who died? Death as a teacher of life Stephen Levin. Translated from English: Ofra
Avigad Prague Publishing House, 314 pages, NIS 75
By Freya Hart
A friend of the author who practices meditation contacted a Zen teacher who came to his country, and asked
from him to be his disciple. The Zen teacher asked him: "Are you ready to die?"
The friend shook his head in surprise: "I didn't come here to die. I came to
to learn the Zen teachings." The Zen teacher told him: "If you are not ready to die,
You are not ready to be released into life. When you're ready to enter them directly
And without ignoring anything, return here" (p. 37).
The insight that death can come at any moment, and that we must be ready to accept it
With open arms, can change our attitude towards life. And if we see you
Life as an opportunity to explore our true nature, we will know even when the time comes to die
Peacefully and quietly. Death and life are not only not opposites or opposites, they are
Two aspects of the same being. This is the message in the book "Who is dead?" By Steven
(Stephen) Levin.
Levin, the son of middle-class Jewish parents in the US, testifies to himself
As a teenager he was a big brat. He wanders the streets wearing a black leather jacket,
Participated in street brawls and clashed with the law, to the dismay of his parents. With
Over the years he was a student of Ram Dass, and was exposed to the teachings of Yogi Ramana
Maharishi. For many years he practiced Buddhist meditation and taught it
for patients on their deathbeds. By way of self-work he managed to bridge over
He calls the differences between him and his parents and respecting them as they are and this process
"Closing a circle". Closing a circle is mutual deletion of accounts. instead of
It is better for us to constantly write down our knowledge of right and duty to people close to us
Learn to let go of our anger, forgive others and ourselves, and enjoy beauty
The moment so that we can live and die with openness and freedom.
This should also be our attitude towards pain. When pain arises in the body, the reaction
The most common is to close around him, shrink and be afraid. But fear only
Increases the pain and does not let it pass. Reluctance from the pain does not allow
overcome him. And those who are afraid of pain cannot deal with the pain of
other than him
While working with dying children Levin learned that the younger the child
The more the smaller they were afraid of death. When parents are able to open up to their fears
and let go of their grip on their dying child, thus making it easier for them to separate and
Detachment from the body. Levin sees pain as a cruel and beloved teacher who teaches
To rise beyond clinging, prompts a deep investigation into the essence of life
and educates to let go and let go. He combines meditation exercises between his words
which should allow the body to soften and open up to infinite spaces of existence.
When a person meets his friend's pain out of fear, he seeks to relieve his friend
to relieve himself. A therapist who works with seriously ill patients should remember that he is not
No one has to be saved except himself, and when he works with a dying person he is
working on himself Therapists must learn to work with people who are standing
To die not out of pity or fear, but out of love. According to Levin, mostly
The places where dying people are cared for try to alleviate their plight, however
Death is ignored as a means of spiritual awakening.
Our tendency to cling to the body and cling to objects, memories and people,
As if they are the only reality, locking us in a limited cognitive space.
The question "Who am I?" And looking at death reveals to us the impermanence of the body
and the futility of attachment. In the Japanese Zen tradition it was customary to be reserved
Spirit will leave behind them a song of death. As the guardian of the spirit Takuen was on a cradle
Devi, his followers asked him to write a death poem, but he refused. when his followers
Keep insisting, he wrote the Japanese character that represents the word
"Dream", and died (p. 269).
Every experience in life can be a lesson, and there is no doubt that pain, illness
or the death of a close person can shock us to such an extent that we wake up from
The dream and we open ourselves to the unknown. In fluent writing and plenty of examples
The author encourages readers to see the illness and dying process as a means
for spiritual growth. But rather the excessive emphasis and repeated repetition
may at some point arouse in the readers a feeling as if it is impossible to reach
To enlightenment without the deep experience of suffering. Is it not possible to achieve awakening?
Spiritual also in another way, out of wonder, joy and humor?
Levin sees suffering as an essential means of enrichment and growth, and therefore almost ignores it
Completely out of the discussion of euthanasia. He also touches lightly on suicide. on the 4th
Only pages he addresses such a problematic and charged topic, and ends with the words:
Suicide is not the right answer. But also a life of repression and clinging
Expecting things to change, or the desire to survive at any cost is not the answer
the right one "Suicide is the murder of the body. Awareness is the rebirth of
consciousness. Love is the realization of that which cannot be called by name" (p.
230). What exactly can readers understand from this?
Levin collects ingredients from different cultures and different spiritual teachers. he
A collection of spices from Christianity, Buddhism, Yoga, Sufism, and more. from them
He concocts a concoction intended to give expression to an essential unity, but sometimes
The stew loses its unique taste.
Ofra Avigad's translation is eloquent and flowing. The book uses the word extensively
Consciousness: natural consciousness, original consciousness, clear consciousness, consciousness
limited, spaces of consciousness, and more. as well as in the words awareness, recognition, heart and more.
The use of these words in different variations does not make it easier for the readers to understand
clearly the intention of things. Although there is no doubt that the Hebrew language is limited
in the wealth of words that describe the world of thoughts, feelings, attention fluctuations,
and the mental happenings, and it is possible that English also suffers from a similar disadvantage.
Levin also combines songs by Kabir and Erica Jung, and relies on teachers
Well-known spiritualists and even a great scientist like Albert Einstein to give
A confirmation of his words, however, in the Hebrew edition there is no place that can testify
Where did the quote come from, and this, unfortunately, is a weak point.
The importance of the book "Who is dead?" lies in the question "Who lives?" or in other words
"Who am I?" If the self exists, where will it disappear to? and if there is no me,
Where does the fear of losing him come from? The following story highlights this: A friend fell ill
With a degenerative nerve disease that ended in death, she turned to a Korean Zen teacher, who came
to visit the United States. After she told him about her plight, he smiled,
He waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, you won't die." Who she really is, no
You will die forever (p. 199).
Freya Hart's book "Dummy Advantage" was published by Keter Publishing
To purchase the book at "Mythos" you can click on the following banner:
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