Expert: Laurie McLauglin - 4/16/2009

Question
I'm writing a paper for my class and was wondering if you could help me out.  If you were sitting down talking to someone on death row, what would you tell them to comfort them?  What would you tell them to prepare them for death?

Answer
That is an interesting question.  Thank you for letting me answer it.

It is a bit of a difficult question in one sense.  Buddha Shakyamuni, the Buddha taught eighty-four thousand separate teachings.  The reason that he did that was because he geared each of his teachings toward a specific audience. He likened his teachings to medicine.  If a person had a cut on their ankle, one would not prescribe the same medicine to a person who broke their ankle.

Since people on death row can be of various levels of intelligence, wisdom, and various levels of spiritual development, there is no generic answer for these questions.  There are many different levels of Buddhist teachings from simple breathing meditation up to teachings on the nature of reality. So, answering this question using a generic situation is a bit difficult and I am afraid I will have to give a rather generic answer. But you may feel free to ask any follow up questions you may have.

I would tell the person to comfort them that death is not the final answer. I would tell them that they are not alone.  That they are loved. I would tell them that what ever they did to bring them to this place that their death will help heal and purify the negativities of their actions.

To prepare them for death I would see if they wanted to meditate in order to help their minds find peace before their death. I would see if they wanted to calm their minds and find peace and happiness in the present moment; to learn that living in the present moment fully while being aware of our thoughts and emotions can help bring us happiness, calm and stability in the present moment.  And even when negative things happen meditation helps us realize that it is nothing to be worried about or afraid of.

I might see if I could tell them about karma and how it works, if they would be willing to accept hearing about it.

Another thing about Buddhism is that it is not usually beneficial to teach people something they are not ready to hear or learn as it can confuse them and if they don’t understand it correctly, they can decide there is nothing in Buddhism which can help them and that would be sad as there is so much which is beneficial to people in all situations in life.

That’s the best I can do without a more specific scenario.  But as I said, don’t hesitate to ask any further questions.