I'll be honest here, but it's not death itself that I myself fear, but the
preceding pain that comes before it. In my experience, the sudden arrival of
pain causes no fear, but the antiicipation of it does. For example, some people
who have spoken of being stabbed say that they hardly felt it and didn't know
about such until they collapsed and were in the middle of medical
procedures...but the very notion of being stabbed with a knife or shot
at...well, that causes most people fear. This is the sort of fear I myself am
trying to get over. The fear of losing one's physical integrity, whether it be
one of the arms(or both of them), legs, and so forth...such also are causes of
fear..although Linchi had apparently no fear of losing his, for he was at one
with the Great All/Buddha/something, or another
in Buddha's grace
Mel
