Dialogue 167 Gap of awareness We have thought that to live is a hard time itself. To live is nothing but a hard time because a hard time is to live itself, to live old, to live ill and to live die according to Buddhism. However, other creatures living in the natural society have no hard time to live at all. They just live at �gnow & here�h and to live for life and to die for death. We only human beings live with anxious, agony and finally fear of death. It is because we had had the concept of death that �gI shall surely die someday�h. Then, it is better for us to live like other creatures who don�ft have the concept of death. Even Buddha had lived in the harem of kingdom without any conflict before he knew the concept of death that �geverybody shall surely die someday�h. He left his family for ascetic discipline when he had the concept of death that �gI shall surely die someday�h. This was the greatest turning point of his life. Each one of us had the greatest turning point of life when we knew the concept of death that �gI shall surely die someday�h. Buddha knew the truth at the greatest turning point of his life but we fell into a hard time to live at the greatest turning point of our life. Why did this kind of gap happen? Buddha became aware of the greatest turning point of his life. We didn�ft become aware of greatest turning point of our life. Buddha and we are as different as night and day. Become aware of greatest turning point of life is the most important. Buddha hadn�ft known the concept of death until he was 28 years old that �gI shall surely die someday�h. We folks have known the concept of death earlier than Buddha but we have to live with anxious, agony and finally fear of death. This has happened because of gap of awareness, the gap of the raison d�fêtre for human beings.

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