Momentary death

Wherever and whenever we are seeing, it can be understood that seeing is only a kind of reality, and element which experiences an object, a type of nama. There are many kinds of nama. Seeing which experiences visible object at this moment is a kind of nama. The citta which hears sound through the ears is another kind of nama, different from seeing. Hearing is only an element which arises and then falls away, there is no self who hears. It can be compared to a fire which appears and is then extinguished. The fire which is extinguished has completely disappeared, it did not go anywhere else. The reality which arises now and then falls away has disappeared completely. It is not in accordance with the truth to take what has fallen away and disappeared for self or mine. During our whole life from birth until this moment there is no single reality which, after it had arisen, did not fall away. All realities are like a fire which originates and is then extinguished; they do not last and they are non-self. Hearing which has arisen just for a short moment has fallen away. The hearing of this moment is different from the hearing of a previous moment. The hearing of a previous moment is nowhere to be found. There is no self who hears, hearing is only a reality, a kind of element which arises, hears and then falls away completely. Realities arise and fall away in succession; they are succeeding one another until the last moment of this life, the moment of dying. We all know that death is departure, that it is the severance, the seperation from everything; at death there is nothing left of our life in this world. It is the same with hearing which previously arose; it has fallen away completely, there is nothing left of it, it has "died". In the teachings the expression "momentary death" (khanika marana) has been used. If we understand the meaning of this term we will see that there is death of each reality which has arisen and then fallen away completely. One does not have to wait until the approaching of death with developing understanding that there is nothing left of "ourselves". Panna should realize "momentary death", namely, the arising and falling away of realities at this moment. In this way the wrong view which takes realities for "mine", self, beings or persons can be eradicated. We should gradually develop understanding of the characteristics of the realities which appear at this moment. Otherwise we will remain only on the level of theoretical understanding.