Mindful the Mexican Day of the Dead

Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

How to be a good Mexican Buddhist on a day like this? Practice Mindfulness of Death.

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Death will come. While yet alive, wake up.

Mindfulness of Death (maraṇasati) is a Buddhist meditation practice of remembering (frequently calling to mind) that death can touch us at any time (AN 6.20).

So we should practice for awakening assiduously (appamada) and with a sense of urgency (saṃvega) at every moment, even in the time it takes to draw one breath.

Not being diligent in this practice until it spurs us unto action or forgetting or lapsing even a moment is negligence, says the Buddha (AN 6.19). Mindfulness means "bare awareness," so this never means "thinking" or "ruminating" about death or dying.

When mindful, one is not controlled by thoughts

How exactly it is practiced is very well laid out, and it serves as an impetus to action not a cause of depression, fear, or other mental defilements. (Of the various Buddhist personality types, it is best practiced by the sensual, greedy, clingy).

In the earliest sutras of the Buddha, the term maranasati is only explicitly defined twice, in the two discourses AN 6.19 and AN 6.20.

Later Buddhist schools expanded the meaning of maranasati to include various visualizations and contemplation techniques to meditate on the nature of death.

The cultivation of maranasati (done correctly) is conducive to right effort, and also helpful in developing a sense of spiritual urgency (saṃvega) and renunciation (nekkhamma) [1].

Theravada Buddhism

Mindfulness of death is a common practice in Southeast Asian Buddhist monasteries [1]. Buddhist monasteries such as Wat Pah Nanachat will often have human skeletons on display in the meditation hall.[2] More

Mexican Buddhist: How to do Mindfulness

CRYSTAL: Well, look, I can't be bothered! I'm not going to think about death all the time. I want to live, and there's lots of life to think about! So if I just think about death one day a year, I suppose it can be on El Dia de los Muertos, "The Day of the Dead." On that day, today, I can consider my mortality and impending death.

DHR. SEVEN: That's not the way to think of this matter. You're making all kinds of assumptions. First of all, mindfulness of death does NOT mean "think about dying or being dead." Mindfulness is NOT "thinking." It is awareness, bare awareness, without reacting but rather with radical acceptance of what is at this moment -- rather than our customary 

• grasping at and clinging to what we like,
• fearing, hating, or averting from all we dislike,
• and being confused or dull about all the things we're indifferent towards.

Mi amor, let us be alive and LIVE!

The point of "mindfulness of death" is to BE ALIVE, to be active, to strive for the good while there's time to strive (right NOW!), to live more fully, to appreciate, to have gratitude, to be like the new Ebenezer Scrooge when he wakes up and still -- realizing he hasn't died yet but is still alive -- can turn it around no matter what has been in the past. NOW he looks at what he has NOW in a fresh way: It's a grand opportunity to be human, to make merit, to enjoy, to help, to move toward enlightenment. See?

Viva la vida porque en un momento no se puede.
"Live life b/c in a moment, you won't be able to"

It's like "mindfulness of eating." It's not meant to ruin your lunch. Ask yourself, How do we eat? Mindfully? No, we watch TV while talking on the phone between bites. We don't know what we're shoving in our faces, so we soak our crunch in ketchup or hot sauce or cream sauce or saucy sauce -- or anything but the flavor it has. We're just trying to cover up whatever junk we're shoveling. We eat standing, hunched over the sink, distracted, sucking in air, and bubble drinks, rarely tasting or appreciating or knowing when we're full. It's madness! "Mindfulness of eating" gives us more appreciation, more enjoyment, with less attachment, aversion, or confusion.

Start by doing these steps before eating.

Mindfulness (sati) has immediate benefits right now! Now is what's important.

CRYSTAL: Oh, I get it. You're right. I have been eating like that and sleepwalking through my life. I don't say a prayer of gratitude (like the Buddha taught that chant so we eat better before beginning, right?) I haven't been living at all, fearing death all along instead of being wakeful, conscientious, and growing toward liberation.

Death is not good, but being aware of death is there sure can be, not by thinking, worrying, and fearing, which is only increasing aversion, but by radical acceptance, making progress, and savoring the moment right here, right now. Wow! That makes so much sense.

Día de los Muertos ("Day of the Dead" | Artbound | S10, E3 | KCET

(KCET) Día de los Muertos has been adapted for centuries from its pre-colonial roots to the popular depictions in mass media today. Inspired by rich Oaxacan (pronounced \wah-hawk-ken]) traditions, it was brought to East Los Angeles in the 1970s as a way to enrich and reclaim Chicano (Mexican American) identity through a small celebration at Self Help Graphics and Art.

L.A. stands for "Latin America," Alta California

Since then, the celebration has grown in proportions with renditions enacted in communities all around the world. In contrast to all the glamorous fanfare Dia de los Muertos now receives, Artbound offers a more intimate look at this ritual through the story of artist Ofelia Esparza, who continues the tradition of building altars to remember the dead.

Journey with her as she travels back to Mexico in search of her ancestral roots. Want to learn more? Watch more Artbound at bit.ly/3zc97G0

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Pre-Day of the Dead 2023 celebrations: La Catrina skeletons parade through Mexico City

(Global News) Oct. 23, 2023: People in Mexico (actual name United Mexican States) painted their faces and got dressed up as the iconic Mexican skeleton La Catrina for pre-Day of the Dead celebrations over the weekend. The parade is one of the city’s many events for Dia de Muertos (Nov. 2), a pre-Hispanic tradition in which families remember their dead -- including deceased pets -- and celebrate the continuity of life.

For more info, please visit globalnews.ca. #dayofthedead #diademuertos #globalnews