The Tibetan Buddhist tradition has a very indepth knowledge on
the death process, intermediate state and rebirth. Here's a very
neat teaching that I have copied from Tsem Rinpoche's blog (
http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/great-lamas-masters/zong-rinpoche-birth-death-and-bardo.html
) for everybody to read. :-
Kyabje Zong Rinpoche: Birth, Death &
Bardo
This article was sent to me by a Dharma friend. When I read
through it, I thought it is VERY PRECIOUS. Any teachings by His
Holiness Kyabje Zong Rinpoche would be invaluable. I decided to
have it available here to share with everyone. So everyone can
benefit.
Someone likes Kyabje Zong Rinpoche needs not much of an
introduction. His speech, mind and body are totally one with Heruka
Cakrasamvara long ago. May you be blessed by Kyabje Zong Rinpoche’s
speech and image here. May you gain complete Buddhahood as Kyabje
Zong Rinpoche has.
Much Care and much Dharma to you,
Tsem Rinpoche
Translators Introduction
This small teaching was given by Kyabje Zong Rinpoche at the
request of a few westerners who were puzzled about descriptions
given by people who had “come back from the dead” after cardiac
massage and the like. Reports about such people having visions of
divine beings embodied in spheres of light are not uncommon. Some
people therefore have turned to the Tibetan teachings on death and
rebirth. However, most of us have read translations of the
so-called “Tibetan Book of the Dead”, while being ignorant of the
oral tradition that also has been handed down with this work and
the many similar books of the other sects.
The version that is known in the West is of the Khargyu sect.
Kyabje Zong Rinpoche has made a great study of the Gelugpa
tradition of this genre, and is a lineage holder of many practices
associated with this. Thus he is extremely well qualified to
comment on such reports from the West, and his answer is not only
completely authentic but is also backed up by an enourmous amount
of practical experience.
There are many Westerners who believe that the bardo (or
“intermediate state between death and rebirth”) follows the fixed
pattern outlined in the “Book of the Dead”. As Rinpoche shows in
the following, this is far from the case, for the book only deals
with the typical example of people dying of sickness and old age.
Also covered are such topics as spirits and mediums, which will
also be of interest to many.
This article covers a vast range of subjects in a small space.
It includes such important Mahayana Buddhist teachings as the three
types of motivation to follow the practices. There are many other
aspects of the Path to Enlightenment that are also implicitly
covered in this teaching, which if pursued will lead the reader
closer to the final goal of all beings, Full Enlightenment.
Thus, this teaching will not only answer many questions that one
might have about death from the Tibetan and Buddhist point of view,
but will also, to the intelligent reader show a way to lead a
useful life for others.
A Short Biography of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche
Venerable Kyabje Zong Rinpoche Losang Tsundu Thupten Gyaltsen
was born in 1905 in the village of Songo, in the Nang-Sang District
of Do-To Kham, Eastern Tibet, into the Nyen Nang-pa Family, near
the place where his two previous births, as Tenpa Thuntsok and
Phuntsok Chopel, had taken place. His father’s name was Jampa and
his mother’s name was Sonam Yangzom.
Near the house of his birth stood a fruit tree which was seen to
bear fruit when Rinpoche’s incarnations were alive, but would not
bear when he was not on earth.
From birth Rinpoche showed many extraordinary signs. Unlike the
other children, his efforts at learning, writing and at
memorization required very little effort, and he understood the
texts simultaneously to reading them. Thus he studied many texts in
the monastery of Nang Sang, near his place of birth.
In 1916 he left his birthplace for Lhasa, Central Tibet. This
journey took about three months. Here he entered Ganden Shartse
Monastery, one of the three great Lhasa Monastic Colleges. Under
many of the greatest living Tibetan masters he studied Tsema
(Reason), Parchin (Perfection of Wisdom), Uma (Voidness), Dzö
(Metaphysics), and Dùlwa (Discipline). Thus through memorization,
recitation and debate he became extremely renowned.
In 1928 Rinpoche appeared before His Holiness the Thirteenth
Dalai Lama for his examinations and in 1929 was honoured with the
degree of Lharampa Geshe, a sign of total spiritual proficiency in
the Sutrayana Methods.
Thereafter, Rinpoche entered the glorious Upper Tantric
Monastery where he studied the entire field of Tantras. In this way
he became a perfect master of all the teachings of Sutra and
Tantra.
In 1937 at the wish and advice of Radrang Rinpoche, Rinpoche
accepted the abbotship of Ganden Shartse College, a position at
which he served until 1947. During his term he built a new debate
stage, reconstructed the old residences of the monks and maintained
the monastic discipline perfectly. In 1947 on the occasion of
Sangphu Yarchö (an occasion of prayer) he made great offerings to
10,000 monks
From 1947 until 1950 he went to Phagri where there was a
monastery called Richung Poto. There he benefitted many sentient
beings through his profound teaching. In 1950 he visited Tsari in
Southern Tibet. At that time many auspicious signs were manifested.
Then he went back to Lhasa. In 1951 he visited Do-To Kham Cha Tring
and also his birthplace Nang Sang and other places, where he
fulfilled the wish of all people by giving teachings of Lam Rim
(Stages on the Path to Enlightenment), Lo Jong (Thought
Transformation) and by giving tantric initiations, and by helping
them further by performing rituals to eliminate their mental and
physical problems.
Then Rinpoche returned to Lhasa where the Red Chinese were very
active in suppressing Tibetan culture in the area. This escalated
and then culminated in 1959 when the Chinese forces out and out
attacked and overthrew the government of free Tibet. Rinpoche left
with other Tibetans for India, where he has been residing as a
refugee ever since.
In India Rinpoche first stayed at Buxa with many other
self-exiled monks of the three great monasteries – Ganden, Sera and
Drepung. There he gave teachings, oral transmissions, initiations
and so forth.
In 1965, in accordance with the wishes of His Holiness the
Fourteenth Dalai Lama, he was appointed as the master of a large
group of chosen scholars representing all four sects of Tibetan
Buddhism, who convened at Mussoorie to work out patterns of
cultural survival for the Tibetan Refugees in India. In 1967
Rinpoche became the first Principal of the Central Institute of
High Tibetan Studies at Varanasi’s Sanskrit University.
In 1970 Rinpoche stepped down from this position so as to move
to Mundgod in the South of India. From here, Rinpoche travels
throughout the different Tibetan refugee settlements and benefits
many sentient beings by his teachings and initiations.
Rendered into English by Losang Norbu Tsonawa
Footnote:
The following teaching by Kyabje Zong Rinpoche was translated by
Achok Rinpoche in coordination with Michael Richards and many
others. Because of the length of this teaching we will print its
second part in our next Dreloma.
BIRTH, DEATH AND BARDO
BY KYABJE ZONG RINPOCHE
Birth, death and bardo: what are these three things? How do
people die? You have asked me about this and of course I have to
give a meaningful answer. We have to understand what we mean by
birth, death and bardo in general. We must know how the bardo is
entered. We die, go into bardo, take birth, again die going yet
again into bardo. There is an unending cycle of the three; no end
to it at all. It is useful to develop aversion to Samsara (or
Cyclic Existence) and very good for practice to know this.
Though this is how things are, you have raised the question
today of people coming back again into the same body after death.
These people say they see a white light but we cannot say with
certainty where it is really there or not.
Usually when people die of some sickness or other, and the
consciousness is about to leave the body, there is a feeling of
being pressed under a huge mound of earth and a feeling of
suffocation. They ask the nurse to help them stand up saying “Give
me your hand”. This is the time of the loss of one’s vital energy.
After some time the dying cannot even make a sound. All of the
water element in them starts to dry up: the lips dry and the nose
becomes pinched. Later they cannot see nor hear properly. The
ability of all the sense organs to function weakens.
When people feel this pressing downwards they are only having in
fact a mental experience, just like the seeing of a mirage even
down to the flowing of water. It is only a thing of the mind for it
is not really seen.
After this someone dying senses something, like blue-ish smoke
which too is also experienced just by the mind. Around the smoke
flickers a fire like burning straw thrown into darkness. These
things fade slowly. A lamp-like still fire is seen, and after that
something white, like colour of the rays of the moon. Out of the
latter something else glows red-ish or crimson, like the rising
sun.
Suddenly all is pitch dark. He becomes unconscious; no memory at
all remains. This unconscious state finishes and the subtle mind
crystallizes and becomes clear. Everything is insubstantial to this
mind, like the colour of a clear sky before an autumn dawn. During
this period of insubstantiality, the consciousness of the person
stays in the body for two days in such a state, while realized
beings can stay as long as twenty one days if they wish.
The state of bardo is established the moment after the
consciousness, which has accompanied us since beginningless time,
leaves the body. The person is completely dead.
Now, there are reasons for the above appearance– the smoky
vision and the revolving fire, the still lamp, the whitish and
red-ish luminescence, and the dawn-like darkness. Why we see them
is because of the energy nodes and channels that we have in the
body. How does energy flow through these? It would take too much
space.
We shall talk now about what there is after death when the
consciousness leaves the body. If this is to be reborn as a human
being, then the bardopa (that is the consciousness in the bardo
state) has human form. If instead it is to be born a deva (or god),
then it is of a deva forms; if an animal, then of an animal form.
This bardo body has all the normal sense or cognitive powers and it
goes wherever the consciousness wants to without stumbling, and
reaches whatever he wants instantaneously. When he goes back home
and talks to the family, he does everything that he used to do. We,
who are alive, remain silent because we cannot see him. He thinks
that we are snubbing him and so feels sad. When he walks over muddy
ground, his feet remain clean without any dirt, nor are there any
footprints in the mud. His body cannot be seen. He does not
discriminate between sunlight or moonlight for his body does not
have the two Boddhi minds, the white and the red. His body is that
of a mind body only.
In the process of conception in a mother’s womb again, all
suddenly becomes dark. He experiences heat and cold as he now has
the bodily senses. The three delusions of existence, namely
attachment, hatred and ignorance, can individually activate in his
mind some memory or other. While he is in the mother’s womb for,
say in the case of a human being, he can neither see nor hear. His
body increase in size slowly under the influence of the wind
element. There is pain and suffering. There is cold and heat. If
the mother remains hungry he feels hanging in the air. If she eats
a lot, then he feels squashed. If she jumps, he feels as if falling
into a chasm. If she drinks hot or cold fluids, then he feels hot
or cold.
When the nine months are over
and if a boy, his head would be to the right of the womb with his
head facing the mother’s back. If this consciousness happens to be
a girl, then the head is to the left and faces the front. The
reasons for this are due to effects when the bardopa enters the
womb.
It sometimes happens that, when a mother is giving birth to
twins with one sitting higher in the womb than the other, the lower
one comes out first, the higher later. At the time of conception,
however, the higher one is conceived before the lower one, and in
addition there is a slight size difference between the two.
About to be born, he stays upside down in the mother’s womb for
seven days. Now there is great suffering. In coming out, he
experiences great pain. When he finally emerges he can see, hear,
taste and smell. While he is staying inside the womb he cannot eat
food through the mouth but instead his food is given through the
mother’s umbilical cord which is attached to the placenta. So this
is how birth takes place.
Some say there are people who come back into the dead body and
some of these see light. If you were to read a certain Bardo Töthul
(or Tibetan Book of the Dead) text in one volume, you would see
revealed there quite vividly how Bardo is established. Sometimes
one will find there exaggerated comments which arouse one’s
suspicion, though the rest is perfectly consistent.
The Bardopas who are to be born as devas or humans in happy
births have crimson coloured bodies. They see white paths before
them as if someone had laid out a white strip of cloth. Other
bardopas are for example black and travel dark paths with some
going upright, some crawling, and some even upside down and there
are also differences between the various bardopas’ way of
walking.
After the bardo state some of the bardopas come back to the dead
body and they are called “daelog” in Tibetan. We have these daelog
in Kham or Eastern Tibet. Once a consciousness is in the form of a
daelog he can come and go almost as he pleases. This happens many
times and since the bardopas can travel everywhere very quickly
they have many stories to tell when they come back. If the body is
not taken out of the room within seven days there is a possibility
that he may come back.
But there is more than this, for if we were to meditate on the
practice called Powa Drung Jug we would be able to leave our bodies
and enter into another corpse. It is mentioned in the biography of
Gyalsae Drindon Dawa that he entered into a corpse of a pigeon and
so went across the river.
Jetzun Tara Natha entered the body of a dead child and stayed
there for three years while he benefitted many disciples by giving
teachings and so fulfilled the true purpose of many sentient beings
by leading them further along the path to liberation. For three
years he kept his own body incorruptible and stored safely away.
The blessed body of the dead child was returned after he reentered
his own body. He did this no less than six times. If one has
achieved Powa Drung Jug, then this is possible.
Ordinary beings can enter their own dead bodies during the bardo
but they cannot prevent decomposition, and can enter only if their
body is safe and intact. For example, if the head is cut off then
the bardopa cannot reenter the body. There are other cases where
the bardopa cannot enter an intact body because his own karma,
relating to that particular body, is exhausted. He would not even
like to come near to it as he would find it repulsive, dirty and
reeking of a foul stench. This is rare. No doctor could make him
come back by either medicine or ritual. Thus by the force of their
karma it would be possible that one or two people might be able to
come back from death.
The above is how the bardo state is generally established.
If someone meets a violent death such as being shot, beheaded or
drowned, then he will not experience the smoke mirage with the
revolving fire and so on because such a death stops him from
recognizing these phenomena, and prior to the bardo the other signs
of death do not appear clearly. It only happens to those who die of
illness that such signs appear.
If one has so much bad karma that one is to be born in the hell
realms, then one is tormented by the final illness. One cannot pray
to the three Jewels of Refuge (i.e. the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha)
and cannot even remember one’s daily prayers. Such are the
disadvantages of the person with little virtue. At such a time one
should really try to be calm. However, the person of little virtue
sees, just before falling down into the hells, fire activated by
his own karma. This creates enormous fear in him.
Once, during Khardampa period, a disciple of Geshe Niu Zurpa
cast aspersions on the guru because of lack of faith, and so the
guru-disciple relationship was severed. The disciple refused to
approach the guru, even though the guru tried to see the disciple
by offering many gifts and by calling him to come back. When near
death, the disciple could see the guru’s dwelling on the other side
of the river.
He would cry in pain: “I can see a fire on that side of the
river bank and whenever I see it I feel uneasy. Now the fire is
coming nearer and nearer, getting bigger and bigger. And it’s
coming to me! The fire is right next to me!” and then stopped
breathing. The fire he was seeing was the fire of the hell.
Another example of one with very few virtues was a certain
butcher of Golog who killed sheep all the time. Just before he died
he could see a hallucination of sheep and all that he could say
aloud was “Baa, baa”.
Those with good karma are happy when they die. They are not
tormented by sickness for the pain is slight. They can pray to the
Three Jewels and their own guru or lama. A person dying this way
will take a happy rebirth.
King Bimbisara, the Elder, who built and offered to the Buddha
the Garden of Aramikagama, heard on his passing music of the devas
and was born after his death in the deva realm. While he was dying
he could only hear transcendental music, despite his servants’
playing of different types of instruments, for before the music of
his musicians could reach his ear, the music of the deva drowned it
out. He was born in the deva realm of Chandvara Maharajikas.
The young King Bimbisara was imprisoned and starved by his own
son Ajatasatru. When the king was about to die, he could see the
Buddha who was walking with his disciples, for this the city of
Drawasti, through the window of his cell. All he could do was
generate intense faith in the Buddha, for he was otherwise
helpless. The pretender, Ajatasatru, asked after the King to find
out what he was up to. The jailor replied that the King was looking
through his window. So the window was bricked up. With no window to
look through, the King felt very lonely and very near to death.
The Buddha urged Mahakasshyepa to think of the King Bimbisara.
Mahakasshyepa at once gained entry into the prison and once inside
gave the message of the Buddha.
“The Buddha says that it’s your accumulated karma that has
caused this to happen to you and it must be experienced. You must
come to terms with your karma.”
Through this small teaching, the king realized that he was
suffering because of his karma. He died with strong faith in the
Buddha and could also hear the music of the Chadvara Maharajikas.
He was born of the deva Kubera; while today he is the son of
another such deva and among the many gods of wealth. When we say
such prayers as Kangso, we are saying them to Bimbisara the
Younger. Such types of happy deaths are in fact many. On the other
hand, with the accumulation of black karma, there are many who fall
straight down to hell.
In ancient times, King Videha killed as many as 60,000 Shakyas,
through the trick of summoning them all together. He sent out one
of his man to listen to general rumour, afraid that the Buddha
would feel anger and even curse him (for the Buddha was a Prince of
the Shakyas). The man heard the Buddha as saying that for killing
60,000 Shakyas the King would die in seven days, consumed by the
fires of hell.
When the servant gave this message, the King said, “We shall
come to no harm for we shall go to a place where there could
possibly be no fire. Then we shall prove Him a liar” This proves
that he had no faith at all in the powers of the Buddha in seeing
the future.
He had a great barge made and lived in it along with his Queen.
Six days passed by. But the Queen had a number of precious stones
in her crown and one of them was the Precious Gem of Fire. At the
day-break of the seventh day, the rays of the sun made it catch
fire. The fire grew and the royal couple started trying to escape,
but the fire followed their every move. There was not enough room
for escape. All they could shout was “Tshiko, tshiko – burning,
burning!” When the King, Queen and barged were engulfed by the
flames, they could not even shout this for they fell to hell with
their own human bodies. Of course, they would have taken the bodies
of hell-beings on reaching there. These things do happen.
Before our Teacher attained Enlightenment, He had been born as a
Monkey Boddhisattva. A man, no doubt a hunter, found himself
completely lost in the middle of a forest. He was starving. He
found some fruit on the branch of a tree. When he tried to reach
for these, the branch broke and he fell into a deep pool surrounded
by sheer rock. He reached the surface and looked about for any path
up. For some of the time he lived on fruit while shouting for help
all the while. He was heard by a monkey. This monkey was a previous
life of Buddha Shakyamuni who was still on the path of a
Boddhisattva. The Boddhisattva Monkey pondered on the reason for
the cries: it must have been someone and so the Monkey peered over
the edge and asked what had happened to him.
“I fell into it. There’s no way out and I shall die.”
“Don’t fear, I’ll do all I can.”
The Monkey brought the man fruit and would carry a stone while
clambering up again, doing this until He could carry a stone equal
in weight to the man. It was then that He said, “Don’t worry, for
now I can carry you.” While the man had become very light from
living on fruit, the Monkey had been developing his strength. Thus,
one day, He carried the man up, and the man was rescued.
The Monkey said on reaching the forest, “How good it is that you
are out of danger. The purpose of my undergoing hardship has been
fulfilled. In fact I had much difficulty in carrying the stones.
Now I can happily fall asleep. You shall watch for the approach of
any enemies.” He fell asleep on the man’s lap.
A thought came into the man’s mind while the Monkey slept
soundly. He looked himself over and found that there was not much
flesh left on his body. “Without food,” he though, “I cannot reach
town. To do that, I feel I must kill and eat the monkey.”
Slowly he lifted the Monkey’s Head off his lap, picked up a rock
and tried to strike the Monkey’s Head; the Head of his Rescuer.
However the man was so weak that he could not aim the stone
properly, for he was trembling. Instead he hit the Monkey on the
side. The Monkey awoke and, looking about, asked what had happened.
The man was burning with shame, and stood as still as a statue. The
Monkey saw the big rock near to Himself and guessed what had
happened. The man had tried to hit Him on the Head.
“Now come with me. I’ll see you’ll get back,” He said.
He led the man by a path to where he could see the village. The
Monkey warned, “Today you have committed an evil action – the bad
karma of Ingratitude. You would do well to purify it.”
With this advice, He sent him down to the village. When the man
was far enough away from the monkey he could hardly see Him, the
man fell into a pit. He greatly suffered from large boils that
covered his body and that itched badly.
The king of that time, while hunting, heard someone shrieking.
The King could see the man, but could not tell whether it was a man
or an animal because of the many boils on the man’s body. The king
asked who he was. The man told his story and said, “Since I’m a
person of such evil actions I have now the bad karma of these. This
is why I suffer so much.”
Just then, the man fell through a crack in the earth that opened
right under him. He fell through it straight to the hell realms.
There are some who die like this too.
Even if we practice a little
of the Dharma, it can be of immense benefit. When the Lord Buddha
was living in Sravasti, He did not go to the country of King
Saekhya, to give him his Tibetan name. This king had a minister
called, also in Tibetan, Damchen. The account is long though
interesting. Originally the minister had been a farmer who would
frequently go to the king’s palace. The king was expert in
assessing people’s character. After the farmer had once gone back
home, the king said, “here we have someone who has lots of gold. I
know it from his tone of voice.”
The other ministers retorted, “If he has so much gold, why did
he come on foot? He has neither house nor child. He goes to his
farm and works there. We don’t think that he has much in the way of
gold!”
However, the king said, “Just the same, he has.”
So the farmer was sent for and asked if he had much gold.
Again he was asked, “If you have so much gold, why do you toil
away on your farm? You could have ridden here on a horse or you can
even ride an elephant when you go here and there.”
“All the farmers,” he replied, “travel on foot and work very
hard. It doesn’t seem right to me that I should go on horseback or
by elephant.”
This answer pleased the king a great deal, and the king believed
him. The king, in fact, demanded that he become one of his
ministers.
A long story follows the appointment of Damchen, though I can
not tell it all here.
Minister Damchen advised the king to practice generosity,
saying, “It’s useless if you don’t practice it while you have
wealth.” The king gave away much of his wealth to beggars in the
street for a month or so. Even those who only stayed there for the
month were given food. So it happened that many people traveled
there from the south.
One group had 500 travelers. They were all Tirthikas or
non-Buddhists. In coming through the Southern parts they had been
stricken with thirst, as they could not get water on the way. They
had nearly died. In desperation they went to a nearby tree, the
sort of tree that granted all one’s wishes, and cried out for all
to hear, “Oh owner of this tree! Be you deva, naga, spirit or
nonhuman, please give us water. We shall be dead from this
thirst!”
From the top of the tree came a ladle filled with water, and
this was poured into a very good pitcher. The Tirthikas drank and
so quenched their thirst. Then they went away.
But they had not gone far before one of them said, “Who could it
be? Who gave us the water? We forgot to ask!” So, back they came
and asked, “Who are you? You have been so kind to us that you have
saved our lives. Are you a deva, naga or spirit?”
The being on the top of the tree replied, “I’m a deva. My name
is Beautiful Hand. Here’s why I’m a deva. In my previous live I
lived in Sravasti. There I was very poor and had nothing to give
away. The Noble Householder Anāthapindika was at the time giving
away much of his possessions. This made him popular and many people
came to him after hearing of it. So my family was on its way to his
house. I would sit by the side of the road and show other people
the way. I would say ‘This way, this way!’ Because I showed those
people the way with a good mind, the merit I so gained meant that I
was born in the deva realm. I have the best hand of all the devas,
and that is the reason for my name.”
The Tirthikas moved on, but at one of the next places they could
not find any food and almost died of hunger. They found another
such tree and again shouted at it, saying “Give us some food!”
From the top of the tree came a voice. “Go a little further
towards that wall. You will find a pitcher full of food buried
beneath a stone. It will be enough for all.”
They went and removed the stone and found the pitcher and ate
from it with relish. There was more than enough for all. They
filled their own containers with the remaining food. Again they
asked who it was that had saved their lives.
“I am a deva,” again was the reply. “In my previous life in
Sravasti I took One Day Mahayana Precepts in five parts from the
House-holder Anāthapindika. Actually I was at the time a Tirthika
who dabbled in Buddhist practices. I went home that night and when
I got there, my wife offered me food. I told her that just for
today I would not eat any of it, as I had taken Precepts.”
“My wife mocked me saying ‘Your father was a damned meat eater.
What on earth made you take these vows anyway? It’s too much for me
to take a non-Buddhist following Gautama’s Dharma! I won’t be angry
with you any more if you take some food. If you don’t, I’ll tell
some of the other non-Buddhists here and they’ll give you a real
rough time!”
So, he broke his Precepts though it was not his fault. He was
born in that deva realm where the sun and moon are to be found. If
he had kept his precepts pure, he might have been born in the
highest of the god realms, the 33rd quadrant. It was merely through
the eating of food that night that he was not born that high.
The Tirthikas conferred amongst themselves and reach, with
difficulty the conclusion that while practicing their own religion
they had not one single result in this life, while those who
practice the Buddha’s Dharma, even if it were only a one day vow
and that broken to boot, were born in the deva realms. Amazed by
this, they wanted to see whether they could get these precepts or
not. They discuss this all of the time while they were going
through the South.
At last they reached the place where the king and his ministers
were giving away their possessions. While they rested they were
asked about any news of distant disturbances. They told their story
and said that they were going to Sravasti to see Anāthapindika, and
that they wanted to take these precepts from him. Another told them
to wait two or three months till autumn, and then go there. They
did this, and when they got to Sravasti they found Anāthapindika,
told him their story and requested for One Day Precepts.
Anāthapindika asked them, “Do you want to take these from me or
the Guru who gave them to me?” They replied that they would know
which would be best. He took them to the Buddha. All 500 took vows
and also had the Refuge Vows conferred upon them. They were taught
of Sunyata, despite their being Tirthikas, and became Aryas for
they saw the truth of the mode of existence of all things. They
also attained that place, Nirvana, of those who have gone beyond
all cyclic existence.
Even if one breaks one’s Precepts, one takes birth in the deva
realms. One will die peacefully if one accumulates enough good
karma. If one had this accumulation and can pray at the time of
death, then one will die without the immense torture of illness. If
one has enough faith at the time of death to remember one’s guru
and the Triple Gem, even though one has really little good karma,
one will not go to the lower realms. First of all, one will go to a
happy rebirth through the sheer power of this remembrance. Thus
when we talk about the bardo, the most important thing to remember
is to do something beneficial at the time of death. To talk of
people seeing white or black rays of light when they die or that
people have risen from the dead is only idle talk; it is not
beneficial practice. Though only gossip, it may indeed be true that
some people have seen white light and that people do come back from
the bardo state.
Your main doubt is about the working of the bardo process and in
particular how a man can return in such a way. On the other hand,
there are many cases of non-human beings entering the body after a
person’s death.
There are some who die and they remain unconscious for years on
end, only to wake in the Hell of Frequent Recovery. The nature of
this place is such that the beings in it die and they revive one
hundred times a day. The consciousnesses of these hell beings do
not leave the do not leave the bodies but remain unconscious for a
period of time only to awake again. This is a way that these beings
suffer.
In the case of men, there are many daelog who return into the
body after death, especially in Kham, for we know that the
consciousness can leave the body before the breath stops and then
later come back into it again.
The Oracle for the Dromo Dung Gar Monastery, which is in India
beyond Sikkim, and who was in fact oracle for the dharmapala (or
Protective Deity for the Doctrine) Shungten, left this position and
later came to Tibet, becoming later the Oracle of Tshecholing
Monastery. At Dung Far was a Bön monastery on a nearby hill, and
the Bönpos killed the Oracle with their magic. Word soon got out
that the Oracle was dead and people mourned for him.
The Bönpos were elated so blew on trumpets and beat drums. They
held rituals in honour of their god and said “Our god has
triumphed!” But the deity Shungten entered the dead body and
requested people to keep the corpse clean and not to touch it. The
body was then not touched nor moved for three days.
When the sun rose from the top of the hill on the third day, the
Oracle revived: he had come back. The Dung Gar Monastery burned
incense, played instruments and hoisted up prayer flags, saying in
turn that their dharmapala had triumphed.
After his recovery, he stayed on for many years acting as the
Oracle, though later he discarded his robes and became a layman. So
the Monastery looked for a fully ordained monk to act as the medium
for the deity. He came to Tibet and stayed at Tshecholing where he
received many teachings and practiced the Dharma very well
there.
In Kham there is a great deity called Paotrobar who can enter
the body of a man. His abode was Logdrama Gutse and he reputed to
be the protector of those Khampas who once practiced animal
sacrifices. Logdrama Gutse is a high rocky hill that slopes
straight into a body of water. From the water you look right up the
face of the hill.
The going up the hill is somewhat rough. There are people who go
up to burn incense and to ask for money. Someone doing this would
take up a set of scaled and would say aloud “Lend me Money!” After
receiving it, he would weigh the money, then take it home with the
promise of returning it in one or two months. This promise would be
made by offering prostrations. If he did not return the money, he
would suffer from sickness. Again he would have to burn incense on
returning the money. He had to say “I’ve brought the money.” He
would have to weigh it again. As the lender is a deity, one would
have been able to short change the lender while the money was being
weighed on the redemption of the promise. This was done by
remarking how great was the weight of the money. The man would not
be sick and suffer for what he was doing since the deity would have
to believe what the man says.
In the local town, people would make sacrifices and kill many
goats. It quite often happens that people recover from sickness
when this sacrifice is performed and it was for this reason that it
flourished in Kham.
While blood sacrifice prevailed in the country, it happened that
an old monk fell very sick and was on the point of death. On dying,
his consciousness led him away. He heard somebody saying “Follow
me”, and he found himself being lead to Logdrama Gutse. He
discovered that the hill was really a big palace having many
courtyards with gardens of many flowers surrounded by beautiful
groves. As he approached the palace, he could tell that it was a
highly complicated building. He found his way to the entrance to
the top floor and saw that it was the threshold of the deity’s
residence. He began peeping through the curtain of the doorway and
was later called in.
The deity had a hare-lip, and was sitting just like a deity
should be sitting. After the monk had been called in, the god waves
his rosary in the air and then put it down. The deity asked, “Who
are you?”
The monk replied, “I have been called and so here I am.”
The god said, “though I didn’t call for you, you may have been
brought in by one of my retinue. Let’s leave it be, for I have
something to ask of you. Do this one thing and you won’t die. You
will recover. You will be able to go back.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Look at my rosary,” continued the god. “It was given to me by
Padmasambhava, and it is made of iron. If I recite Vajra Guru,
which is the mantra of Padmasambhava, and were out the rosary
completely, I shall go to the deva realm Sangdong Peri. Some time
ago, the beads had almost worn away to nothing because of the local
people’s killing of many goats to propitiate me, even though I do
not like sacrificial rituals, I have had to take on all the
non-virtues done in my name which have made the rosary get newer.
Now I find the beads difficult to wear out. Therefore, you must
give the message not to make sacrifice any more. I do not like
killing and I myself abstain from doing it. If they still keep up
the practice, I shall harm them instead of helping them.”
“Also you must tell them this. When these people practice blood
offerings, my slaves get something to eat. Thus they help these
people a little but it is not in their powers to help them forever.
These are the messages that you must take back with you.”
This monk also noticed that the deity had a statue of
Padmasambhava beside his couch.
“Now is the time for you to go back,” the god then said. “You
will recover and no harm shall come to you. But you must give the
message properly.”
Indeed the monk did go back and recover. While he was reviving
he could remember what he had been told. He later gave the message
faithfully and was finally able to wipe out this vicious practice
in the country.
So we see that there are some people who can come back after
death and are led by spirit. There are others who come back by the
force of their own karma.
When we die, sometimes it is through the exhaustion of the
lifespan and sometimes through the exhaustion of one’s merits
collected in previous lifetimes. If one’s lifespan and merits have
been depleted then nothing can save one from death; neither prayers
nor ritual. All people must die, though if there is a remaining
residue of good karma and lifespan, then prayers can do some good.
If there is a residue of good karma and the lifespan is exhausted,
then the lifespan can do some extent be easily restored. People
having such residues can be brought back to life, even if they die
of sickness.
Thus it can happen that many people or daelogs come back
provided that they have been dead for four or five days and their
bodies have been kept clean. They have many anecdotes to tell about
different people and about what they have become in future lives,
such as so-and-so was born here and so on. Such daelogs are
considered holy in my country.
Nevertheless, there is really no certainty about the true
identity of the consciousness that returns to the body and starts
telling about its actions in the past life. We cannot tell for
certain whether it is the genuine consciousness of the dead person
or that of some other spirit.
When the dead body comes back to life it behaves very much like
the dead person himself. There is a story of when the Precious
Minister Padmasambhava was in Tibet. One of the ministers of King
Trison Detsaen had died and one of the Bön rituals had been
done.
Now there are actually three types of Bön systems: these are
called Gyurbön, Khyarbön and Dùbön. The Gyurbön system is a
translation of an Indian system combining both Buddhist and
non-Buddhist elements by Pandit Shamdag Nagpo (meaning the Wearer
of the Black Skirt or Kilt). Khyarbön was established by some
non-Buddhists who were able to fly in the air and who settled on
the border of Tibet when their monastery was destroyed by a
thunderbolt. (The name means those Bönpos who were stranded.) Dúbön
was the Bön system established in Tibet. They are expert in making
ritual and are effective in dealing with the sick. When the Bön
rite Tenpa Sherab is done the dead person is said to come back
again. This has been done on those dead person is said to come back
again. This has been done on those dead for many days and even as
much as a year. The Bönpos shout at the top of their voices while
ringing a bell called the shang. After some time, the dead person
is supposed to come back. He would be asked whether he had enjoyed
what had happened to him while among the dead or whether he had
suffered a great deal. He would begin to tell them every story of
what he did when he was alive. He would partake of tea, ch’ang and
food. By way of offering him a big treat, he would be given a
greeting scarf before being exorcised. In fact, all of this was the
game of spirits who wanted free food and drink.
However, everyone took all of this on face value only and had
faith in this type of ritual, an example of the method of the
Bönpos. People reported all of this to the great master
Padmasambhava, saying that the Bön system must be very good for
there is no such thing in the Buddha’s Dharma. The Bönpos could
even call back a dead man and ask him questions about his previous
life and he would give the correct answers. Not only would he get
something to eat but also he could meet his relatives again. “There
is no such thing in the Buddhist Teachings, is there?” they
said.
“It could not be the dead person himself,” was the reply.
“It is the dead one; he comes back and you can see it being done
for yourself.”
The Bön rite was performed according to the order of the King.
After some time, the dead minister of the King came back to life
and acted just like the real minister of the King came back to life
and acted just like the real minister did in every mannerism and
turn of phrase. There was not even the minutest inconsistency that
would have indicated that this was not the real ministers alive
again. If asked about what he had done at such and such a time, his
answer would be absolutely correct. He could tell about all of his
actions as a minster.
“When I gave an initiation,” Padmasambhava then said, “I gave
you a secret name. What was this name I gave you?”
The body replied, “I cannot know this. When the Precious Guru
gave the initiation, I could not attend because I was thrown out
before it started.”
This showed that the consciousness was nothing but a spirit that
had followed the minister for much of his life. He had been thrown
out of the initiation by virtue of some rituals performed as
preliminaries, and because of this he was not able to find out what
the name was.
After this admission, the body stood up and ran away. Later it
became a wolf and even later still vanished into thin air.
At the time of the unmasking of this fraudulent spirit,
Padmasambhava declared, “This is the way that we can tell that this
was not the real person at all.” When asked what it really was, the
Master said it was a spirit who took birth at the same time as the
minister had done. This was why he had entered the dead body. In
fact all of those people who had come back to life because of the
Bönpos ritual were similar cases to this one. Some were these
simultaneously born spirits while others were devas. Yet more
others were nöjin and drize.
“This is nothing but the tricks of these non-human spirits,” he
continued, “for it is quite impossible for the consciousness of the
dead person to come back after such a long time. This is because
each of them would have had to have taken rebirth according to
their individual karma.”
He was then asked about the true rebirth of the minister.
Through his special powers of clairvoyance, he was able to tell
them that the minister had been reborn as a worm under a cow pat
which was to be found near Lhasa. The ministers asked Padmasambhava
to show them the worm so as to lend greater credence to his
explanation, and took him with them. The great Spiritual Master
made the worm remember its previous life, when it was that very
minister, by blessing it. He then called it by that secret name and
the worm wiggled to him and by so doing answered to the name.
The minister could not help becoming a worm because of the power
of ripening karma. Even the Three Jewels were unable to save him
for their power and that of the maturing karma of sentient beings
are equally powerful. Even if Padmasambhava were to have performed
some very powerful pujas on the worm’s behalf, he would not have
been able right away to have transported the worm to a Pure Land.
There are other such accounts of Padmasambhava.
However, we ordinary beings cannot tell whether a consciousness
re-entering a dead body is the real consciousness of that person or
not. For example, there are some such spirits who enter bodies and
related everything about the activities of the dead person in just
the same fashion as he himself would tell it if he were alive.
Nevertheless, they would insert lies here and there, such as the
seeing of these white, black or red lights. We cannot be sure
exactly who it is that has entered the body. Nothing of this sort
is to be found in the Teachings of the Buddha.
Such “consciousnesses of the dead person” have been known to
enter the body of the local village oracle. Where I come from, we
had a woman for the local oracle and the local protective deity a
deva, entered into her body. Also she doubled for the oracle of
Dhamchen. These two deities would speak truly, just the same. Once
the voice of the oracle became very hoarse, so that she quite often
made the sound “urr, urr”, she said, “I have eaten many chickens
and because of this the head of one is now stuck in my throat.” The
consciousness of an old woman who had just died had said this
through her. “You should all do prayers for me because I do not
have much good karma at all.”
Another dead person’s consciousness entered her and said,
“Whenever I recited “Om mani padme hun’, I left out the ‘Om’, could
you recite some “Om’s” for me to go with my “Mani’s”?
Our neighbours in the district were the Shangli Family who lives
below the path near the river. The father and the rest of the
family called themselves together for a meeting. It was at dusk.
The father got angry and stormed out. Below their house was the big
river. He got to the river and took off his ch’uba, hat and shoes,
leaving them on the river bank, then he crossed the river with only
his trousers on. He had not returned by the next night and so the
family started a search for him. On finding his clothes lying on
the river bank, they immediately thought the worst-he had thrown
himself into the river. In their pity for him they all swore out
aloud.
They invited round some lamas and others proficient in the
doctrine, asking them to perform Phowa. The fact that there was no
corpse had been forgotten by the family. Instead they went to an
oracle who was asked to find the so-called dead father’s body.
To no one’s surprise, the dead father entered the oracle, and
with exactly the right voice said, “They insulted me – me, the head
of the family. They dared to answer me back after I had worked hard
to support them all of their lives. I said one thing and they just
would have to say another.”
All of this was having just the right effect.
“I made myself scarce, went to the river and jumped right in.
Now I’m so cold!” After this tale of woe, he left, leaving the
whole family in tears. All they could think was that he had done
himself in and as a result been born a spirit.
After the lapse of four or five days’ stay in the rocks, the
father came back. This story is not unique and shows just how
difficult it is to distinguish exactly who it is who “speaks from
the grave” to use a Western expression.
There is nothing of the bardo state in the Teachings of the
Buddha, Knower of all phenomena, whether belonging to Samsara or
Nirvana, whether manifest or non-manifest, or whether belonging to
any of the Three Times – Past, Present or Future – and who knows
exactly the true mode of existence of all.
Many scientists today do useful experiments. However, if they
cannot see anything, it does not exist for them. In this they
resemble the Carvacas of old, for they have nothing to say about
the next lives, nor do they know anything about devas, spirits and
such as these things cannot normally be seen. On the other hand, if
something can be seen, they deem it worthy of experimentation.
These are mainly useful and accurate, and the conclusion they draw
are sound.
So to return to the main subject, this is what the texts have to
say on the subject. To tell the truth, there are many others well
versed in the Dharma who also know as much as I do in such things. Their scholarship is
every bit as good mine except in the fact that I am very old and
have picked up some stories here and there. So you would do well to
ask them about this subject.
BIRTH, DEATH AND THE BARDO; PART TWO
BY KYABJE ZONG RINPOCHE
Question: (by one of the listeners to the teaching given in the
last issue): Would it be helpful to recite the Tibetan Book of the
Dead (*Bardo T’ oedrol) to someone who has just died?
Answer: When you recite the Tibetan Book of the Dead, if the
deceased’s consciousness happens to be nearby he will hear it. If
you recite it in Tibetan and he did not understand Tibetan in his
last life, he would not be able to understand it, in most cases. If
he does understand the language in the Bardo state, who is to say
that he will stay to hear it through to the end? You can never know
where he might be because he moves to and fro like the breeze. He
also may not be paying attention even if he is present. And even
further, how long is he going to remain in the Bardo? That is
another question altogether, for until he is reborn he remains in
the Bardo.
If he has heard then it would be useful, but whether or not he
way paying attention to it cannot be known. We are often
inattentive when we listen to the teachings while we are alive. How
much more would this be so for mere consciousness!
I won’t say that reciting the Tibetan Book of the Dead would be
useless. That is not the case. Superficially, its subject matter
appears to be about the Bardo, but this is not the whole story. It
also says such things as the being in the Bardo should not remain
attached to his relatives and parents of this life now that he
finds himself in the Bardo. Also he should call to the three Jewels
with sincerity. There is such talk about a white light appearing
and how he should not be afraid of it as it is the radiance of the
Five Dhyani Buddhas or the Five Wisdoms and so forth. I myself have
no idea whether these things will appear to one or not. If they are
not understood by people when they are alive, it is very hard to
expect a Bardo being to understand it.
If holy mantra were to be recited, or the appropriate rituals
done properly with the merit so generated being dedicated to the
good of the dead person, it would be of more substantial benefit.
Moreover, you could do these according to the Tantra, if the Tantra
is flourishing in the area. For example, if the body is still
available, and you wish to have a purification ritual performed,
then set up the corpse and get the Purification of the Three Lower
Realms done, which is a method which uses the deity Gun-Rig.
First, the old consciousness is enticed back into the corpse by
reciting the Words of the Truth of the Three Jewels. Then,
impediments to his achieving Enlightenment or otherwise to his
liberation from cyclic existence are removed and the method
employed is either wrathful or peaceful. White sesame and white
sand are blessed through fifteen mantra. It is beneficial to throw
these on the dead body. If these were to be scattered in such
places as cemeteries, whatever consciousness that belonged to
whichever bones touched by these would be born into the god realms
amidst falling clusters of flowers, even if that consciousness had
been reborn in the hells. At least this is what is said in the
tantra itself. In fact these will be beneficial and one can
completely rely on these techniques as they relate to those
teachings which deal with activities. The disputes as to the
classifications of interpretive or definitive teachings relates
only to those statements of the Buddha about the view of emptiness.
However, those that concern activities are said to be definitive.
If done with conviction and faith, they will work.
If you were to write these very effective mantra on pieces of
paper, you should place them into the ears of the corpse, or bury
them in the coffin, or even tuck them into the winding sheet.
Qualified lamas leave white sesame close at hand and bless them
with mantra when they recite their prayers. They also jot down the
names of the dead whenever anyone requests prayers to be said on
their behalf. At the end of any lunar month they do a purification.
They draw the deceased’s’ consciousnesses onto the top of these
seed and the purification is then performed. Afterwards, the seeds
are thrown away. This too is of benefit.
There are also washing ceremonies. For example, the Three Jewels
are reflected in a mirror and this is then washed. When the water
is thrown out, such things as “This water is the perfection of
generosity in the form of water”, are said. Whatever ritual you
perform of Gun Rig, insert the dead person’s name so that it will
benefit him. You may say such things as, “May his negative actions
collected from beginningless time and especially those related to
miserliness be cleansed; may he attain Enlightenment quickly.” Even
the throwing out of the water is useful to him, as is the cleansing
of his ignorance by saying the powerful words of truth about
emptiness. In addition there are fifteen verses which also should
be recited about the major deeds of Buddha Shakyamuni and how he
achieved the great qualities of body, speech and mind, the
destruction of the four Maras and the turning of the Wheel of
Dharma. You should hope that these will all prove auspicious for
the deceased. There are three further verses of auspicious songs to
the Three Jewels. While these are recited, the best things to do
would be to throw flowers on the body and think that it purifies
his ignorance. If you want to go into even more detail, you can
recite more verse which show the stages of the paths to high
spiritual states such as the give paths to liberation. Then he can
be allowed to enter a mandala to receive initiations. After all of
this, through the force of contemplation, his consciousness should
be forcefully transferred to Sukhavati Pure Land. The mantra are
now burnt. This type of purification includes all seven types of
purification and so must be of some use to him. You should give
alms to the poor on his behalf, or make offerings to the Three
Jewels or to the Sangha in particular. (In fact in Tibetan
communities you quite often hear the monk responsible for the
upholding of the monastic discipline reading the list of requests
for prayers to be said.) Any virtue done in his name will be of
some help to him. However the most helpful thing of all would be if
he had done something virtuous for himself while still alive. That
is very direct and anything else done later is indirect.
If all of the above have not been done effectively, they are
merely mumblings. Take the example of one born into the hells. If
the purifications are not effective he may not regain anything like
a human rebirth again. At the very least he may gain a little
relief, such as feeling a cool breeze when the intolerable heat of
hell is at its worst. If you want the ritual to be done seriously,
you should request the purification from a properly qualified
practitioner, as Tantric practices are supreme methods in their
power to purify.
There are some people who hold wakes for the dead, invite their
friends and kill goats and chickens for a big feast. As all those
negative actions are done in the name of the dead person, they
could completely reverse any good actions done for him and could be
disastrous.
Gun Rig practices are done especially when people die and they
are highly valued by Tibetans, but instead you can request for
Ghuyasamaja, Yamantaka or Heruka practices to be done. In these
cases, one just blesses white sand and sesame, sprinkling these on
the body if available. If this is not possible, one of his bones, a
fingernail, hair or some unwashed clothes will also do. This is
why, when purification is request, people give the unwashed clothes
with that person’s name on them. This is so that the purification
can be performed on the clothes, not so that they can be sold for
some spare cash! If the body has been disposed of, the family
offers cloth and will not accept it back, for that is the
tradition. If you have the bones and offer them instead, there is
no need to offer cloth, particularly as this is not in accordance
with the ritual. To offer cloth on top of the other is merely being
greedy.
You need’t feel afraid if the dead person revives. The body heat
re-gathers first, and later he begins to breathe. After that, he
recovers much like a sick person. However, if the corpse becomes a
rolang (literally, “a risen corpse”) it is generally due to
so-called evil spirits. The corpse begins to swell when these
spirits enter the body. Rolangs are of different types and some
even talk like humans. Others also eat and tell lies. If the body
is becoming a rolang, it is usual for the head to slowly move. The
body takes a peek to see if anyone is watching. Then it opens both
eyes and stands up. After this, it cannot bend any more. Now it
harms people. People die instantly when it says “Ha!”. If it cannot
kill, then it tries to damage. It hits people or breathes on them,
and they may die. There are certain signs which indicate
interferences to the dead body before a rolang occurs. One is that
on lighting a butter lamp, it does not glow but gives off
“blackish” light. Another is that whenever you look at the dead
body, it seems to you that it is going to stand up. If you throw
the blessed white sesame on the head of the corpse, it will be
prevented from standing up.
I seem to remember an old man with a large gold earring who
died. It was the custom to hold a big wake with plenty of feasting
and lots of beer. They say that when the food and drink were
served, he sat up once, drank a cup of beer and then lay back
again. It was seen by many, in point of fact. Later he was examined
and was found to have been harmed by a spirit king who favoured
another family. The two families had been involved for years in a
law suit. The spirit had been more or less teasing the corpse.
There was one lama of Derge who went to o P’owa (see the
previous article) on a body. Usually the body does not stand when
this is done. While performing the ritual, he sensed that things
were somehow not quite right. He met his disciple on the road when
he returned. He asked the disciple if he was going to the same
house for further rituals. The disciple said he was. The lama said,
“If there are any interferences to the body, make strong prayers to
your principal guru. It would be more helpful.”
The lama had not been alone in sensing bad omens. When the
disciple sat down beside the body, the family sneaked out of the
room and silently bolted the door.
Now it was usual for this disciple to shut his eyes whenever he
said any prayers. During a short break in the ritual, he opened
them and saw that the head of the body had raised itself a little.
He took no notice of this, shut his eyes and continued. The next
time he opened his eyes, he found that the head was raised even
more. Frightened now he tried to open the door, but it was locked.
Next he tried to get out by the window but it was too small. He did
not notice that he had cut his ear on the window frame and that his
ear was bleeding badly. No