Using the Death Beads
by Sophia Elizabeth Shapira
First-and-a-Half Edition
Copyright © 2016 Sophia Elizabeth Shapira
All Rights Reserved
For the latest version of this document, visit the URL:
http://virtualstoa.org/death-beads/
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Thanks to the good folks at the Stoics for Justice Facebook-group for helping me in general in my growth in Stoicism - and even for some input in devising the system of Death Beads described in this manual.
What’s This about a First-and-a-Half Edition
What Are the Death Beads and What's the Deal with them?
How is a Death Chain Constructed?
Sets of Gathas Not Numbered Four
Spontaneously Devised Sets of Gathas Not Numbered Four
Regarding the Gathas Included In This Manual - And Other Gathas
Avoiding Attachment to the Death Beads
Occasionally - Use a Gatha Without Them
Gatha Sets for the Death Beads
On Those who Behave Unwisely that I would Counsel
When I released the First Edition of Using the Death Beads very recently, I made some mistakes in formatting due to lack of experience. As a result, the result was a not-so-well-formatted ebook. Granted, it is unlikely that I could realistically expect myself to produce a book with a professional level of formatting quality - but I felt that I could probably produce something of better format than what was released initially in the First Edition.
Therefore, I decided to fix the formatting. That meant coming out with a new edition. But since content-wise, this new edition would be identical (aside from this extra section explaining what I mean by “First-and-a-Half Edition”) it would seem excessive to dub this the “Second Edition”.
Therefore, I am reserving the title of “Second Edition” for when I am ready to release a new edition by reason of improvement in content - and labeling this edition, released solely for the purpose of formatting, the “First-and-a-Half Edition”.
In short - it’s kinda like a Take Two of the First Edition.
As far as I know, there exists no traditional form of Prayer Beads associated with Stoicism. Also, no true Stoic, not even the most positively theistic one, would take seriously the notion of there being any divine reward directly for the act of using prayer beads of any kind.
Needless to say, the Death Beads are a modern invention, only for the use of those who would find it helpful. There may be a few instances in this document where something is referred to in language as though that were the only way to do something. However, in interpreting that, it must be kept in mind that the Death Beads themselves are merely a training tool, not an inherent part of the philosophy.
Therefore, the only truly hard-and-fast rule of how to use them is that it be done in whatever manner best serves that purpose of a training tool - provided that that method does not prove to be a cure that is worse than the disease either by means of becoming an attachment or otherwise compromising your virtues. Aside from that, anything that is a requirement is only so for the purpose of using then by the exact method described in this document, which is in itself not an absolute requirement.
A Death Chain is, simply put, a chain of Death Beads.
Technically, one can be made of any material that you can find and which works for you. There is no reward given directly for using the death-beads - except that, for some people, it may aid in their philosophical training. Therefore, there are no hard-and-fast rules for its construction.
I, however, place beads on wire-bent links - a manner of construction also frequently used for Roman Catholic Rosaries - another kind of prayer bead chain. I do it this way for two reasons. First of all, that method of constructing Rosaries is one I know well, so it makes sense to re-apply it to the Death Beads. Second of all, I find chains built in this manner to be easiest to handle in using them to count repetitions.
Though currently, I use regular round beads, I plan to switch to using skull-shaped beads as soon as I have the supplies for the same reason that I call these beads “Death Beads” - that being that the philosophy of Stoicism implores us to keep our death before our eyes at all times.
A Death Chain consists of four courses of five beads each - plus a head bead to mark where the Death Chain begins and ends. I mark where one co course ends and another begins by having two beadless links between them. One beadless link between them would mark the spot if you look closely - but two links instead of one increases the distance between the beads enough that there distinction is unmistakeable to the tactile sense. The head bead, to make it even more distinct, I separate it from each of its adjacent courses with three beadless links rather than just two.
Each time you use the Death Beads, it is with a set of Gathas designed to help you get yourself into a Stoic mindset. The term “gatha” refers to what many sloppily refer to as “mantra”. However, “mantra” is a term loaned from an Sanskrit -- and as philosophers, if we loan a word from a language, we ought to do so correctly. This means understanding that the term “mantra” refers not to anything verbal, but to a sound. If we want to borrow a term from Sanskrit to refer to such a verbal reminder, the correct term for that purpose is “gatha”.
The set of gathas that you use may be devised on the spot to suit a particular circumstance - or one that you have previously devised to suit a recurring or otherwise predictable kind of circumstance - or one that you have received from someone else. Also - the gatha set that you use may be one from the second major section of this manual, titled “Gatha Sets for the Death Beads”. Furthermore - it could be a combination of more than one of the previously mentioned options.
Repeat each gatha five times - using a course of beads to count it. Say the gatha at whatever speed best helps you ingrain into your mindset the aspect of the philosophy conveyed in the gatha. That means - not too fast - and not too slow.
Usually, each gatha in a set will be unique within the set - but this may not always be the case. If two gathas in a set that are identical occurrences of the same come immediately one after the other, it is advised that you separate them with a reflective pause - a pause long enough to not be a mere token pause, but not so long that it becomes a strain to avoid drifting away from the process of using the Death Beads.
Anyway - if a gatha set has exactly four gathas in it - then clearly you use the chain from beginning to the end - starting right after the Head Bead and ending right before it.
If a gatha set has fewer than four gathas, it may be advisable to skip ahead to the part of the chain where the number of courses following that point is the same as the number of gathas in your set. For example, if you are using it for a set of four gathas - you may want to skip over the first two courses of beads so that only two courses of beads remain.
Now - if a gatha set has more than four gathas, the best way is to divide the set into smaller sets. If the number is not a multiple of four, it is probably best that the first sub-divided set be the one to carry the remainder. For example, a set of eleven gathas could be divided into a set of three, followed by a set of four, followed by another set of four.
The aforementioned instructions for dealing with gatha sets that are not a multiple are four are designed to help you finish on the Head Bead of the chain.
However, if a set of gathas is devised spontaneously, it may be a stumbling block to worry about predicting from the start exactly how many gathas it have. For that reason, the instructions for dealing with numbers of gathas not-divisible by four are reversed. That means that if there are fewer than three gathas - instead of skipping the courses at the beginning of the chain, you skip over those at the end of the chain.
Likewise, if the number not-divisible by four is greater than four, then in the case of a spontaneously devised set of gathas, it is the last subdivided set rather than the first that will carry the remainder number.
As previously mentioned - the second major section of this manual is titled “Gatha Sets for the Death Beads”. This section, as it’s title suggests, is full of gathas organized into sets --- ranging from those presented with just the text and no explanation at all all the way to those that are presented with extensive commentary.
This section is not intended as a sole source of gathas. Rather, it has the following two-fold purpose:
Therefore, it is advised that you use the section of this manual that contains the gathas in a manner consistent with this two-fold purpose - rather than treating it as a kind of sacrosanct source.
The Death Beads can be (for some people at least) an extremely powerful tool in Stoic training. However, that does not involve the fact that they are a physical object - a material possession -- therefore not an inherent good or evil in Stoic philosophy. The same applies to the hand that you use to hold the Death Beads and count them - as it, too, is merely a part of the body that is on loan to you from the Universe. Therefore, if you use them without taking any measures to avoid becoming too attached to them or too dependent on them, you risk taking a cure that is worse than the disease. So here are some measures that you might consider employing to avoid the Death Beads becoming such an unhealthy thing.
The Death Beads are a useful tool in helping train yourself to live according to reason. However, they are not the Logos themselves. And they are not virtue themselves. As with all other training tools (including, for that matter, the books from which you read about the philosophy) they are merely on loan to you from the Universe. You should make good use of them while you have them -- but (as with all other things on loan to them) you must be prepared to relinquish them when the Universe calls upon you to do so.
Reminding yourself of this from time to time may help.
Occasionally, use a gatha or so without these beads. An especially good time is a spontaneously devised or selected gatha -- most especially at a time when the physical Death Beads are less immediately-accessible than at other times.
(Still not yet quite tested)
Here, both in the texts and in the gathas, death is referred to plainly. Euphemisms such as “passed on” and “dearly departed” are avoided. You too should as a general rule avoid such euphemisms -- with the possible exceptions of certain times when you use them for the purpose of conversing with non-Stoics.
These euphemisms exist as a means of coping with death. However - such a coping mechanism is a maladaptive one. Our goal is to see death for what it truly is - the natural conclusion of life which, having a beginning, must by necessity have an end. Language designed to help us avoid looking at death straight-on is not conducive to this goal.
The idea that such language confuses the nature of death is not unique to Stoicism, but has been acknowledged elsewhere. For example, in the scene in Sesame Street revealing the death of long-standing character Mr. Hooper (thereby introducing many children to the concept of death for the first time) such language was also deliberately avoided for the same reason. As a matter of fact, a deliberate decision was made to not include in that scene a montage of previous appearances of Mr. Hooper out of concern that that, too, would confuse children who are learning about death for the first time. (http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_1839)
Any fan of the Harry Potter books knows how most people in the Wizarding World did not dare to refer to the primary antagonist (Voldemort) by name - and used other terms for him: his supporters referring to him as “the Dark Lord” - and his opponents referring to him as “He who must Not be Named”, or “You Know Who” for short. The great wizard Albus Dumbledore, and later the titular character, Harry Potter, however, encourage people to abandon this practice - insisting that the fear of calling him by name increases his power.
Just as this holds true for Voldemort in the fantasy world of Harry Potter - in real life that holds true for death. As is, death has the power to bring life to an end. However - that’s not really such a big deal, as our life is anyways on loan to us from the Universe rather than truly our own - and furthermore, by virtue of having a beginning, life must by necessity have an end anyway. The power that death needn’t have, however, is to frighten us and drive terror into our souls while we are still living -- and it is that power that is augmented by (among other things) having the irrational squeamishness about referring to death without the use of euphemisms.
Last but not least, let us not forget that, of all the things that these beads could have been called - there is a reason why it was decided to refer to them as “Death Beads”.
Basic Meditation on Death
Sometimes an image of someone who died long ago can be an especially poignant reminder of your own mortality --- which can be unsettling if you haven’t trained yourself to see life, death and time for what they really are.
The following set of gathas is designed to be done while facing the image of one who died before your grandparents were born. In using this gatha set, the idea is to move from a place of the image giving you the willies to a place where the reminder of your own mortality registers at least as clearly, but is no longer unsettling.
If you do not in your first session reach the state of being at peace with the subject’s deadness and your inevitable future deadness - do not despair. As long as you are making progress, then this is helping. Simply return to your business --- and some other time, repeat this exercise again.