47. The Mahayana instruction for ejection of consciousness at death is the five strengths. How you conduct yourself is important.

Because we are born, we die. In this slogan, the Five Strengths call upon us to make friends with death:

1. Strong Determination: I resolve to maintain basic sanity, even in dying.
2. Familiarization: I call upon my familiarity with the Dharma to help me refrain from panic at death.
3. Seed of Virtue: Perhaps the biggest obstacle I face in life is the fear of death. This, the time of my death, is the time to overcome my attachment to life and thus free myself from this fear.
4. Reproach: Death is caused by ego, so this is the time to let it go.
5. Aspiration: While dying, may I continue to open. There is nothing to hold on to and nothing to regret. May I rest my mind in the nature of Alaya and breathe.

Many years ago, I lived in northern Virginia and spent much of my free time mountain biking on the many trails in the area. One day, while enjoying a fabulous ride on a trail that was new to me, I came sweeping around a turn in the trail and ran directly into the cut end of a small tree that extended into the trail. It impacted me right at the top of my ribcage, just below the throat. I was knocked backward off the bike and landed heavily on my back. As I lay on the ground, struggling to breathe, I remembered this slogan. While I couldn’t recall the specifics, or even what the five strengths were, I remembered to just breathe and rest my mind. This helped me calm down and to realize that I was not actually dying – I had just had the wind knocked out of me. I hope that when the actual moment of my dying arrives that I am able to remember this slogan and die well.