About This Answer
A young questioner finds it hard to feel urgency through contemplating death, since dying tonight seems so unlikely, and asks how Ajahn Dtun used this practice. He answers that, from lay life through his early years as a monk, he simply assumed each evening that he would die at ten o'clock that night. Part of him knew it was unlikely, but his mind accepted it, and that made each day feel like the last and called up his utmost effort.
He stresses that this worked for him without needing reasons; his mind was easy to teach. If it does not work for someone else, they must find their own skilful means to rouse urgency. As a junior monk he would practise sitting and walking from after the meal until afternoon chores at three, helping mindfully with communal work and using any free time to practise. Practised often like this, the mind becomes cool and peaceful and begins to enjoy practice.