Philosophical Reflections on the Relationship Between Life and Death
In today’s world, it is not uncommon to see people disregarding their own lives, engaging in behaviors that harm their health, or even treating the lives of others with little regard. These actions may stem from an inherent arrogance toward life—a belief that one can live indefinitely. Society often shuns any discussion of death, treating it as something unpleasant or even dirty. Yet, this very attitude reinforces people’s arrogance about life and ultimately leads to behaviors that trivialize the importance of life itself.
Buddhism teaches a concept called “non-duality of life and death.” According to this view, life and death are one and the same, and both should be celebrated as part of existence. Living a radiant life naturally leads to embracing a radiant death, and beyond that, to the next cycle of life. From this philosophical perspective, if we seek to live an admirable life, we must first consider the nature of the death we wish to experience. Buddhism teaches that we can only understand the true value of life by first reflecting on death.
Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross interviewed people who were close to death in various countries and cultures, and she found that people often expressed common regrets in their final moments. “I wish I had been more honest with myself,” “I wish I had been kinder to others,” or “I wish I had expressed love to those I cared about.” Regardless of cultural background, people tended to regret the time they had spent fixated on status, reputation, or societal expectations, instead of living authentically and compassionately toward others. From this, it becomes clear that people often reflect on how they should have lived only when they are forced to confront death.
Thus, contemplating death is the first step toward understanding how one should live. Without an awareness of death, our lives are, in a sense, lifeless. Modern society would benefit from introducing “death education” at an early stage, offering people the chance to see death as something real. This approach would encourage them to reverse-engineer their lives by considering how they truly want to live. By understanding the weight of life, people—especially young people—might avoid actions that trivialize life, such as self-harm or disregard for others’ lives.
At the age of 16, I myself had a close encounter with “death” in a psychiatric ward. Since then, I have lived with a constant awareness that death is always by my side. That awareness drives me to live each day with a sense of urgency, believing I could die tomorrow without regret. Like someone who works diligently when faced with a deadline, reflecting on death allows us to consider life with the same intensity.
In my photography, I attempt to express the idea that a beautiful death is inseparable from a beautiful life. Although each viewer is free to interpret my work as they wish, I hope that, by viewing it from this perspective, they may gain some insight into the essence of life.
Ultimately, the most important thing in this world is your life itself. Even if you feel a desire to die, your life will struggle to keep going until the very last moment. Life and death are eternally connected, and I firmly believe that we must strive to live each day authentically, honestly, and with strength and happiness.
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