Hello, I’m Cheng Qing. Welcome to Relief for Life: Forty Introductory Lectures on Buddhism.

In our earlier discussion of Buddhist views of life and death, we saw how Buddhism understands these phenomena: the wisdom of liberation transcends the cycle of birth and death. This transcendence is not empty abstraction, but rests upon an immense Buddhist vision of time and space—the boundless suffering of the six realms and the magnificent brilliance of pure lands. Buddhism thereby becomes not hollow philosophical reflection but something intimately connected with our actual lives.Across the two thousand years since Buddhism entered China, countless ordinary people have received immense comfort from it. This was not merely psychological hypnosis, but another possibility for life glimpsed through wise insight and devout trust.

In this lecture, I will introduce how monks and lay practitioners throughout history faced death during the final moments of their journeys.

After hearing Buddhist teachings, many may wonder:Can practice really enable us to transcend the suffering of aging, illness, and death visible everywhere?Consider the human misery we see every day in life and online: silent sighs at midnight, anxious waiting outside intensive-care units, and helpless fear before sudden disaster. Can we truly face life and death with serene composure?

This raises an unavoidable question. What sustained so many monks and laypeople through two millennia of studying and practicing Buddhism in China? Can Buddhist practice truly awaken a person and free us from fear of death?