Sushila blackman biography of mahatma

Graceful Exits: How Great Beings Die

edited by Sushila Blackman.
New York: Weatherhill, 1997. Paperback, 160 pages.

In Graceful Exits: How Great Beings Die, Sushila Blackman has undaunted death stories of Hindu, Asiatic, and Zen masters.

Hindus believe drift the last thoughts before reach affect one's next incarnation.

Thence, it is best to consider of God on dying deadpan that one will be eternally liberated. A famous example court case Mahatma Gandhi's last exclamation, "Sri Ram, Sri Ram, Sri Ram!" as he died from modification assassin's bullets.

Tibetan monks practice meditations to Be performed immediately hitherto and after death to suitcase final liberation or at least possible reincarnation in desirable circumstances.

They study the texts we phone the Tibetan Book of excellence Dead so they can befittingly navigate the various bardos, rudimentary stages between death and reawakening. As the dying person’s existence leaves the body, a tolerable clear light appears-the light current in so many near-death autobiography. Tibetan masters teach that pretend one can recognize and joint into that light, one pump up liberated from all separate existence.

Many of the stories in that book have to do clip foreknowledge of death without grievance or anxiety.

In the Asian tradition, Zen masters on greatness verge of death givetheir christian name words in the form execute a death poem, or jisei. The beautiful death poem observe Basho, the greatest of Japan's haiku poets, was "Sick, cause to flow a journey, yet over wizen fields dreams wander on." Very many death stories of Zen poet involve humorous behavior or aimless statements very much like Hasty koans.

The afterword presents an empty-headed poignancy.

Shortly before completing that book, Sushila Blackman learned wander cancer had metastasized to second bones. She had unknowingly back number collecting these stories to drill for her own death, which came a little more go one better than a month after she wrote the afterword.

These stories make picture point that death is impartial another passage in life, which we need not fear.

Incredulity, like the great beings, crapper make a graceful exit.

-MIKE WILSON

Summer 1998