Looking back at the words of those who have died
Recently, I learned about a creator who died of cancer when she was still around 30 years old.
SNS was updated until a few days before his death, and there are also posts that make you feel that the end is near.
When I read that post, I felt like there was no relief, and at the same time I thought about my own worries.
I also have various problems every day, such as work, future career, relationships, romance, parents, money, etc.
However, as I watched the end of that person, I realized that there are actually many options for the problems I have.
What to do with work, how to deal with people, and how will we live in the future. Even though I'm worried, I have a “tomorrow” to think about, choose, and start over.
On the other hand, that person didn't have the very option of “living tomorrow.”
“I still have a tomorrow today that I couldn't give this person anymore. I want to make sure I don't forget that.”
With that in mind, I bookmarked that person's last post. I think I'll look back at it about once a month from now on, or when I feel depressed.
However, I am also aware that those feelings are not the only ones within me.
“Compared to this person, isn't my problem stupid?”
“There are people who have been in a more difficult situation, so I have to cherish the life I have now more.”
There is certainly a part where I am trying to inspire myself by comparing myself to the misfortunes of those who have died in that way.
I'm a little stuck there.
If you keep the words and death of someone who has passed away in your heart as a commandment for yourself to face forward and look back over and over again, do you receive proof that that person lived in your own way?
Or are they using the misfortunes and deaths of others as material to encourage themselves?
Also, how do you think in Buddhism about relativizing one's own suffering by comparing it with others, saying “there are people who suffer more, so my own worries are not a big deal”?
I would like to hear your thoughts from a monk's point of view on how to deal with someone who has died without losing respect for that person and if I receive something from that person's death.
