Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth: a Tibetan Buddhist guidebook
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Buddhism teaches that death can be a springboard to enlightenment—yet for all but the most advanced meditators, it will be the gateway to countless future lives of suffering in samsara. Tulku Thondup wrote this guide to help us heal our fear and confusion about death and strengthen our practice in anticipation of this transition, and to help us realize the enlightened goal of ultimate peace and joy—not only for death and rebirth, but for this very lifetime. In simple language, he distills a vast range of sources, including scriptures, classic commentaries, oral teachings, and firsthand accounts. The book includes:
—An overview of the dying process, the after-death bardo states, and teachings on why, where, and how we take rebirth
—Accounts by Tibetan "near-death experiencers" (delogs), who returned from death with amazing reports of their visions
—Ways to train our minds during life, so that at death, all the phenomena before us will arise as a world of peace, joy, and enlightenment
—Simple meditations, prayers, and rituals to benefit the dead and dying
—Advice for caregivers, helpers, and survivors of the dying
—A brief liturgy and explanation of phowa, the unique Tibetan meditation for transferring the consciousness of the dying (oneself or another) to an enlightened pure land.
PRAISE
"A remarkably lucid distillation of Tibetan Buddhist teaching on how the state of our minds in life affects the nature and quality of our experiences in death . . . . A provocative and surprisingly compelling work that will appeal to beginners and advanced practitioners alike."
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth
"A healing treasure from Tulku Thondup: a clear, complete, and compassionate guidebook to the journey through life, dying, death, and beyond. Accessible and authentic as always, he brings to the ancient Buddhist teachings his deep and gentle understanding of the modern world. Drawing on an extraordinary range of sources, including the Tibetan near-death experiences, he shows to what extent the quality of our life, death, and rebirth all depend upon the mind. By following the spiritual practices and straightforward practical guidance given here, any one of us can learn to transform not only our life, not only our dying and death, but also our future lives, and so even the future of humanity."
—Sogyal Rinpoche, author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
"Tibetans by nature are joyous. This comes from having teachings on death and life. Tulku Thondup has opened this vast treasury of knowledge in a clear, simple, and powerful way for the modern audience."
—Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, author of Turning the Mind into an Ally
"From the richness of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and from the depth of his own experience as yogin and teacher, Tulku Thondup illuminates the mysteries of death and rebirth in this most welcome new book. He explains fully and clearly each stage of the process that leads from this life to the next, illustrating them with stories from the delogs—spiritually gifted men and women who have returned from death in order to relate their experiences. The book contains a valuable section devoted to the care and support of those who are approaching death, and includes a selection of meditations and rituals that may be used to help the dying and the dead, which will be of great benefit to many people. Above all, at every stage Tulku Thondup offers us practical methods of training the mind here and now, in preparation for the journey we must all eventually make."
—Francesca Freemantle, author of Luminous Emptiness: Understanding the Tibetan Book of the Dead
Acknowledgments xv
About This Book xvii
INTRODUCTION: DEATH IS NOT THE END 1
What Happens at Death? 2
Karma, the Natural Law of Causality 3
The Cycle of Life, Death, and Afterdeath 5
Glimpses of the Bardo 6
Taking Rebirth 8
Transforming Our Future 9
Ceremonies for the Dead and Dying 12
The Death of a Great Teacher 14
1. HUMAN LIFE: OUR PRECIOUS DAYS 17
What Is Our Real Nature? 18
Why Meditate? 19
Precious Human Life Is Rare 21
Life Is Impermanent 24
Using Impermanence to Dissolve Negative Emotions 25
Life Is Created by Karmic Causality 28
The Root of Karma Is Grasping at "Self" 30
How Does Karma Form? 30
Going Beyond Karmic Causality 34
Is Life an Illusion? 34
The Importance of Understanding Karma 35
Life Is Full of Miseries 36
Suffering: The First Noble Truth 37
The Great Potential of Life 41
2. DYING: THE CRUCIAL HOUR OF LIFE 45
The Process of Dying 46
The Elements and Energies of the Human Body 46
The Dissolution of the Elements 47
Three Inner Dissolutions 49
What Should We Do When Dying? 51
Delog Accounts of the Experiences of Dying 53
Dissolving Energies: The Experience of Karma Wangdzin 54
Make Merits for Me: The Experience of Lingza Chokyi 55
Have the Lords of Death Come to Fetch Me?: The Experience of Denma Sangye Seng-ge 56
Cloudless Sky–Like Luminosity: The Experience of Dagpo Trashi Namgyal 58
Perceptions of Dying: The Experience of Samten Chotso 59
Unique Among Delogs: The Experience of Dawa Drolma 59
Mind Traveling without Hindrance: The Experience of Gyalwa Yungtrung 61
Intrinsic Awareness: The Experience of Tsophu Dorlo 62
Her Wisdom-Mind Became Clear: The Experience of Shugseb Jetsun Lochen 63
The Dark Demon Departs: The Experience of Tagla Konchog Gyaltsen 63
Don't Panic!: The Experience of Changchub Seng-ge 65
Don't Be Afraid—Be Prepared 67
3. THE ULTIMATE NATURE: GLIMPSES OF THE LUMINOSITY 69
The Ultimate Nature Experienced at Death 69
Delog Accounts of the Passage of Ultimate Nature 78
Spontaneously Present Light: The Experience of Lingza Chokyi 78
A Bodiless Body of Light: The Experience of Dagpo Trashi Namgyal 79
Visions of Ultimate Nature: The Experience of Tsophu Dorlo 79
In the Womb of a Body of Light: The Experience of Samten Chotso 80
Instructions to Helpers: The Experience of Changchub Seng-ge 81
A Supremely Blissful State: The Experience of Dawa Drolma 82
A Feeling of Sadness: The Experience of Karma Wangdzin 83
Our Sublime Potential 84
4. THE BARDO: THE MOMENTOUS TRANSITIONAL PASSAGE 85
Experiences of the Bardo 86
The Court of Judgment and Verdict 88
Hints of the Rebirth Awaiting Us 90
What Should We Do in the Bardo? 91
Our Future Journey 94
5. TALES OF THE BARDO: AFTERDEATH EXPERIENCES OF TIBETAN DELOGS 96
Let Her Remember All That She Sees: The Experience of Lingza Chokyi 97
What Judgments Await Me?: The Experience of Karma Wangdzin 111
No Fear of the Foes: The Experience of Denma Sangye Seng-ge 128
Visits to the Eighteen Hell Realms: The Experience of Tagla Konchog Gyaltsen 133
Distracted into Delusion: The Experience of Dagpo Trashi Namgyal 137
Crossing the Field of the Dead: The Experiences of Gyalwa Yungtrung 139
Purified by Streams of Nectar: The Experience of Samten Chotso 143
Don't Be Discouraged: The Experience of Changchub Seng-ge 145
Hell Is the Unexcelled Pure Land: The Experience of Tsophu Dorlo 147
Form Inseparable from Wisdom: The Experience of Dawa Drolma 151
Let Everyone Be Liberated: The Experience of Shugseb Jetsun Lochen 155
Nothing to Accept or Reject: The Experience of Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje 163
6. REBIRTH: THE INELUCTABLE KARMIC CYCLE 168
Liberation or Rebirth? 170
The Causes of Rebirth 171
The Six Realms of Worldly Existence 174
Six Emotions: The Seeds of Rebirth in the Six Realms 175
Choosing Your Next Rebirth Could Be in Your Hands 178
Blocking the Wrong Birthplaces 178
Choosing the Right Birthplace 181
7. THE BUDDHA OF INFINITE LIGHT AND HIS BLISSFUL PURE LAND 184
Sources of the Pure Land Tradition 185
The Three Aspects of the Pure Land 185
The Power of the Buddha's Vows 186
The Power of the Buddha's Name 188
What Is the Pure Land Like? 189
The Buddha of Infinite Light and His Disciples 191
Rebirth in the Blissful Pure Land 194
8. HOW TO HELP THE DYING AND THE DEAD 196
Maintaining Positive Thoughts and Behavior 196
Performing Prayers and Rituals 198
Making Merits 198
Buddhist Rituals for Non-Buddhists 200
Universal Meditation for All 201
Instructions for Buddhists and Those Open to Buddhism 202
Meditations for Buddhists and Other Meditators 204
Meditation for Highly Trained Helpers 205
Instruction for Helpers of Dying Meditators 206
In Helping Others, We Help Ourselves 207
Some Important Observances 207
9. RITUAL SERVICES FOR THE DYING AND THE DEAD 211
The Tradition of Death Rituals 212
Religious Services for the Dying 212
Purification 212
Merit Making 213
Empowerments 215
Dedication and Aspiration Prayers 215
Religious Services at the Time of Death 217
Instructions for Ordinary People 217
Instructions and Death Services for Accomplished Meditators 219
Religious Services after Death 220
A Summary of the Thirteen-Step Death Ritual 221
Other Ceremonies 224
10. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS 226
APPENDIXES: SOME SIMPLE BUDDHIST DEATH RITUALS 229
APPENDIX A. MEDITATIONS ON THE FOUR CAUSES OF TAKING REBIRTH IN THE BLISSFUL PURE LAND 231
Preliminary Practices 235
Going for Refuge 235
Developing Enlightened Attitude (Bodhichitta) 236
The Four Causes of Taking Rebirth in the Blissful Pure Land 236
The First Cause: Remembering the Pure Land 236
The Second Cause: Accumulation of Merits 238
The Third Cause: Developing Enlightened Attitude 239
The Fourth Cause: Dedication and Aspiration 239
The Liturgies of the Four Causes 240
The Mantra and the Name-Prayers 242
The Mantra of the Buddha of Infinite Light 242
Name-Prayers to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas 243
Concluding Practice: Dedication and Aspiration Prayer 244
APPENDIX B. EIGHT ESOTERIC BUDDHIST RITUALS FOR THE DYING AND THE DEAD 248
Introduction to the Eight Rituals 248
The Performance of the Eight Rituals 251
Preliminary Practices 252
Going for Refuge 252
Developing Enlightened Attitude (Bodhichitta) 252
Visualization and Contemplation of Oneself as the Buddha of Compassion 253
The Mantra of the Buddha of Compassion 255
Making Offerings to the Buddha of Compassion 255
Offering of Praise to the Buddha of Compassion 256
Aspiration Prayer 256
Summoning the Consciousness of the Deceased and Giving Teachings 257
The Sur Offering to the Deceased 259
Dharma Instructions to the Deceased 263
The Meditation and Prayers of Phowa: Transference of Consciousness to the Blissful Pure Land 265
Meditation 267
Prayers 270
Chanting the Name-Prayers to the Buddha and Bodhisattva 272
The Main Meditation of Phowa 273
Prayer and Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life 275
Cremation of the Effigy 276
Dedication and Aspiration Prayer 278
Notes 281
Glossary 291
References: Sources Cited and Key to Abbreviations 303
Index 311