How to Face the Death of Family Members?
We all have to face the death of loved ones and most of us who have experienced it, have been through such negative emotions as grieving, being remorseful or being filled with anger. As stated in the Buddhist sutras, the more we are attached to someone, the more we suffer.
Question:
One of my colleagues took care of his mother who was dying. One day he said that, the more he felt attached to his mother, the more he felt suffering. But he felt he couldn’t control his mind. So how should we advise him?
Khenpo Sodargye:
As stated in the Buddhist sutras, the more we attach to something, the more we feel suffering. No matter whether it is family, wealth or social position, more attachment to it makes us suffer more. So it is necessary for us to reduce any kind of attachment. Likewise, attachment to one’s mother or someone else will bring suffering. Buddhism teaches people to let things go, in this way to reduce suffering. Although it is difficult to completely get rid of suffering, we can at least try our best to reduce it by lessening our attachments.
