Mindfulness and the good life
pp. 61-78
in: Manu Bazzano (ed), After mindfulness, Berlin, Springer, 2014Abstract
There are forty things worth remembering, the Buddha says in his Discourse on the Foundation of Mindfulness (Thera, 1973). Top of the list are the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the time of its occurrence. What is worth remembering is that this mysterious, dazzling, and tumultuous life—this life we fear and cherish—blooms right into the arms of death. Similarly, the great Tibetan poet and scholar Gendun Chöpel (2009) reminds us that the riches of the world are mist on a mountain pass. Our closest friends are like guests on market day.