THAT'S WHAT THEY WOULD DO, WHAT'S WOULD YOU DO?

Winner of the Jerwood Drawing Prize 2016 (Student), WHAT WOULD YOU DO? reveals people’s reactions when confronted with the prospect of imminent death.

 

Death is a subject that most people do not like to hear about, talk about, or even think about. Why is this? Even, it looms over us every day of our lives. We know it's there. It is something that still comes and we can't stop it head into our lives. But when it comes to the everydayness of death, most of us would rather run a mile than confront the topic.

 

We will all die at some stage. Death is as much a fact of life as breathing air is to survive. So why are we so at pains to ignore it?

 

As a Buddhist I am aware and remember of death are extremely important in Buddhism as death marks the transition from the current life to the next life. It holds immense religious significance because after death, the karmic forces become activated in order to determine the next birth. Remembering death will induce a sense of the great need to prepare ourselves for death. There are various methods (e.g. prayer, meditation, working on our mind) that will enable us to overcome fear, attachment and other emotions that could arise at the time of death and cause our mind to be disturbed, unpeaceful, and even negative. Preparing for death will enable us to die peacefully, with a clear, positive state of mind.