In the Five Daily Recollections, when the Buddha asks us five things one should reflect on often, whether one is a women or a man, lay or ordained, he spoke of aging, disease, death, impermanence, and Kamma. He said, "Not only am I subject to aging, disease, death, heir to my Kamma, born of my Kamma, related to my Kamma, abide supported by my Kamma, whatever Kamma I shall do be it beneficial or unbeneficial, of that I shall be the heir. All beings, in the past, in the future, and those who arising now, they are also subject to birth, disease, aging, and death and are subject to their Kamma. So this is a type of D/D reflection. Reflecting on how we are subject to this and then not only me, but all beings. Not only now, but in the past and in the future and those who are arising and passing away right now. This is a type of D/D reflection.
Another story which is very skillfully told is the story of Kisagotami. I don't know whether you know the story of Kisagotami. It is about a woman who was born in a lower cast and had the good fortune to marry into a higher cast. At that time in Indian society one gained great respect if one gave birth to a boy child. And so Kisagotami gave birth to a son and was very happy, gaining a lot of respect she hadn't had before. But at the age of about 2 years old the little boy was playing in the garden and was bitten by a snake and died. The woman went into deep shock and grief, and clasping the dead child to her breast raced around the village asking for anyone to tell her whether there was a doctor who could help her child. Everyone tried to tell her that her child was dead but she would just go to the next person, "Do you know a doctor who could heal my child?" She would not believe her child was dead.
Finally an older person took compassion on this poor women and said, "Well, if anybody can help you then the Buddha can." And she said, "Oh great, where is he?" Fortunately he was staying in the forest nearby the village, and she raced out to find the Buddha so he would heal her child. He saw her coming in the distance, realized what had happened and when she got there she laid the dead child at his feet and implored him, "My child is sick, please heal my child." And the Buddha said to her, "I will heal your affliction." She was so happy because somebody was going to help her, and he said, "I need a mustard seed."
At that time a mustard seed was a common ingredient in Indian curry and she was very happy about this but as she started to return to the village he said, "Wait, wait, Kisagotami, it has to come from a house where no one has died." She didn't understand the significance of what he had said, and she raced off to the village and asked at the first house if they had a mustard seed to heal her child. Of course they readily wanted to give her a mustard seed but when she said, "Has anybody died in this house?" - everybody in those days used to live in extended families -they said, "What are you asking? My grandfather died last week."
She went to every house in the village and when she asked, "Has anyone died in this house?" they usually replied, "Oh, I'm sorry, my servant has died or my grandmother has died". Or "I'm sorry, my mother has died" and by the end of the day she couldn't find any house where no one had died. Basically the Buddha was giving her a universalizing technique on the universality of death. Opening up beyond our own affliction and seeing that it is a universal, human affliction. By the end of the day she started to understand the universality of death, that it happens to all human beings, that loss happens to all human beings, and she took the child to the charnel ground. She laid the child in the charnel ground realizing he was dead, and went back to the Buddha. When she got there the Buddha asked her, "Kisagotami, did you find that mustard seed?" She said, "No, I couldn't find a mustard seed from any house where no one had died." He then gave her a teaching of impermanence and apparently she became a stream enterer, the first stage of enlightenment. She ordained and later became fully enlightened.
So this is a very skillful way that the Buddha gave a universalizing, diffusing technique.