by Master Tsung-pen
This existence of ours is as transient as autumn clouds. To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance. A lifetime is a flash of lightning in the sky. Rushing by, like a torrent down a steep mountain. Shakyamuni Buddha
Worldy forms are not solid. Life is like a candle in the wind. When impermanence suddenly arrives, it is impossible to escape. Master Tsung-pen We do not exaggerate when we say that life on earth is a mere bubble. Mohandas Gandhi

You should consider this: how long can a person's life in the world last? In the blink of an eye, it passes. Take advantage of the time before you are old. While you are free from illness, mobilize your body and mind, and put aside worldy affairs. If you have one day's time, recite the buddha-name for a day. If you have an hour's free time, cultivate the Pure Land for an hour. When we are on the brink of death, whether we die well or die badly depends on how we have prepared in advance. If we have been reciting the buddha-name, the road ahead is secure. If not, it's too late for regrets. Think about it!

There is nothing in the world more important than birth and death. Once your breath stops coming, you are in the next world. If your mindfulness goes wrong, then you fall into the cycle of birth and death.

Master Shan-tao

Unfortunately, people do not think in long range terms: they only worry about things close to hand. Once the human body is lost, it is hard to regain it even in ten thousand eons. Thus I urge all sentient beings to recite "Amitabha Buddha" a hundred times or a thousand times or even ten thousand times every day. Transfer the merit to those who share the affinity for the Pure Land, and vow to be born in Amitabha's land.

Master Shan-tao: I have often received instructions in the method of reciting the buddha-name and being born in the Pure Land, and the principles are very clear. But I am afraid that when sickness comes and death approaches, my mind will be scattered in confusion, and I worry that other people will disturb my correct mindfulness. Then I will forget the basis for the Pure Land.

Master Tsung-pen: What an excellent question! All people who are about to die want to be born in the Pure Land. It is necessary that you not fear death. Always remember that this body is fraught with much suffering and impurity. It is a painful zone where all kinds of evil karma meet to satisfy physical desires. To pass beyond it and be born in the Pure Land and receive immeasurable happiness and escape from the painful zone of birth and death is something that will please you. It is like taking off filthy clothing and changing into a bejeweled garment.
Just abandon body and mind - do not be attached to them.
When you are sick, be mindful of impermanence, and singlemindedly wait for death. Instruct your family members and the people who come to look in on you and ask about your health and tell then this: "Whoever comes before me must recite the buddha-name for me. Do not talk of the miscellaneous idle matters, or how well or badly various family members are doing. Do not use gentle words to soothe me or express wishes that I be at peace and happy. These are all empty flowers, words that do no good."

Question: Should we seek doctors and take medicine or not?

Answer: There is nothing wrong with seeking doctors and taking medicine. But medicine can only cure disease, it cannot save you from fate. If your allotted lifetime is over, medicine can do nothing. But it is not permissible to kill animals to make medicine.

I have seen many people in the world who during their lives have recited the buddha-name, have paid homage to buddha, and have made vows to be born in the Pure Land, but when sickness comes, they are still afraid of death. They say nothing at all about being born in the Pure Land or the business of liberation. When their breathing stops and their lives are about to end and their consciousness descends into the realms of darkness, then at last they begin to do ten recitations of the buddha-name. This is like sounding the alarm after the robbers have gone out of the gate - what good does it do?
How you act in the gate of death is important. It takes your own effort to succeed. If your mindfulness goes astray, you will suffer through the ages: no one will take your place. Think about it! Think about it!

If your illness becomes serious and you are facing the end, your relatives should not weep and wail and utter sounds of lamentation and distress. This may throw your mind into confusion and make you lose correct mindfulness. They should just join together and recite the buddha-name to help you go to the Pure Land. Only after your breathing has stopped for a long time can they weep and wail.
As soon as there is the least bit of longing for the world, it immediately becomes as obstruction, and you will not achieve liberation. If you find people who clearly understand the Pure Land, let them come frequently to urge you on and encourage you. This would be a great good fortune.
If you act like this, you are sure to be born in the Pure Land, without a doubt.

When death is imminent and there is nothing that can be done, you must make energetic progress in reciting the buddha-name, and maintain your mindfulness of buddha with all your strenght.

Then for the great matter at the moment of death, we can say of you: "A single road extends to the West - you return directly home, without having to ask the way there."

Many Pure Land biographies describe the subject's death scene: Often a Pure Land devotee is able to predict his or her own death in advance, and calmly bid farewell to loved ones. Sometimes the believer receives reassuring visits from Amitabha in dreams or visions to prepare her or him to face the end.
Various signs give proof that the dying person is about to be reborn in the Pure Land. Uncanny fragrances and supernatural colored lights fill the room. Celestial music is heard. Flowers from the Pure Land appear: yellow lotuses, green lotuses, golden lotuses. The dying person sees Amitabha coming from the west to welcome him, or feels Amitabha's hand on his head, or sees Amitabha accompanied by Kuan-yin and Shih-chih appear to lead him to paradise. The dying person sees visions of the Pure Land: Amitabha and his companions seated on a jeweled dais, or even jewel ponds, or a staircase of gems leading up to Pure Land.
Relatives see visions of the deceased riding off to the west on a green lotus. Or the dead person visits the survivors in dreams and assures them that she has indeed been reborn in the Pure Land.
After a person dies, the people in the room perceive a magical fragrance and hear celestial music gradually fading away toward the west. A golden lotus might appear on the death bed or on top of the coffin. The dead believer's corpse does not decompose. Auspicious colored clouds hang over the funeral.