Middle Length Lamrim Session88

Buddhist teachings from Tibetan lama, Geshe Thubten Rabten,
translated by Venerable Lobsang Dorje.
"Middle Length Lamrim" by Lama Tsongkhapa - Session 88 ~
Date of teaching: 7 September 2024 am.

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Therefore do not think: “This is a practice for those who do not have other profound Dharma to meditate on” or “Although it is something to meditate on, it should be meditated on a bit in the beginning, but it is not suitable to be practiced continuously”. Meditate on it like until you gain certainty from the depths of your heart that it is necessary in the beginning, in the middle, and at the end.
WHAT KIND OF MINDFULNESS OF DEATH SHOULD BE GENERATED
The fear born from anxiety about separating from relatives and the like is the of fear of death of those who are not trained in the path. So this is not what is to be generated here. What kind of fear is to be generated? Every physical form taken up through the power of karma and mental afflictions does not pass beyond death. That is why - even though you may fear it - you cannot prevent death for the time being. Indeed, you should be afraid of death if you have not stopped the causes for lower rebirths or accomplished the causes for higher states and definite goodness. If you consider your fear about this, there is something you can accomplish so as not to be afraid at the time of dying. But if you have not accomplished that goal, then you will be tormented by remorse at the time of death out of fear of not being liberated from the cycle of existence in general and of falling to a lower rebirth in particular.
HOW TO CULTIVATE MINDFULNESS OF DEATH
You should meditate on this by way of the three root contemplations, the nine reasons, and the three decisions. Here, the three root contemplations are: (1) the contemplation that it is certain that we will die, (2) the contemplation that it is uncertain when we will die, and (3) the contemplation that at the time of death nothing except the Dharma will be of benefit.
From: The Middle-Length Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, by Tsongkhapa. Translated by Philip Quarcoo and published by Wisdom Publications.