Consider this quiet guest, woven into the fabric of all life yet rarely welcomed: death. In Western culture, death is often a taboo, a shadow to be avoided until it stands inescapably before us. But in the Buddhist tradition, death is a teacher and a silent companion, walking beside us from the first breath we take.
Buddhism does not turn away from death; it brings us closer to it. In doing so, it liberates us from illusion, grounding us in the raw truth of impermanence. By reflecting on death, we peel back what is false to reveal life’s transient beauty. Seen this way, death is not an end but a moment of transition—like dawn folding into day or autumn leaves dissolving into the earth.
Do you like what you are reading? Sign up below for more blog posts.
In meditation, we sometimes imagine our own death—not to instill fear, but to deepen wisdom. We envision our bodies aging, our minds softening, and then the breath leaving, a single, last sigh. We touch a vast silence here, recognizing that the body, born of earth, must return to it. The mind, like a river, flows on. (Sinnes-strömmen, as I call it in Swedish) Consciousness, freed from form, drifts without grasping—clouds scattering after a storm.
Our lives unfold in brief, unpredictable currents, and contemplating death dissolves the illusion of permanence. Imagine living each day with this understanding—not as a heavy burden, but as a liberation from trivial worries and momentary conflicts. Embracing death does not diminish our love for life; it enhances it. We learn to move gently, knowing each touch, each smile, and each heartbreak is as transient as a passing breeze.
Death, too, is a call to love. It teaches us to hold our loved ones close, knowing they will someday fade like the last light of evening. It urges us to offer kindness, knowing that we all walk toward the same unknown. When we hold death in our awareness, life becomes more vivid. Colors deepen, and our hearts, no longer bound by the illusion of endless time, soften. For those who wish to honor this journey with intention, I offer a 49th Day Memorial Service—a sacred ceremony held traditionally 49 days after a loved one’s passing, though it may be performed at any later time of choice. This service brings family and friends together to create an auspicious ending for the deceased, whether human or animal, as they transition toward their next existence. The service includes a preparatory meeting, ritual preparations, accessories, and the ceremony itself, allowing us to remember and send our loved ones onward with the kindness and warmth they held in life.
A meditation on this truth inspired my album Jord (Earth), available on all major digital music platforms. Jord includes a journey into the deepest layers of the body, guiding you to a place of surrender, of release, as we travel through the bones and into the earth below. It is accompanied by the music of Gertrud Stenung, who composed for cello, piano, and electronic glass piano—a soundscape tried and loved by many of my students long before this album was recorded. Each note holds a resonance of transformation and return, carrying you along on breath and visualization. (Guided in Swedish.) For those new to this meditation, and who do not understand Swedish, I have also made a simplified live version of the relaxation part from this album; Journey through the Bones, available on my YouTube channel in English.
Do you like what you are reading? Sign up below for more blog posts.
In this way, death is a homecoming, a return to the vastness that has always held us. And in honoring death, we embrace the full spectrum of life, with gratitude for every step and every breath. I dedicate this reflection to two Swedish legends who have recently passed: the groundbreaking director Suzanne Osten and the visionary photographer Elisabeth Ohlson. Their lives, filled with courage and light, serve as a reminder to live fully and creatively, meeting death not as an ending but as a journey into the great unknown.
Hands folded,
Lama Chimey
Get Dharma Blog Posts straight to your device
Lama Chimey 