as can be possibly achieved.
Before and at the moment of death and for a period after death, the monk, nun or spiritual friends will read prayers and chants from the Buddhist Scriptures. In Buddhist traditions, this death bed chanting is regarded as very important and is ideally the last thing the Buddhist hears. Buddhists believe that we can actively assist and bring relief to the dying members through assisting the dying through the process of dying.
Through Buddhist doctrine we are told by Buddhist masters that the final moment of our consciousness is paramount, the most important moment of all. If the ill person is in hospital and the diagnosis is grim that the person cannot possibly survived, the family should call in the Buddhist priest to pray for the loved one so that at the final moment, the right state of mind has been generated within the person and they can find their way into a higher state of rebirth as they leave the present lives.
The nurses and family members are not supposed to touch the corpse, having to wait 3-8 hours after breathing ceases before touching the body for any preparation after the death. We Buddhists believe that the spirit of a person will linger on for sometime and can be affected by what happened to the corpse. It is important that the body is treated gently and with respect and that the priest can help the spirit continues its journey calmly to higher states, not causing the spirit to becoming angry and confused and may be more likely to be reborn into the lower realms.
In the Mahayana Buddhism, especially, Vietnamese tradition we pray for the dead for 49 days after passing away, 49 being the estimated time it takes for the spirit to be reborn again into a new life. Some spirits are reborn 3 days, 21 days, 49 days or 100 days after death, and in some cases even 7 years.
Rebirth
The concept of rebirth or reincarnation has become more popular in the west in recent years due to the influence of Tibetan Buddhism, especially, the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (by Sogyal Rinpoche, 1992) became a best seller in the USA and has been widely read throughout the developed countries by new generations who are concerned with alternative thinking and eastern cultural perspectives. Naturally people concern with life beyond death was stimulated by the ideas contained in such philosophies and beliefs.
Nirvana
The supreme aim of Buddhism is to obtain nirvana or enlightenment. This translated means a state of liberation or illumination from the limitations of existence. It is the liberation from the cycle of rebirth through countless lives up and down the 6 states of existence. It is obtained through the extinction of desire.
Nirvana is a state that is obtainable in this life through the right aspiration, purity of life, and the elimination of egotism. This cessation of existence as we know it, the attainment of being, as distinct from becoming. [1] The Buddha speaks of it as unborn, un-originated, uncreated, unformed, contrasting it with the born, originated, created, and formed phenomenal world. Those who have obtained the state of Nirvana are called Buddhas. Gautama Siddhartha had obtained this state and had become a Buddha at 35. However it is now believed that it was only after he had passed away that he reached such a place of perfect tranquility, because some residue of human defilement would continue to exist as long as his physical body existed.
According to Buddhism if a human does not obtain nirvana or enlightenment, as it is known, the person cannot escape the cycle of death and rebirth and are inevitably be reborn into the 6 possible states beyond this our present life, these being in order from the highest to lowest;
Heaven. In Buddhism there are 37 different levels of heaven where beings experience peace and long lasting happiness without suffering in the heavenly environment.
Human life. In Buddhism we can be reborn into human life over and over, either wealthy or poor, beautiful or not so, and every state between and both as it it is served up to us. Anything can happen, as is found in human life and society all around us as we are familiar with in the day to day human world in is myriad of possibilities. What we get is a result of our Karma of what we have dragged with us from previous existences and how it manifests in our temporary present lives.
Asura. A spiritual state of Demi-Gods but not the happy state experienced by the gods in the heavens above this state. The Demi-Gods are consumed with jealousy, because unlike humans, they can clearly see the superior situation of the gods in the heavens above them. They constantly compete and struggle with the gods due to their dissatisfaction with their desires from the others.
Hungry Ghost. This spiritual realm of those who committed excessive amounts of evil deeds and who are obsessed with finding food and drink which they cannot experience and thus remain unsatisfied and tortured by the experience. They exhaust themselves in the constant fruitless searching.
Animals. This realm is visible to humans and it is where spirits of humans are reborn if they have killed animals or have committed a lot of other evil acts. Animals do not have the freedom that humans would experience due to being a subject constantly hunted by humans, farmed and used in farming, also as beasts for entertainment.
Hell. This realm is not visible to humans. It is a place where beings born there experience a constant state of searing pain and the various types of hell realms reads like a variety of horrific torture chambers. Those with a great deal of negative Karma can remain in such places for eons of time.
To conclude, as already mentioned, none of us can avoid death and if we are not free from the vicious cycle of death and rebirth, we are doomed to the endless cycles of life and death and its paradoxical nature of suffering, of happiness and sadness, youth and ageing, healthiness and sickness, pain and death, all because we are so attached to the existence in the first place.
The Buddha urged us to prepare for death, to prepare for that journey by cleansing the mind and not being so attached to things, to be able to let go and release ourselves for needing to be, from needing to have. Through this we will not suffer so much as we pass through the final stage of the present life, we can let go, be grateful for what we had but not clutch to it, not try to ensure permanency and cause ourselves to suffer more than we need to. This way we can end the cycle and leave forever, obtaining nirvana and release from the cycle of death and rebirth.
中文翻译
作为一名越南佛教僧侣，我在墨尔本多家医院和墨尔本评估监狱担任佛教牧师，目睹了许多生者面临的个人悲剧，当然还有死亡的过程，许多可怜的人在离开这个世界时带着恐惧、痛苦和悲伤。脑海中浮现这些画面，借此机会，我想从佛教徒的角度分享我的观点，希望人们能更轻松地面对这不可避免的终点，因为根据我们的信仰，这并非生命的终结。
死亡与生命的无常
在佛陀的教导中，我们所有人最终都会逝去，这是生、老、死的自然过程的一部分，我们应该时刻牢记生命的无常。我们珍视并希望抓住的生命。
然而，对佛教而言，死亡并非生命的终结，它只是我们此生所居身体的结束，但我们的精神仍将存在，并通过执着的需求寻求新的身体和新生命。他们将在何处投生是过去善恶行为积累的结果，业力（因果）是过去行为的结果。
这将导致人投生于六道之一：天道、人道、阿修罗道、饿鬼道、畜生道和地狱道。根据业力行为的严重程度，佛教徒相信，这些地方都不是永恒的，人不会无限期地停留在任何地方。因此，我们可以说，在佛教中，生命并未结束，只是以其他形式继续，这些形式是累积业力的结果。佛教强调生命的无常，包括今生之外的所有生命。有了这个认识，我们不应恐惧死亡，因为它将导致重生。
对死亡的恐惧源于对不再存在、失去身份和世界立足点的恐惧。我们在死亡到来之前很久就看到它的临近，我们注意到周围变化中的无常，以及衰老到来和失去青春带来的痛苦。我们曾经强壮美丽，但随着年龄增长，接近生命的最后时刻，我们意识到这样一个舒适的地方实际上多么短暂。
悲伤
为失去家人和其他认识的人而悲伤是自然的，因为我们适应没有他们的生活，想念他们作为我们生活的一部分。亲人的死亡，甚至不亲近的人的死亡，都是极其痛苦的事件，随着时间的推移，我们认识的人在生命旅程中逝去，提醒我们自己在等待中不可避免的终点，一切都是短暂和无常的瞬间。
在某个时刻，世界似乎突然变得如此空虚，绝望感仿佛永恒。悲伤和个人损失的元素越大，人往往越为自己感到难过。
我们中有些人可能听过那个故事，一个女人带着她死去的孩子，极度痛苦地来到佛陀面前，恳求他让孩子复活。佛陀说，给我从任何一户从未有人死亡的家庭带来一粒芥菜籽，我就实现你的愿望。女人试图从房屋中寻找这样的种子是徒劳的，当然她找不到任何一户从未有人死亡的家庭，突然她意识到死亡的普遍性。
业力
根据佛教，我们的生命和生命中发生的一切都是业力的结果。每一个行为都创造新的业力，这个业力或行为由我们的身体、言语或心创造，这个行为在我们的心上留下微妙的印记，有可能在未来成熟为幸福或痛苦，取决于行为是正面还是负面。
如果我们给人们带来快乐，我们就会快乐。如果我们制造痛苦，我们将在今生或来世经历痛苦。
这被称为业力法则，或因果法则。业力法则将引导死者的精神投生到适合他们业力积累的领域。
根据西藏第十四世达赖喇嘛尊者，培养善业，我们的善行是为死亡做准备的绝佳方式。不做恶事，保持心念纯净，不伤害、不杀生、不邪淫、不妄语，不使用毒品或酒精，具有非常积极的功德，使我们能如我们生活般死去。
我们离世的方式反映了我们生活的方式，善终为善生盖上美好的印记。正如列奥纳多·达·芬奇在他的笔记本中写道，正如度过美好的一天带来安眠，度过美好的一生带来善终。如果我们过着情感动荡、冲突自私欲望、不关心他人的生活，我们的死亡将充满遗憾、麻烦和痛苦。关心周围所有人的生命远比花费巨资延长生命或为那些负担得起的人寻求延长生命的方式要好得多，而不是以更实际的方式缓解痛苦为代价。提高道德和精神生活质量改善了我们所有人的生活质量，而不是使少数精英受益的自私个人主义。
为死亡做准备及与死亡相关的佛教仪式
佛教僧侣经常提醒信徒死亡的临近，强调了解死亡的重要性，并花时间为自己离世做准备。
我们如何为死亡做准备？这真的很简单，只是以你认为对自己和他人负责、善良和积极的方式行事。这带来平静、幸福和一种有助于在死亡时保持平静和受控心态的视角。
通过这种积极和慈悲的人生观，始终意识到生命的无常，并对这个短暂存在中的所有生物抱有爱心，我们将免于恐惧，而不是因为生活中没有体验到幸福而自私地抓住生命。
过着负责任和慈悲的生活，当死亡来临时没有遗憾，使我们能够毫不挣扎地屈服于不可避免，处于一种恩典状态，不必像我们被引导相信的那样不舒服。濒死的佛教徒可能会请求他们特定传统的僧侣或尼姑服务，以进一步协助这个过程，使死亡的过渡体验尽可能平静和无惧。
在死亡之前、死亡时刻和死亡后一段时间，僧侣、尼姑或灵性朋友会诵读佛教经典中的祈祷文和咒语。在佛教传统中，这种临终诵经被认为非常重要，理想上是佛教徒听到的最后声音。佛教徒相信，我们可以通过协助濒死者度过死亡过程，积极帮助并缓解濒死成员的痛苦。
通过佛教教义，佛教大师告诉我们，我们意识的最后时刻至关重要，是所有时刻中最重要的。如果病人在医院，诊断严峻，病人不可能存活，家人应该请佛教牧师为亲人祈祷，以便在最后时刻，在病人心中产生正确的心态，他们可以在离开现世时找到通往更高投生状态的道路。
护士和家人不应触摸尸体，必须在呼吸停止后等待3-8小时才能触摸身体进行任何死亡后的准备。我们佛教徒相信，人的精神会徘徊一段时间，并可能受到尸体发生的事情的影响。重要的是，身体被温柔和尊重地对待，牧师可以帮助精神平静地继续其旅程到更高状态，不使精神变得愤怒和困惑，可能更可能投生到较低领域。
在大乘佛教中，尤其是越南传统，我们在逝者去世后祈祷49天，49天是精神再次投生到新生命的估计时间。有些精神在死亡后3天、21天、49天或100天投生，有些情况下甚至7年。
重生
重生或转世的概念近年来在西方变得更受欢迎，由于藏传佛教的影响，尤其是《西藏生死书》（索甲仁波切，1992年）在美国成为畅销书，并被关心另类思维和东方文化视角的新一代在发达国家广泛阅读。自然，人们对死后生命的关注被这些哲学和信仰中包含的思想所激发。
涅槃
佛教的最高目标是获得涅槃或觉悟。这翻译为从存在限制中解脱或照亮的状态。它是从无数生命中上下六道存在的轮回中解脱。通过欲望的熄灭获得。
涅槃是一种可以在今生获得的状态，通过正确的愿望、生活的纯净和自私的消除。这种我们所知存在的停止，存在的获得，与成为不同。[1] 佛陀称其为不生、不灭、不造、不形，与生、灭、造、形的现象世界形成对比。获得涅槃状态的人被称为佛陀。乔达摩·悉达多获得了这个状态，并在35岁时成为佛陀。然而，现在认为只有在他去世后，他才达到如此完美的宁静之地，因为一些人类污秽的残余会继续存在，只要他的肉体存在。
根据佛教，如果一个人没有获得涅槃或觉悟，如所知，这个人无法逃脱死亡和重生的循环，不可避免地投生到我们现世之外的六种可能状态，这些状态从最高到最低依次为：
天道。在佛教中，有37个不同层次的天道，生物在天界环境中体验和平和持久的幸福，没有痛苦。
人道。在佛教中，我们可以一次又一次地投生为人，无论富有或贫穷，美丽或不那么美丽，以及介于两者之间的各种状态，正如它呈现给我们。任何事情都可能发生，正如我们在日常人类世界中熟悉的无数可能性中所发现的人类生活和社会。我们得到的是我们业力的结果，是我们从先前存在中拖带而来的，以及它如何在我们暂时的现世中显现。
阿修罗道。一种半神的精神状态，但不是高于此状态的天神所体验的幸福状态。半神被嫉妒吞噬，因为与人类不同，他们能清楚地看到高于他们的天神的优越处境。他们由于对他人欲望的不满，不断与天神竞争和斗争。
饿鬼道。这个精神领域属于那些犯下过多恶行、痴迷于寻找他们无法体验的食物和饮料，因此保持不满足和被体验折磨的人。他们在不断无果的搜索中耗尽自己。
畜生道。这个领域对人类可见，是人类精神投生的地方，如果他们杀害动物或犯下许多其他恶行。动物没有人类会体验的自由，因为它们是不断被人类猎杀、养殖和用于农业的对象，也作为娱乐的野兽。
地狱道。这个领域对人类不可见。它是一个生物在那里体验持续灼痛状态的地方，各种地狱领域读起来像各种恐怖的刑讯室。那些有大量负面业力的人可以在这样的地方停留无数时代。
总结来说，正如已经提到的，我们没有人能避免死亡，如果我们没有从死亡和重生的恶性循环中解脱，我们注定要陷入无尽的生死循环及其矛盾本质的痛苦、幸福和悲伤、青春和衰老、健康和疾病、痛苦和死亡，都因为我们首先如此执着于存在。
佛陀敦促我们为死亡做准备，通过净化心灵、不过分执着于事物来为那旅程做准备，能够放手，释放自己对于需要存在、需要拥有的需求。通过这样，我们在度过现世最后阶段时不会那么痛苦，我们可以放手，感激我们拥有的但不紧抓它，不试图确保永久性，导致自己承受不必要的痛苦。这样我们可以结束循环，永远离开，获得涅槃，从死亡和重生的循环中解脱。
文章概要
本文从佛教视角探讨死亡与重生，强调生命无常，死亡并非终结而是轮回的一部分。文章基于一位越南僧侣在医院和监狱的实践经验，解释业力法则如何决定投生六道（天道、人道、阿修罗道、饿鬼道、畜生道、地狱道），并讨论如何通过善行和心灵净化准备死亡，以减少恐惧。文中还涉及佛教仪式如临终诵经和49天祈祷，以及涅槃作为解脱轮回的目标。结合关键词“Buddhist perspectives on midlife and the cycle of rebirth”，文章特别关注中年阶段如何面对死亡恐惧和轮回观念，提供实用指导以促进平静接受。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容
嘿，小伙伴们！想象一下，生命就像一场游戏，我们每个人都会经历生、老、病、死，这是自然规律。佛教告诉我们，死亡不是游戏的结束，只是我们换了一个新的角色继续玩。如果我们平时做好事，比如帮助别人、不说谎，我们的“游戏积分”（业力）就会好，下次可能投生到更好的地方，比如天道或人道；如果做坏事，就可能去不好的地方，比如饿鬼道或地狱道。所以，不要害怕死亡，它只是让我们有机会重新开始。在中年时，我们可能会担心变老和死亡，但佛教说，只要我们保持善良和慈悲，就能平静面对，甚至在未来获得更好的“游戏结局”——涅槃，也就是永远的幸福状态。
佛学的各个宗派视角评价，突出《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角
从佛学宗派视角看，本文主要基于大乘佛教的显宗传统，强调业力、轮回和涅槃的普遍教义。显宗如天台宗、华严宗会赞赏文章对无常和慈悲的阐述，认为这符合“诸行无常”的核心理念。密宗如藏传佛教，可能更注重临终修法和中阴教法，以帮助灵魂顺利过渡。
特别地，从《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角，本文体现了显密圆融的精神。该经典强调显教与密教的统一，以准提法为核心修行法门。文章中对死亡准备和心灵净化的讨论，与准提法倡导的“即身成佛”理念相契合。准提法通过咒语、观想和仪轨，帮助修行者在现世积累功德、净化业障，从而在死亡时能保持正念，顺利投生善道或证悟涅槃。本文虽未直接提及准提法，但其对善行、诵经和临终关怀的重视，可视为准提法修行在日常生活和死亡时刻的应用延伸，彰显了大乘佛教中显密结合的优势，即通过简易法门达到究竟解脱。
在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题。
基于本文内容，修行实践可应用于解决以下十个问题：1. 恐惧死亡——通过理解轮回和无常，减少对未知的焦虑。2. 中年危机——用佛教视角看待生命阶段，找到意义和平静。3. 业力困惑——学习因果法则，激励积极行为。4. 悲伤处理——接受无常，缓解失去亲人的痛苦。5. 临终不安——实践善行和诵经，促进平静离世。6. 自我执着——培养放手心态，减少物质和情感依赖。7. 道德迷茫——遵循佛教戒律，提升生活品质。8. 精神空虚——通过修行找到超越世俗的目标。9. 家庭冲突——应用慈悲态度，改善人际关系。10. 未来不确定性——相信业力导向，增强对来生的信心。这些应用聚焦于佛教显宗和大乘视角，突出准提法的简易性和实用性，帮助人们在日常生活中积累功德，为死亡和重生做好准备。