[Buddha-l] Being left alone to quietly die

[lemmett at talk21.com]

>All those self-described martyrs who think they will go to heaven as a result of blowing themselves up along with a busload of innocent school children, or as a result of being pro-life by shooting a doctor who provides abortions, or as a result of dying in some pointless war (but is any war not pointless?), will never know they were wrong. 
You and I come to this question from different perspectives but they do seem somewhat like reflections of each other. I say that because I am also concerned with the problem you give above. Recently I was reading the beginning of the Gandavyahu for the first time and was struck, perhaps by its aesthetic, of the possibility that the final moment (Denouement death according to analytical philosophy) is structured according to some karmic principle. Perhaps something analogous is true: perhaps even "I" have that karma manifest as realizing that I won't exist anymore. Wishful thinking?
>From what I have been able to observe of people around me, certainty is best achieved by giving up thinking altogether. At least that is what seemingly works best in politics and religion.
The reason that I have turned up on (bothered?) the list so is partly because there is the obvious alternative that certainty can be achieved through discussion and intersubjective agreement. Not that self critique is not a good way to establish what *could* be true... also I am a little lost as to how one can reach some stage in contemplation by giving up or stopping it... but hey I do read Buddhism so really doubt that I'll bother the list with too much of my ignorance! It's really is great to just read as well...
Best wishes,
Luke