I'm a big fan of death meditation!
My favorite death meditations were inspired by Stoic philosophy, but I can't remember specifically what the source was as it was decades ago now. Epictetus or Marcus Aurelius, probably. But I have long liked to remind myself on a daily basis that any one of my friends or family could die at any time, and myself as well. It sounds quite morbid, but it helps me appreciate life and my loved ones all the more and be less likely to take them for granted. And reminding myself that I could die tomorrow helps me put today in perspective and live fully--in the face of death, the unimportant stuff tends to fall away. Am I living in a way that minimizes deathbed regrets? Imagining myself dying in a variety of ways on a regular basis helps ensure that I am.
Come to think of it, I discovered Edward Gorey and
The Gashlycrumb Tinies as a teenager, so that might have been the start of my death meditation there... Or maybe my early childhood ancient Egyptian death rite obsession with that
image of the heart being weighed against a feather in the book of the dead....
Anyway, Ken McLeod is a teacher whom I have a lot of respect for who has written quite a bit on death meditation, which was a big part of his traditional training in Tibetan Buddhism. There's a chapter on it in his book Wake Up To Your Life (which is excellent) and he also has plenty of free resources on Unfettered Mind. Here are some links:
http://unfetteredmind.org/stalking-death/
http://unfetteredmind.org/death-friend-or-foe/
