Like a fine stallion Struck with a whip, Be ardent & chastened. Through conviction Virtue, persistence, Concentration, judgement, Consummate in knowledge & conduct, Mindful, You’ll abandon this not-insignificant pain.
- Dhammapada [10]

Once, two very old brahmans, both 120 years old, came to see the Buddha. They sat down before him and said:

“We are brahmans, frail and old. We have not done anything noble or even particularly worthwhile. So now there is nothing to reduce our fear of death. Please show us a way to happiness.”

The Buddha said: “Yes, brahmans, you are truly frail and old and now you are full of fear. This world is flooded with old age, sickness, and death. But if you can practice some insight into your deeds, some control over your words, and some contemplation of your thoughts, that will provide you with a refuge and a shelter.

“Your life is nearly over. No one is immune from old age and death. Remembering death and keeping it in your mind, practice performing good deeds that lead to happiness for others. One who performs good deeds and is thoughtful will become harmonious in body, speech, and mind. He will find that death is not to be feared but indeed brings happiness.”
- Anguttara NIkaya

Moghavagan came to the Buddha. “I have come to you with a question, great sage. I am afraid of death. Is there any way to look upon the world so as not to be seen by the king of death?”

“Look upon the world as empty,” the Buddha replied. “This is the way to overcome death. Cease thinking of yourself as an entity that really exists. If you look on the world in this way you will never be seen by the king of death.”
- Sutta Nipata

Guarded in speech,
Well-restrained in body & mind,
Do nothing unskillful.
Purify these three courses of action.
Bring to fruition the path that seers have proclaimed.
- Dhammapada [20]

Subhuti asked: “How should an ordinary person be taught the truth?” The Buddha answered: “By asking the person this: ‘How can that which existed in the past become non-existent now?’ This inquiry will lead to the realization that there is nothing that ever existed that is a permanent entity or an eternal self. Then the questioner will see that there is both existence and non-existence.”
- Prajnaparamita

See it as a bubble,
See it as a mirage;
One who regards the world this way
the King of Death doesn’t see.

Come, look at this world
all decked out
like a royal chariot,
where fools plunge in,
while those who know don’t cling.
- Dhammapada [13]

When you see with discernment,
‘All fabrications are inconstant’
you grow disenchanted with stress.
This is the path to purity.

When you see with discernment,
‘All fabrications are stressful’
you grow disenchanted with stress.
This is the path to purity.

When you see with discernment,
‘All phenomena are not-self’
you grow disenchanted with stress.
This is the path to purity.
- Dhammapada [20]

Live the Dhamma well.
Don’t live it badly.
One who lives the Dhamma
sleeps with ease
in this world & the next.
- Dhammapada [13]

Do not go after the past,
Nor lose yourself in the future.
For the past no longer exists,
And the future is not yet here.
By looking deeply at things just as they are,
In this moment, here and now,
The seeker lives calmly and freely.
You should be attentive today,
For waiting until tomorrow is too late.
Death can come and take us by surprise–
How can we gainsay it?
The one who knows
How to live attentively
Night and day
Is the one who knows
The best way to be independent.
- Bhaddekaratta Sutra

Describing his awakening, the Buddha said: “Coming to be, coming to be! Ceasing to be, ceasing to be! At that thought, monks, there arose in me a vision of things not before called to mind. Knowledge arose; such is form, such is the coming to be of form, such is its passing away. Recognition arose; such is its coming to be, such is its passing away. And the state of abiding in the understanding of arising and passing away; that too arose.”
- Samyutta Nikaya