Good Bye Thay! (Rev. THich Nhat Hahn).

If you believe in it then it is as it should be and if you don't it is all up for grabs as nothing in this universe will materialize as you expect it to unless you have a greater input into making it happen. A strong believe backed up with a complete faith in yourself is the catalyst that can trigger a higher consciousness that transcends your normal perceptions, In a meditative state of consciousness one has to be able to surrender completely into the unknown or the subconscious mind where there is stored the vast database of information of your past present and future that can only be accessed by a mind that is completely free from any form of inhibitions. No fear nor doubts, no assumptions nor precognitions not an iota of a sense of  a preconceived idea or conditioning. One is like a tabula rasa or a clean slate ready to receive information as they are conjured from the depth of the subconscious. With an immovable belief in your own free will, your own selfless self, you can tap into the vast reservoir of hidden wisdom within you at no cost, cause it is yours to begin with.

Thich Nhat Hahn, the 92 years old Vietnamese Buddhist monk is willing himself to die, true to the ways of the ancient ones of the Buddhist Chan or Zen tradition, This is not right, it is like committing suicide meditatively, like what the historical Buddha did when he sat under the Bo tree for 40 days not eating or drinking. The Buddha had an excuse and he was willing to die fulfilling his intention and that being to find out the way out of this cycle of life death and rebirth, this Samsaric existence. Thay as he is more popularly known has no valid excuse to die other than as a proof that it can be done, that is to fully conscious of the moment of death; it is not an impossibility as many Thai Buddhist monks has been known to accomplish this feat. 

At a Buddhist temple outside Hue, Vietnam’s onetime capital, 92-year-old Thich Nhat Hanh has come to quietly “transition,” as his disciples put it. The ailing celebrity monk—quoted by Presidents and hailed by Oprah Winfrey as “one of the most influential spiritual leaders of our times”—is refusing medication prescribed after a stroke in 2014. He lies in a villa in the grounds of the 19th century Tu Hieu Pagoda, awaiting liberation from the cyclical nature of existence.

Karma

Buddhists regard death as a transition. The deceased person will be reborn to a new life, whose quality will be the result of their karma.

This produces two problems. We don't know what the next life is going to be like. If the next life is going to be even worse than the life that the sick person is presently enduring it would clearly be wrong on a utilitarian basis to permit euthanasia, as that shortens the present bad state of affairs in favour of an even worse one.

The second problem is that shortening life interferes with the working out of karma, and alters the karmic balance resulting from the shortened life.

I had the privilege of doing two Vipassana Retreats at Green Gulch Farm Zen Buddhist Center led by Thay who on one occasion decided to elect me as his 'Bell master' as he called it. This was as a 'punishment' for my ringing the large bell outside the Zendo while the rest of the community was meditating in the meditation hall. It is a story i might have related in my sometime in the past as to why i was ringing the big bell instead of sitting along with the others like I was supposed to. It did not got me into trouble as I had anticipated, instead I was made a 'Bell master', my job was to hit the bell at Thay's lecture every fifteen minutes as a pause where everyone would take a deep breath before continuing with the lecture.

I have a whole lot of love and respect for this small Vietnamese monk who can move others simply by being himself. No pretensions, no self aggrandizement despite his fame as a Spiritual Leader known to many around the world. I will miss him when he departs from this life and I will always remember his words for me when i was alone with him for a private talk, "Be yourself, you are doing just fine as you are."  This entry is dedicated to a great soul who had at one time touched my heart and made me appreciate better of who I am. It was an honor to have walked with him from the green Gulch Zendo all the way down through the fields to the Pacific Ocean at Muir Beach. May you become a Buddha in your next life or return as a Bodhisattva yet to lead more of us towards awakening and liberation. The world will loose a great soul with gentle and soft voice that had taught humanity about Loving Kindness and Compassion.