Other questions are:
Who am I? What was my original
face, before my mother and father were born?
These contemplations can be fun, useful, and often
painful.
Fun, when they lead the mind into quietude, and peaceful or
ecstatic feelings might arise.
Useful, when the mind quiets, and anxiety fades away.
Painful, when the contemplation forces the ego to drop away,
and the ego resists, feeling it will die.
I was using this contemplation in my meditation
recently.
I moved my mother into a nursing home and was watching
her.
Slowly shuffling with her rolling walker, unable to complete
a full sentence in her dementia.
She is now more like a corpse, than the vibrant, intelligent,
woman she once was.
Watching this living corpse is a great lesson.
I too am a living corpse.
Perhaps just a little less obvious…
Additionally, a death meditation can be useful, in a
similar, but more active, contemplation.
In meditation arose the question: Why does dementia exist?
The scientific view may lead us to investigate the
deterioration of the brain from multiple infarcts, Alzheimer’s, and other
degenerative diseases.
I was more interested in the philosophical question.
Why does dementia exist is a similar question to: Why are children born with severe mental defects?
This answer arose:
“Until all the lessons that need to be learned are
received.”
Hmmm… Interesting…
I will leave the rest of this contemplation up to you…
Namaste
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