As a Buddhist, it is helpful to compare the cycles of life and death to the daily rhythms of waking and sleeping.

I believe that whether we can live a truly satisfying life to the end depends to a considerable extent on how we view death. Sadly, many older people are anxious and fearful about death. But, as a Buddhist, I find it helpful to compare the cycles of life and death to the daily rhythms of waking and sleeping. Just as we look forward to the rest sleep brings after the efforts and exertions of the day, death can be seen as a welcome period of rest and re-energizing in preparation for a new round of active life. And just as we enjoy the best sleep after a day in which we have done our very best, a calm and easy death can only follow a life lived to the fullest without any regrets.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 23/5

Ideally, we should live every minute of our lives valuably, as if it were the last moment of our lives

If you think about it, although we may not be destined to die five minutes from now, we are all, without exception, going to die at some point. We can count on it 100 percent. There is nothing surer than this. Victor Hugo says, "We are all under sentence of death, but with a sort of indefinite reprieve." Ideally, we should live every minute of our lives valuably, as if it were the last moment of our lives. Those who live aimlessly are left with a sense of emptiness at the end of their lives, but those who live all-out, striving right to the end, will die peacefully. Leonardo da Vinci says, "As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death." One aware that death could come at any time will live each day to the fullest.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 25/4

After we have been alive for a long time, we grow weary and die. And then we set out on a new life with a fresh spirit

Josei Toda often compared death to sleep. When we have been awake for a long time, we tire and go to sleep. And when we wake up after a sound sleep, our vitality is restored. After we have been alive for a long time, we grow weary and die. And then we set out on a new life with a fresh spirit. Death is a period of "recharging" for our next existence.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 8/2

As one strives to perfect himself by doing good for others, the Buddhist is constantly aware that death is a fulfilling and enriching part of life

The Buddhist view is that to die a good death, one must have led a good life. The knowledge that death represents the return of the individual life to the great universal life prior to another phenomenal manifestation is a source of splendid strength, rich with compassion and wisdom. As he or she strives to perfect himself by doing good for others, the Buddhist is constantly aware that death is a fulfilling and enriching part of life. For people who believe this, death is not defeat, but a wonderful stimulus to live more vigorously and more meaningfully.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 6/2

Life and death are one

Life and death are one, and the entity of our existence is eternal, persisting throughout past, present and future. The setting sun, radiant with joy, gives proof of its undiminished power and at the same time offers a promise of a bright tomorrow. Bringing our lives to a wonderful, satisfying close guarantees us the path to happiness throughout eternity. 15/4