Death

Death is one of the Four Great Sufferings: Birth, Old Age, Sickness, and Death. It is a fundamental law: wherever there is birth, there will inevitably be old age, sickness, and death; no living being can escape them.
In the past, the Buddha often taught: “Monks! Do not question whether this world is finite or infinite, limited or unlimited. Whether this world is finite, limited, or infinite, what we should observe is that the reality of life is suffering because of ‘birth, old age, sickness, and death.’”
Today, the Supreme Teacher advises: “Find the root cause of the four sufferings.” Upon examination, the physical body is the root of suffering (the source of suffering), and its seed (the origin) is the deluded mind and afflictions (the source of suffering).
During the time of the Buddha, there were four monks who were studying together. One day they sat down to discuss suffering:
The first monk said:
– I think that in life, fear is the greatest suffering, because when that mind arises, it is impossible to be at peace.
The second monk’s opinion:
– I think that in life, hunger and thirst are the greatest suffering, because when hungry, one must worry about creating food to eat.
The robes
wearing them, how can one practice the Dharma with peace of mind?
The third monk presented:
– In my opinion, anger is the greatest suffering, because when that mind arises, it destroys all wisdom, harming both close and distant people, causing considerable suffering and sin.
The fourth monk said:
– Personally, nothing is more painful than lust; it is the seed of birth and death. Throughout life, people enslave their bodies to it, leading to moral decay and the obscuring of wisdom. While the four monks were debating, each believing their own opinion was correct, the Buddha arrived. The four bowed to the Buddha and asked for his explanation.
The Buddha calmly said:
– Your arguments are all correct, but you only understand the superficial aspects of suffering, not its root. The root of suffering is the physical body; it is because of this body that there is greed, anger, hunger, thirst, and fear… If this body did not exist, where would the four That suffering. Therefore, all troubles and thousands of sufferings are concentrated in the physical body. However, the main cause is the deluded mind; it is because of the deluded mind and afflictions that the physical body is born and then suffers. So, if you want to end suffering, you must immediately eliminate the deluded mind and afflictions.
After hearing the Buddha’s teaching, the four monks were very happy and bowed to the Buddha. To confirm this principle, ancient scriptures contain these verses:
“…Sin arises from the mind, and ceases from the mind. When the mind ceases, sin is also extinguished.
Sin is extinguished, and the mind is extinguished; both are nothing.” A rough translation:

“Sin and suffering originate from the mind,
If the mind does not arise, sin does not arise.
Sin and mind do not give rise to a single thought.
True emptiness manifests the path of enlightenment.”

Commentary on the Repentance Sutra (1975)