Teachings on Excellent Death &/Or Rebirth From Tibetan Buddhism
& Related Contributions from Primarily Western Scientists
NEW Dying Well Tibetan Style - an ongoing monthly study in the Sunday Topics time slot. Open to everyone. Nonmembers $10 per session
- "Dying Well In Tibet" a Teaching at KTC by Ven. Bardor Tulku Rinpoche
- "Buddhism For Body Worlds" -Speaker's Notes by Lama Pamela Holtum
- NEW THE ULTIMATE JOURNEY: Consciousness and the Mystery of Death by Stanislav Grof, M.D. ISBN 0-9660019-9-0. p 21-22.
"Preindustrial societies thus seemed to agree that death was not the ultimate defeat and end of everything, but an important transition. The experiences associated with death were seen as visits to important dimensions of reality that deserved to be experienced, studied, and carefully mapped. The dying were familiar with the eschatological cartographies of their cultures, whether these were shamanic maps of the funeral landscapes or sophisticated descriptions of the Eastern spiritual systems, such as those found in the
Bardo Thodol
, the Tibetan Book of the Dead. This important text of Tibetan Buddhism deserves special notice, since is represents an interesting counterpoint to Western civilization's exclusive pragmatic emphasis on productive life and denial of death. The Tibetan Book of the Dead describes the time of death as a unique opportunity for spiritual liberation from the cycles of death and rebirth and a period that determines our next incarnation, if we do not achieve liberation. In this context the intermediate states between lives (bardos) can be seen as more important than incarnate existence, and consequently it is essential to prepare for them by systematic practice during one's lifetime.Another characteristic aspect of ancient and preindustrial cultures that colors the experience of dying is their acceptance of death as an integral part of life. Throughout life, people living in these cultures spend time around dying people: handling corpses, observing cremation , and living with the remnants of their relatives. For a Westerner ... where this attitude is expressed in its extreme form, can be a profoundly shattering experience. In addition, people in preindustrial cultures typically die in the context of an extended family, clan, or tribe... Powerful rituals are conducted at the time of death to help individuals face the ultimate transition, or even provide specific guidance for dying, such as the approach described in the
Bardo Thodal
.... The common denominator of such practices is that they involve non-ordinary states of consciousness, or a special important subgroup of these states, for which I have coined the term
holotropic
(Grof 1992). This composite word literally means 'oriented toward wholeness' or 'moving in the direction of wholeness.'"
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Healing VS Curing; the Nonlocal, Infinite, Eternal, Immortal, Non-Dying quality of Consciousness; Overcoming Suffering. The part of who humans are that is Beyond Physical Disease.
Note: The knowledge we have of the phenomenon of the bardos was imparted by Buddha himself. (A Buddha is omniscient and can describe all phenomenon even those we cannot sense wih our ordinary faculties. The following quotes are from the book Death and the Art of Dying - in Tibetan Buddhism,by Bokar Rinpoche. ISBN:0-9630371-2-9.
Buddhism asserts that beings live beyond the impermanent fluctuations of this earthly life. Death is not a definitive end but a passage to one of three other states:
- a rebirth into the cycle of conditioned existence, either into the world of human beings, where a constant flow of joys and suffering goes on;
-the entry into a pure land, a domain of manifested light as we shall see later;
-the flowering of the ultimate nature of being as a pure, non-dual, unlimited, all-knowing and all-loving consciousness, which is called Buddhahood.
The word "bardo," referred to many times in a discussion of death and dying means "a marked beginning and a definite ending." For our purposes we will designate six bardos, namely,:
First three relating to our present lifetime:
bardo of birth to death
bardo of the dream state
bardo of meditative concentration
Next three relating to death:
bardo of the moment of death
(when death process begins to actual death)
bardo od dharmata
(when death occurs until deities appear)
bardo of becoming
(when prior bardo cease until we are born)
It is important to have a spiritual practice during the three bardos of this lifetime to develop a firm foundation for traversing the three bardos of death.
If we understand the nature of mindit won't be necessary for the three bardos of death to manifest.)
The six bardos manifest out of our mind. And are our mind's reflection.
We fill the bardos with our own nature
(negative karma - suffering)
(positive karma - peace and happiness)
Bardo of the moment of death
Our body is made up of four elements as follows:
At the moment of death, these elements are absorbed into each other and give rise to a twin series of phenomena, external and internal.
First the earth element is absorbed in the water element. Externally, the limbs can no longer be moved, and internally, the mind sees things like mirages.
The water element is then absorbed into the fire element. Externally the mouth and tongue become dry, and internally, we perceive smoke that passes us or rises up.
Next the fire element is absorbed into the air element. Externally, heat leaves the limbs, moving from the extremities toward the center of the body. Internally, we see a array of sparks.
Finally, the air element is absorbed into the individual consciousness. Externally, breathing ceases, and internally, we see something like the flames of flickering butterlamps.
This process of gradual reabsorption of the four elements is followed by the three path process. At the same time another phase starts and is called appearance-increase-attainment.
First of all, the individual consciousness is absorbed into appearance. At the same moment the white tigle of masculine principle located at the top of the head descends as far as the heart. This phase is called the white path. Internally, a great white luminosity enters the mind.
Finally, the white masculine principle and the red feminine principle join at the heart. This is the black pathFor an instant, the mind experiences emptimess and then falls into complete darkness.
Technical descriptions of the various phenomena occurring at the moment of death are more than mere cuiosities. If we have no prior knowledge of the process of absorption of the elements into each other, and of the succession of the three paths, we may be distressed and frightened when they appear. From knowing this process, we are forewarned and therfore we will not be assailed by the fear of the unknown.
At this point, we can continue further and deepen our understanding. Apart from learning the way the phenomena manifest, we can experience the pure essence of the paths (white, red, and black) and the four elements.
The pure essence of the four elements is the four goddesses. At the moment of the unfolding of the phenomena caused by the absorption, we think the phenomena are the manifestation of the four goddesses:
These goddesses have always existed naturally in the mind. If we know how to recognize their expression, we will not fear them.
If we find it hard to accept or integrate the notion of goddesses, we can develop another approach by thinking, "The phenomena occurring now are illusory manifestationf of my mind. They do not exist of themselves and are nothing othr than a production of my mind."
The three paths also have these three Buddha bodies as their own pure essence:
There is nothing frightening about these paths. If we have practiced mahamudra for a long time, we will recognize the end of the black path as the manifestation of the fundamental clear light
Recognizing this fundamental clear light means "becoming Buddha in the absolute body at the moment of death." It is said that it aalso means "being liberated as a Buddha in the first bardo. When awakening is attained, the bardo no longer continues.
On the other hand, if the fundamental clear light is not recognized, the mind slips into a deep state of unconsciousness of variable duration, which is generally said to last three and a half days.
The period of time beginning with the absorption of the elements and ceasing at the end of the three and a half days is designated as the bardo of the moment of death.
The Bardo of dharmata
Bardo of dharmata begins three and a half days of unconsciousness. It is as if a person were emerging from deep sleep. During this period the Buddhas of the five families manifest themselves. They are intrinsically present in ou mind as the expression of the five wisdoms. This is the scond bardo of death called the bardo of dharmata.
Vairocana Buddha appears on the first day. He either manifests in the form of a Buddha, or in the form of dazzling blue lights of various geometrical shapes. When the blue light appears, another softer white light appears corresponding to the world of the gods. If a person seeing this has no idea of what is happening, the sheer brihtness of the light of the Buddha is somehow terrifying and the prson will turn away from it. One will be more inclined to follow the light of the world of the gods as it is soft and pleasant.
There are two correct attitudes to adopt in facing the situation:
Remaining fully aware that the light and the mind are one will free us from the suffering of the bardo.On the other hand, enticed by the white light of the world of the gods and becoming attached to it, leads to rebirth into the world of the gods.
Vajrasattva Buddha appears on the second day with white light. At the same time the black light of the world of hell world is manifested.
Ratnasambhava Buddha appears on the third day with yellow light. At the same time the lue light of the world of humankind also is manifested.
Amitabha Buddha appears on the fourth day with red light. At the same time the yellow light of the world of hungry ghosts is manifested.
Amoghasiddhi Buddha appears on the fifth day with green light. At the same time the red light of the world of animals and demi-gods is manifested.
The next day, all five Buddhas appear at thte same time with all the lights of the six classes of beings. Forty two peaceful deities will be manifested in our mind, followed by fifty eight wrathful ones. These manifestations last for about three weeks.
If we are not afraid and recognize these deities and their lights for what they really are, we are freed from the second bardoand do not enter into the third bardo of death. If we have not recognized them, the
Thebardo of becoming
During the bardo of becoming, a person realizes that he or she has died, indeed a truly painful experience. Wanting to resume havitual links with people known in the past life, the person tries to talk with them. These people, unconscous of what is happening, cannot answer. The person suffers from this.
The mind of the bardo has no body in the material, physical sense, but does have amental body endowed with sense faculties similar to ours. This mental body can move at the speed of thought and in an instant reach out anywhere in the universe.
All kinds of frightening phenomena occur during this bardo of becoming, in particular, lights and sounds. Terrifying sounds are heard, such as the din of a tumbling mountain, the crashing of storm waves on the ocean, the crackling noise of fire and the howling of wind. There again, we should not be afraid but rather think of these as deluded manifestations of our mind without real existence.
The conditioning of our mind that attached us to our past life gradually fades away at the same time as the conditioning of the new life comes into play.
The person during his or her life, who was accustomed to praing to Amitabha Buddha for rebirth in the Land of Bliss, can pray again with force and be liberated during the third bardo so that he or she will not have to be reborn in a samsaric existence.
If such is not the case, one is driven toward rebirth and sees one's future parents. One should then meditate, seeing oneself in the form of a yidamsuch as Chenrezig, nd think that the yidamdissolves into emptiness and abides in it. Moreover, when one sees one's fuure parents uniting, one should visualize them as two yidams in union. At this point, we do not have the freedom to choose our rebirth. Strength of karma drives us forward. Neverthless, we can steer our life course by wishing for a good birth, enabling us to practice the dharma and walk the path toward awakening for the benefit of all beings.
Although the duration of the bardo of becoming can vary, it is generally said to last twenty-four days. By adding up the three bardosof death we have just briefly described, theoretical duration comes to forty-nine days, but this again can vary greatly.