“What should I do if the dying person has a very strong will to live and won’t let go at the moment of death?
“No matter how strong a person’s will to live, nothing can avert death. A strong will to live is a sign that the dying person has not accepted death, and this lack of acceptance may intensify their suffering. On the other hand, if causes and conditions have conspired to force someone close to death even though their life-force is intact and undamaged, a strong will to live could help bring them back to life again. In other words, however close to death a person seems, their life force may still be undamaged. This is why it is always good to perform strengthening and life-lengthening rituals that, in the right circumstances, have the power to bring someone back to life.
“If you are not a Vajrayana practitioner, you could read a sutra out loud, such as the Sutra of Boundless Life and Wisdom. The Sutra for Boundless Life and Wisdom is available for download from www.lotsawahouse.org/words-of-the-buddha/sutra-boundless-life.”
