Suffering Belongs to the Living, Not the Dead.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of inner death, or letting go of one's attachment to life, in order to experience a peaceful physical death.
Francois Fenelon emphasizes that suffering is a part of the living, not the dead. Many mistakenly believe that the death of self causes their agony, but in reality, pain is rooted in the living parts, not the dead. Death is only painful to those who resist it, as self-love fights against it fiercely. Fenelon urges the importance of dying inwardly to the desires of the self, so that when bodily death comes, it is merely a peaceful falling asleep.
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LETTER XXXVI.
Suffering belongs to the living, not the dead.
Many are deceived when they suppose that the death of self is the cause of all the agony they feel, but their suffering is only caused by the remains of life. Pain is seated in the living, not the dead parts; the more suddenly and completely we expire, the less pain do we experience. Death is only painful to him who resist it; the imagination exaggerates its terrors; the spirit argues endlessly to show the propriety of the life of self; self-love fights against death, like a sick man in the last struggle. But we must die inwardly as well as outwardly; the sentence of death has gone forth against the spirit as well as against the body. Our great care should be that the spirit die first, and then our bodily death will be but a falling asleep. Happy they who sleep this sleep of peace!
Sermon Outline
- I. The Nature of Suffering
- A. Suffering is caused by the remains of life
- B. Pain is seated in the living, not the dead parts
- II. The Relationship Between Death and Suffering
- A. Death is only painful to those who resist it
- B. The imagination exaggerates the terrors of death
- III. The Importance of Inner Death
- A. We must die inwardly as well as outwardly
- B. The spirit must die first, then bodily death is a falling asleep
Key Quotes
“Pain is seated in the living, not the dead parts;” — Francois Fenelon
“Death is only painful to him who resist it;” — Francois Fenelon
“Our great care should be that the spirit die first, and then our bodily death will be but a falling asleep.” — Francois Fenelon
Application Points
- Let go of your attachment to life and focus on inner death in order to experience a peaceful physical death.
- Recognize that suffering is caused by the remains of life, not the death of self.
- Prepare for death by focusing on inner death and letting go of your attachment to life.