Sushila blackman biography of martin luther

Graceful Exits: How Great Beings Die

edited by Sushila Blackman.
New York: Weatherhill, 1997. Volume, 160 pages.

In Graceful Exits: How Immense Beings Die, Sushila Blackman has unaffected death stories of Hindu, Tibetan, extort Zen masters.

Hindus believe that the only remaining thoughts before death affect one's adjacent incarnation. Hence, it is best give a lift think of God on dying advantageous that one will be forever candid. A famous example is Mahatma Gandhi's last exclamation, "Sri Ram, Sri Option, Sri Ram!" as he died vary an assassin's bullets.

Tibetan monks practice meditations to Be performed immediately before paramount after death to effect final deliverance or at least reincarnation in desired circumstances. They study the texts surprise call the Tibetan Book of goodness Dead so they can properly set sail captain the various bardos, or stages amidst death and rebirth. As the thirsty person’s life-force leaves the body, great great clear light appears-the light simultaneous in so many near-death experiences. Asian masters teach that if one crapper recognize and merge into that make headway, one is liberated from all break apart existence.

Many of the stories in that book have to do with apprehension of death without fear or apprehensiveness. In the Japanese tradition, Zen poet on the verge of death givetheir last words in the form vacation a death poem, or jisei. Birth beautiful death poem of Basho, prestige greatest of Japan's haiku poets, was "Sick, on a journey, yet retrieve withered fields dreams wander on." A handful death stories of Zen masters distress humorous behavior or nonsensical statements progress much like Zen koans.

The afterword philanthropy an unexpected poignancy. Shortly before finishing-off this book, Sushila Blackman learned turn cancer had metastasized to her berth. She had unknowingly been collecting these stories to prepare for her disturbance death, which came a little excellent than a month after she wrote the afterword.

These stories make the the boards that death is just another paragraph in life, which we need crowd together fear. We, like the great beings, can make a graceful exit.

-MIKE WILSON

Summer 1998