Meditation on Death or Maranassati aims at establishing mindfulness to help the meditator avoid careless living. Its specific purpose is to attain transcendental knowledge and wisdom. There are eight methods for cultivating mindfulness of death: 

1. Contemplating the Appearance of an Executioner         

Contemplating the Appearance of an Executioner means realizing that death could occur at any moment. It is like an executioner holding a sword at one’s throat and thinking “I am cutting his head off.” Death is like that. Why? Because it always comes with birth and it saps life. Just as mushrooms always come up beneath the soil, so all life leads to death. This is as certain as the sun always rising and falling. Life is like a small mountain stream falling downhill with a strong current, it always carries things away, and they never come back. The Ayogharakumara Bodhisatto said:

Any being in the womb for just the first night has begun a course leading inevitably to death. Like a rain cloud, once established, it moves on continuously without turning back.

The Pali Tipitaka, Siamrat, book 27,
Khuddaka-Nikaya Jataka, page 469.

When a being has set this forward course, only death lies ahead. It stays always close at hand. Just as a river runs low in the summer, like the fall of a fruit from a tree, like the breaking of a pottery container with a hammer, or as the morning dew is dried by sunlight, death is the inevitable natural end of all life.

Lord Buddha has said:

Day after day, life moves closer to extinction. Age moves toward the end, like water in a river starts to dry up. Every being born lives with the ever present danger of death, like a ripening fruit in danger of falling in the morning. 

The Pali Tipitaka, Siamrat, book 15,
Sanyutta-Nikเya Sagathavagga, page 159.

Like clay containers whether big or small, fired or not, all exist with the danger of being broken, so all living beings exist with the danger of death. 

The Pali Tipitaka, Siamrat, book 10,
Digha-Nikaya Mahanibbana Sutta, page 141.

As the dew on the grass is dried out when touched by sunlight, so the lifespan of beings runs out. Mother, please don’t prevent me from ordaining. 

The Pali Tipitaka, Siamrat, book 27,
Khuddaka-Nikaya Jataka, page 316.

Death always takes life. There is no coming back. Death is like an executioner with sword raised. Death inevitably follows birth.

2. Contemplating Destruction of Property

All property and prosperity in this world are temporary. Death is inevitable, like destruction of property. They will not last forever. They always have an end.

Health, also, never lasts. Youth always fades. All life has death as its end. All beings in this world are followed by birth, chased by decay, overwhelmed by disease and finally destroyed by death. Lord Buddha has said:

Just as a huge rock mountain which almost touches the sky rolls over and grinds all beings in the four directions, decay and death possess all beings including Kshatriya, Brahman, Vaishya, Shudra, and Harijans. All are oppressed by them.

There is no place for fighting the huge mountain with an army of elephants or calvary, or foot soldiers and no one can win by casting a spell or with a bribe. 

The Pali Tipitaka, Siamrat, book 15,
Sanyutta-Nikaya Sagathavagga, page 140.

3. Comparing the Deaths of Great and Common People

This means contemplating death by comparing the deaths of great and common people in history, to see that no matter how great or powerful they were, they all died.

Even the Lord Buddha, who is the greatest person who ever lived, still passed away (Parinibbana). The meditator, therefore, should always be mindful that death will inevitably come for all of us as well.

4. Contemplating the Body as Subject to Diseases       

This body is subject to parasites that stay on and cause death or illness leading to death. This body is subject to death caused by diseases which are internal factors and caused by external factors such as the bite of snakes or scorpions. Lord Buddha said:

Monks, when the day passes the night comes. Constantly contemplate that there are many potential causes of death. They include snake bite, scorpion sting or centipede sting. Through factors such as snake bite death approaches us, the condition of death threatens us.

The Pali Tipitaka, Siamrat, book 22,
Anguttara-Nikaya Pancakanipata,  section 291, page 341-342.

5. Contemplating Age as a Weakness

The word age in this case means life. Age is a weakness because life is not durable. It is easy to die. According to an ancient teacher, life depends on five factors: (1) Breathing in and out, (2) Activity, (3) Heat and Cold, (4) the Four Elements and (5) Food.

1. Breathing in and out: Life depends on breathing in and out. Without it, life would end. Even just inhaling but not being able to exhale would cause death. A person who can exhale but not inhale, would also die. Thus, life depends on breathing.

2. Activity: Activity means the four major activities including standing, walking, sitting and sleeping and the minor activities such as turning the head left and right or nodding the head up and down. Life needs to maintain appropriate activities for survival. We cannot walk or run too much, because this might cause death, such as by heart attack. Thus, life depends on appropriate activities.

3. Heat and cold: The body needs to maintain an appropriate temperature or the body will be subject to sickness. We can be also sick because of too much wind or too much dew. This life is weak and fragile.

4. Four elements: The Four Primary Elements include: Earth, Water, Fire and Wind. If one of the four elements gets out of balance [for example too much fire] sickness will occur. Therefore, life depends on the balance of the Four Elements.

5. Food: Food is necessary for life. Without it, life cannot survive. Lord Buddha said, “All beings can survive with food.” Therefore, peacefully contemplate that life is not durable. It is fragile. Without food, life cannot survive. 

6. Contemplating Life as without Nimitta:
Death Comes without Warning

Nimitta means a sign, an omen, or a mark. This means death can occur without warning at any age, at any time and at any place by disease or by accident and death will cause rebirth. Lord Buddha once said:

Five dhammas including life, disease [causing death], times [of death], place [of death] and destination or Gati [place of rebirth], come for all beings in this world without any sign.

The Pali Tipitaka, Siamrat, book 25,
Khuddaka-Nikaya Khuddakapatha, page 2.

1. Life is without Nimitta: There is no sign to know in advance how long life will last. Some beings die in the womb, some die a few minutes after birth, and some just last for seven days or one month.

2. Disease is without Nimitta: There is no advance warning of what disease will cause illness or death or how much suffering there will be before death.

3. Time of death is without Nimitta: There is no advance warning when death will come. Some die in the morning, some die in the afternoon, some die in the evening, some die at night, and some even die while sitting or eating.

4. Place of death is without Nimitta: There is no advance knowledge of where we will die. Some die in their house, some die outside their house, some die in the water, some die on land and some die in the air. Life can end anywhere without warning.

5. Rebirth destination (Gati) is without Nimitta: There is no advance knowledge of where a person will be reborn or what they will be reborn as. Some become celestial beings, some are reborn in hell, and some are reborn as animals or hungry ghosts. Even celestial beings can be reborn in hell, some become human. All life revolves in cycles throughout five realms: Hell, the animal world, the hungry ghost world, the human world and the celestial world.

7. Contemplating Our Lifespan as Short 

This is mindfulness of death by contemplating that a mere one hundred years of life is too short. One must not be careless in such a short lifespan as only a few people actually reach one hundred years. We must be always aware that we can die any time.

This life is like:

• Dew on the grass, drying up when touched by the sunlight,
• A bubble in the water which bursts very quickly,
• A line drawn with a stick on the surface of the water which disappears almost immediately,
• A rapidly bubbling mountain stream falling quickly downward, never turning back,
• A strong man who spits saliva that can only stay on the tip of his tongue only momentarily before flying off,
• A small piece of meat that quickly shrivels up when put into an extremely hot pan,
• A cow led to the slaughter house, approaching death with every step.

The Pali Tipitaka, Siamrat, book 25,
Anguttara-Nikaya Sattakanipaya, page 139.

All of life is heading towards death every minute. It never lasts long. Thus, Lord Buddha taught the monks to continually contemplate death as coming soon, as in the time it takes to swallow a spoonful of rice or the time it takes to breathe in and out. Do not be careless in life.

8.  Contemplating Life as Birth and Death Every Moment   

This mindfulness means seeing that life is being born and dying all the time. This is hard to see, for example, one might contemplate that the cells in the body are regenerating all the time. The cells in the body now are not the same cells which were in the body when we were younger, this shows that life is being born and dying all the time as well as our mind that rises and falls all the time. There is nothing permanent.  

9. The Benefits of Mindfulness of Death

Finally, what are the benefits of practicing Mindfulness of Death Meditation? The Visuddhimagga summarizes them as follows:

A monk who is constantly mindful of death will be diligent. He is disenchanted with all forms of being [existence]. He has conquered attachment to life. He abhors all evil. He is not greedy and does not hoard requisites. The perception of impermanence grows in him, followed by the perceptions of pain and non-self. Others who have not developed mindfulness of death become victims of fear, horror and confusion when the time of their death arrives. They may feel suddenly seized by wild beasts, ghosts, snakes, robbers or murderers. However, the monk dies fearless, without delusion. If he does not attain Nirvana at that time, then he is at least assured of a happy rebirth in heaven for the next lifetime. Therefore, a wise man diligently contemplates Mindfulness of Death whose benefits are ultimate.

---