The Beauty of Death

This page is about death, not faith and beliefs in terms of religion and such. I never wanted this page to be about religion and such, but there is no other category in AOL Hometown that is near enough. Anyway, I will basically put on here anything that has to do with death, but not like that gothic crap that some people like to tout around. I have a Zen apporach to life, and there is nothing more a part of life than death. What I will put on this page are any words that have truth in them about death, although some may deviate towards life. The first is my favorite, a prose work that spells out how death should be viewed. If anyone has any suggestions for works or links that I can put on the site, let me know and I'll check it out.

On Death, by Dan Mencher

It is difficult to determine whether or not death is a part of life, the reason being that death is, by definition, the ultimate form of lifelessness. However, in terms of death being a part of life as a proverb describing death’s inevitable presence, it is more a part of life than birth. For birth is uncertain; medically speaking, abortions, stillbirths, and miscarriages are always possible, and figuratively speaking, rebirths, reincarnations, and reformations always seem to occur throughout life. But death, deep, mysterious, and overbearing in its presence, is the final and ultimate ending, certain to be there as the signature “THE END” to every life story. Thus, the focus of death should not be to avoid it; such is impossible. Rather, the focus of death should be how and under what circumstances it is met. One ought not to fear death (or anything, for that matter). As I have mentioned, death is inevitable, and to fear it is futile and a waste. Instead, one should be bold about death, and though one would not be in one’s right mind to seek it, one should not resist death when the time has come to take one’s final breath. The fact is that one should make the most of life, for that is the most uncertain thing of all. Nobody can predict life, but everyone knows that death will come. Life is an ephemeral moment in time; it seems to pass slowly, but soon has gone by quickly. To waste it being selfish, greedy, and useless while trying to elude death is a pitiful waste indeed. For the life lived is the life chosen; death will come anyway. One who spends life improving oneself, one’s environment, others’ well-being, and one’s society will go to one’s death knowing that his or her life was worthy and will need not worry about death; one will rest in peace. The fool who has squandered life trying to prolong it will not only miss the beauty of it, but will also die a miserable death, for no matter how long the fool’s life is prolonged, death will come, and the futile effort, doomed from the start, will have finally failed, making the life a waste. One should meet death face-to-face, eye-to-eye, bold, fearless, ready, and having lived a fruitful life, be able to accept, and, in a sense, look forward to a final, peaceful respite. Thus, I urge those still left alive or yet to face the uncertainty of birth to live a fruitful, productive life, free from haste and hate and full of spontaneous enjoyment. Live life by the moment, for death, already inevitable in its being, is also inevitable in its suddenness and randomness. Death is neither good nor evil, right nor wrong, passive nor aggressive, kind nor mean, gentle nor harsh, fair nor biased, harmless nor harmful. It just is, and it is final. It has no form; it doesn’t need one. Everyone wants to live, but sometimes one must realize the unimportance of life itself. It becomes important only when we make it so. Life is beautiful, and often must be preserved, but the ultimate meaning of life lies in how it is executed, in both meanings of the word. Otherwise, it is incomplete and cannot as yet be called a full life. To fully carry life out, it must be ended, for immortality is merely eternal uncertainty. That is the truth.

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Español (De La Muerte)
Français (Au Sujet De La Mort)
Italiano (Della Morte)
Português (Da Morte)
Esperanto (Pri La Morto)

Other Works & Quotes

HOLY SONNET 10 (aka: DEATH, BE NOT PROUD)
by John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so ;
For those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy picture[s] be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke ; why swell'st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more ; Death, thou shalt die.


MOURN NOT THE DEAD
by Ralph Chaplin

Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie-
Dust unto dust-
The calm, sweet earth that mothers all who die
As all men must;

Mourn not your captive comrades who must dwell-
Too strong to strive-
Within each steel-bound coffin of a cell,
Buried alive;

But rather mourn the apathetic throng-
The cowed and the meek-
Who see the world's great anguish and its wrong
And dare not speak!


PROSPICE
by Robert Browning

Fear death?---to feel the fog in my throat,
The mist in my face,
When the snows begin, and the blasts denote
I am nearing the place,
The power of the night, the press of the storm,
The post of the foe;
Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form;
Yet the strong man must go:
For the journey is done and the summit attained,
And the barriers fall,
Though a battle's to fight ere the guerdon be gained,
The reward of it all.
I was ever a fighter, so---one fight more,
The best and the last!
I would hate that Death bandaged my eyes, and forbore,
And made me creep past.
No! let me taste the whole of it, fare like my peers,
The heroes of old,
Bear the brunt, in a minute pay glad life's arrears
Of pain, darkness and cold.
For sudden the worst turns the best to the brave.
The black minute's at end,
And the elements' rage, the fiend voices that rave,
Shall dwindle, shall blend,
Shall change, shall become first a peace out of pain.
Then a light, then thy breat,
O thou soul of my soul! I shall clasp thee again,
And with God be the rest.


REQUIEM
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you grave for me;
Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.


(untitled)
by Tokugawa Ieyasu

Whether one passes on or remains is all the same.
That you can take no one with you is the only difference.
Ah, how pleasant! Two awakenings and one sleep.
This dream of a fleeing world! The roseate hues of early dawn!


from HAGAKURE
by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

When it comes to death, there is only the quick choice of death. It is not particularly difficult. Be determined and advance. To say that dying without reaching one's aim is to die a dog's death is the frivolous way of sophisticates. When pressed with the choice of life or death, it is not necessary to gain one's aim.
We all want to live. And in large part we make our logic according to what we like. But not having attainded our aim and continuing to live is cowardice. This is a thin dangerous line. To die without gaining one's aim is indeed a dog's death and fanatacism. But there is no shame in this.... If by setting one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body was already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling.


"Life must exist for death to take it away, and so though an end comes to pass, so does death allow for a new beginning to spawn, and life goes on, and when life finally dies, so shall death, and all that shall be left is spirit. Thus, it must be that ends and beginnings shall cease together, and finally eternal calm shall reign."
-Dan Mencher


"You must try your hardest in everything you do, whether it be a simple or hard task. Do it with the intent that tomorrow will not be here, so that you will never regret any moment of life. If you follow this guide line every minute you live, then your life will never be in vain."
-Matt Ubertini


"Those afraid of death are usually afraid of life."
-Anonymous


"Once you accept your own death all of a sudden you are free to live. You no longer care about your reputation... you no longer care except so far as your life can be used tactically - to promote a cause you believe in."
-Saul Alinsky


"In the long run we are all dead."
-John Maynard Keynes
(This one pretty much sums it up)


"The death from which you flee will truly overtake you."
-from the QUR-AN


"Quien teme la muerte no goza la vida."
("He who fears death cannot enjoy life")
-Spanish proverb


"All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust."
-JOB 34:15


"Happy are those who do not fear death. They know no fear and therefore cannot be controlled."
-Anonymous


"The wicked is banished in his wickedness, but the righteous hath hope in his death."
-PROVERBS 14:32


"A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of one's death than the day of one's birth."
-ECCLESIASTES 7:1


"Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry."
-Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)


"You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough."
-Joe E. Lewis


"One should always finish that which one starts. Included in that spectrum is the endeavor of life."
-Dan Mencher


"Death is the one thing we all have in common."
-Jeanne Phillips (Abigail Van Buren/Dear Abby)


"Death does determine life.... Once life is finished it acquires a sense; up to that point it has not got a sense; its sense is suspended and therefore ambiguous. However, to be sincere I must add that for me death is important only if it is not justified and rationalized by reason. For me death is the maximum of epicness and death."
-Pier Paolo Pasolini


"Death is a shadow that always follows the body."
-Middle English proverb


"Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present."
-Ludwig Wittgenstein

"Death, like an overflowing stream,
Sweeps us away: our life’s a dream,..."
-Isaac Watts

"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall USE my time."
-Jack London

"One must die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly."
-Friedrich Nietzsche

"Those who cling to life die, and those who defy death live"
-Uesugi Kenshin

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