(Transcript) A Dhamma talk given by Bhante Dr. Chandima, on April 30, 2017, for a Devotee's funeral, in Calgary, Canada

The deceased name was removed for privacy.

My dear friends, I was asked to speak today and I am honored to do so and bring you some thoughts on the occasion for which we are gathered.

The theme that I want to bring to you today is on remembering. Yes, we remember the life and work of [the deceased], and we also remember what we were taught - what we have learned about this thing we call death. It is as undeniable as that the earth moves around the sun: death comes for each of us - or rather: this body of mine, this body of yours, they are as impermanent as a flower’s bloom.

And yet, it seems we can be caught off-guard by the occurrence of this change. There is never a good time for it, and we associate with it heightened levels of suffering - for those whose time has come, and for those around them who care for them. In a twist to an old bumper-sticker slogan: “existence is suffering, and then you die”. It is much easier to have a chuckle over this when it is in the abstract - it is still hard to accept when it is someone you care for, someone you respect or admire - someone you worked closely with and with whom you imagined you would have many future encounters or experiences.

It is not just the impermanence of [the deceased] that we must accept, it is also our own. And so we know that just as thoughts arise and fall, we all come and go - and this going is the time at which we can look at our friend [the deceased] and see the facts of what his life was - how it uplifted and encouraged those around him, the example his words and deeds showed to others. In remembering him, we remember what Buddha showed about how to live:

From [Ariyapariyesana Sutta]: Buddha says,

Monks, there are these two searches: [the] ignoble search and [the] noble search.

And what is [the] ignoble search? ...

[When] a person, being subject himself to birth, seeks [happiness in] what is likewise subject to birth. Being subject himself to aging… illness… death… sorrow… defilement, he seeks [happiness in] what is likewise subject to aging… illness… death… sorrow… defilement.

And what is the noble search? [When] a person, himself being subject to birth, seeing the drawbacks of birth, seeks the unborn, unexcelled rest from the yoke: unbinding.

Himself being subject to aging... illness... death... sorrow... defilement, seeing the drawbacks of aging... illness... death... sorrow... defilement, seeks the aging-less, illness-less, deathless, sorrow-less, undefiled, unexcelled rest from the yoke: Unbinding. This is the noble search.

[the deceased] was on a noble search, wasn’t he? I hope we are all on this noble search. For we know that we do not escape - we are not excluded from - the three characteristics to which everything in this universe is subject: Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta.

Anicca: the characteristic of change. We are not the same as we were yesterday. We are not the same as we were 10 minutes ago. Biology teaches us that this body is a complex organism, in constant flux with the air we breathe, the food we eat, and our bodily processes. The characteristic of change permeates everything and is the fact behind impermanence.

Dukkha or Dissatisfaction: experiences and things do not provide satisfaction - the general state of things, this constant change, the impermanence: unless our nature is that of someone who on the noble search, this is all experienced as dissatisfaction.

And finally, Anatta or non-self: as we are these biological things that change day by day, who have thoughts that arise and fall, in a constant ebb and flow of impermanence, anything that we think of as a self is an illusionary thought, not based in reality. This is one of the hardest things to truly understand - it requires an understanding, not as an observer who understands something that is observed: it requires understanding that not only is there no observer, there is nothing to be observed.

These three characteristics are everywhere evident, and are especially evident on days such as these. They are not, however, a sign of something amiss: they are part of a natural order. Our goal is to understand this order so we may bring clarity and relief to our thinking and to those around us.

Buddha said that birth and death are related - and the most important thing between these two epic moments is to have lived, to the best of our potential, a life full of wonder. Cultivating compassion and wisdom, and working to help others to do the same, are the seeds of a wonderful life. Today we remember [the deceased] as someone who supported knowledge and education with the goal of increasing wisdom and compassion in this world. His noble search has ended - just as each of ours will someday. We remember him and what we have learned from him, and we take these things with us as we continue our own journeys. 

May he attain the supreme bliss of Nibbāna!

Thank you for allowing me the time to share these thoughts.

Bhante. Dr. Chandima