The Science of Death, Part 2 of 2

We now turn to the end-of-life research conducted by Dr.Christopher Kerr of Hospice and Palliative Care, Buffalo, in New York, United States. His work has been featured in the documentary “Death Is But A Dream,” and he is the author of a book by the same title. Through his research, he has observed a pattern of what he calls “End-of-Life-Experiences,” or ELEs, which are visions or dreams that provide comfort and prepare people for a peaceful death. “We looked at this as what changes occurred as people got closer to death. And what happened is that they stopped dreaming of everyday events and started experiencing people who were most important to them. […]”

Dr. Kerr’s research encourages us to consider how we can better support our loved ones who may be approaching the end of their lives. As our loved ones enter the dying state, we can recognize signs through their behaviors. During the dying process, our senses tend to shut down in a particular order, which can provide clues to understand what they may be experiencing.

As the body shuts down, the first noticeable change is a decreased appetite and thirst. The body no longer needs the same level of nourishment and may struggle to digest food. Next, the person’s speech will begin to slow, making conversation increasingly challenging. Eventually, they will likely lose the ability to speak altogether. As their breath becomes shallower, the dying person will close their eyes more often, indicating a loss of vision. During this time, they may experience more frequent visions, as described in Dr. Kerr’s research, as they drift into unconsciousness. The sense of touch will then fade, and the person is unlikely to feel any discomfort or pain as they reach this stage. While hearing is the final sense to diminish before death, studies have shown that even when the body is unresponsive, the brain may still actively respond to sounds.

Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) supports these findings and offers guidance on how we can assist those who are nearing the end of their earthly journey. “‘Another way to assist them is by reciting the names of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Pratyekabuddhas so that the recitation of each name passes by the ear of the dying one and is heard in his fundamental consciousness.’ Even though the person’s not dead yet but is already unconscious, he still hears it. There’s another mechanism apart from the body that hears and sees things around while you’re dying or while you’re unconscious.”

“Even at the time of death, before you go into the Three Evil Paths, just before that, even if you remember Buddha’s name, just one Buddha’s name, or one sentence from here, then the road to hell is closed for you, even if you’ve done a lot of bad things. Everything is illusion anyway, killing, stealing, robbing. This is all back and forth with karma in the cycle of revenge and back and forth, each other. So therefore, the name of the Buddha is true. At least truer than those karmic consequences. So if you repeat the names of the Buddha, meaning your mind, your thinking is toward the truth, instead of toward the fake, then immediately, the hell and other bad destinies are closed in front of you. So at least you are saved for that life.”