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I'm not Caught in This Body
Everyone has Buddha nature, the capacity of becoming a Buddha. This is not limited to humans; animals, plants, and minerals also have Buddha nature. This is illustrated through several stories: a butcher’s knife used for killing is transformed into a beautiful tree; a bell of mindfulness is created by the Coconut Monk from bullets and bomb fragments; and a comedian in a re-education camp carves a Buddha statue from a piece of a bomb. These stories show that even inanimate objects that have caused harm can be transformed.
The practice of accompanying a dying person is shared through the story of Anathapindika. As he is dying, the venerable Shariputra guides him in a meditation to ease his pain. The practice involves looking deeply to see that he is not his body, his consciousness, or the six great elements:
- Earth
- Water
- Fire
- Air
- Space
-
Consciousness
This meditation aims to help transcend the ideas of coming and going, and being and non-being, leading to the core insight of no birth and no death.
Using the example of a sheet of paper, it is explained that things do not come from nothing or become nothing; they are in a state of permanent transformation. Our birthday is a continuation day. Touching this true nature removes fear, and the greatest gift of the practice is non-fear, abhaya. A personal story is shared about helping a friend, Alfred Hassler, die peacefully by singing a song about no birth and no death and watering the seeds of happiness within him.