Helping the Dead

by Rob Nairn

A great deal can be done to help the dead, according to Buddhist teachings. When entering this area most of us find ourselves in strange territory because we are familiar only with the practice of saying prayers for the dead and perhaps the offering of candles. In general, people feel that those who have died are beyond help. This is not the case. As Ringu Tulku points out, this is where Buddhists — particularly Tibetan Buddhists — really swing into action, far more so than for births or weddings.

I go every year to Samye Ling, the big Tibetan Buddhist centre in Eskdalemuir, Scotland, which is where my teachers live. In fact, my tropical blood froze through five Scottish winters there when I did my long retreat. As this might indicate, there is something more compelling than my Scottish ancestry that still drives me back year after year. For me, it is a supercharged place of spiritual energy. The focus is a huge stupa — the biggest in Europe, which was consecrated in 2000.

Within the stupa is a chamber where the ashes of the dead can be placed, thus connecting their minds to the immensely powerful spiritual forces that magnetise the place. As long as the stupa stands, their streams of consciousness will be influenced by the blessing, life after life, down through the ages. People who die may arrange for their bodies to be transported to the stupa to be kept in this chamber for the 49 days of the death bardos, and upon request, monks and nuns will say prayers beside the coffin for this period.

This is only one of many practices that Tibetan Buddhists offer to the world as a way of helping those who have died. Of course, the strangeness and mystery of it are daunting to many people, because we tend to fear the new and unknown and thus project our superstitions onto it. Let's look at it again.

When we die, our stream of consciousness floats free and roams the death bardos, undergoing very powerful experiences. In this state, a huge potential for liberation is present because if the person's bardo mind were to focus on its spiritual reality, the realisation and experience of that reality would be beyond anything we could imagine from our knowledge of spiritual practice here". The mind is nine times stronger and the environment in which it moves is less solid than this one. Thus, if it thinks of a place, it will be there. If it is able to focus on spiritual truth it will immediately be drawn into it, experience it and be liberated by it.

In the death bardos our enlightened reality appears to us over and over again, and by now we know the key. If the bardo mind can focus sufficiently to recognise the experience for what it is, instead of fleeing in fear or falling into confusion, the result will be immediate enlightenment.

The problem is that although the mind is much stronger, it is also unstable, in the sense that the rational frameworks that held it in place here have gone. Think of dream. An apparently simple thing like recognising the dream as a dream while we are in it is almost impossible for most of us.

Thus the potential for becoming enlightened, which is so tantalisingly close all the time we are there, is constantly missed because we simply cannot get it together to focus and recognise.

All the practices to help the dead are based on a knowledge of the above, with the understanding, that although the dead have lost the power to communicate with us, we have by no means lost the power to communicate with them. For one thing, they can hear us. The subtitle to The Tibetan Book of the Dead is Liberation in the Bardo through Hearing. Traditionally lamas and monks spend the 49 days reading to the dead person. They sometimes do so beside the body or call the person by name. So no matter where the mind is, it will hear the call and come. Then, day after day the lama reads, saying to the person words to the effect, 'Now you are dead, you have left your body and entered the bardo of death. You cannot return; do not attempt to go back; go forward. Today such and such will happen. There will be appearances, vivid lights, sounds. Do not fear. They cannot harm you. They are projections of your mind. See them for what they are and go towards the bright light. Merge with the bright light; it is your enlightened mind.'

In this way, the dead are constantly encouraged and helped to come into focus. Apparently, we don't even have to speak to them. Thinking of them is like calling their name, so they will be drawn to us. Thus there is truth in the old injunction, 'Don't speak ill of the dead' because they hear and may be affected by what we say.

This is the first aspect of these death practices; making direct contact with the person and offering guidance, instruction and reassurance.

The other aspect is the generation of beneficial spiritual forces to help them. This can be done in many ways and at many levels. To obtain full details you would need to contact your nearest Tibetan Buddhist centre, but here are a few examples.

INVOKE THE BLESSING OF UNIVERSAL COMPASSION

Through meditation and reflection, we experience spiritual forces that go beyond the limited confines of the rational cognitive mind that is thinking these words. Whether there is value or benefit in trying to name those forces, I don't know, but I can say for sure that the common quality that always manifests is compassion. Compassion, like the sun, is an impartial and powerfully healing blessing that shines on all beings, whether they be 'good' or 'bad' and whether they believe in it or not.

Compassion is expressed through the discerning ability to help in an appropriate manner. It manifests as an all-embracing caring that arises within the mind, a caring that sees all forms of life and beings as equal. It can arise only in a mind that is open and accepting of itself and others; a mind that is not stifled by preferences, judgments, intolerance, and self-absorption.

Because of this I am prepared to live by the proposition that the universe is an expression and manifestation of compassion and that the essence of our enlightened nature is compassion. If this is the case, we can awaken and manifest that compassion to heal the world and ourselves.

Tibetan Buddhism works along roughly these lines, and it contains many practices that invoke and channel into our world different aspects of the universal power of compassion to benefit beings.

The most common of these is the Chenrezig practice, which has as its focus the Buddha of Compassion. We could use the term 'universal archetype of compassion' instead, archetype being a primordial principle that exists in each one of us, but also exists independently. It is not the projection of our minds.

The mantra that goes with this practice is om mani padme hum (Sanskrit). The Tibetans give it a different spin and sing om mani peme hung. But it's the same thing.

Right now, at this very moment, if you want to help someone, dead or alive, think of the person and recite the mantra for a few minutes.

Delogs who have entered the death bardos and spoken to people there, report that the dead plead with them to say the mantra for them because the effects are so enormously beneficial and powerful. Here's an interesting account I read a while ago.

A lady was stuck in a traffic jam caused by an accident. Feeling sure people must have been hurt, she sent kind and loving thoughts to whoever was involved.

Some weeks later she received a letter of thanks from one of the accident victims who told this remarkable story. She had been knocked unconscious and found herself looking down on the scene, feeling frightened and disoriented. A comforting wave of love and caring swept over her, making her feel much better. She quickly traced the feeling to our woman sitting patiently in her car.

The unconscious victim was so powerfully impressed by this experience that she resolved to thank her benefactor and noted her car registration number. When she regained consciousness she remembered this number, traced the owner of the car and wrote to her.

Mantras are words of power that focus on very strong spiritual forces. If loving and kind thoughts can have such a tangible effect, imagine how much more effective mantras can be, especially when accompanied by a visualisation.

So there is one option to consider; the mantra of universal compassion.

PRAYERS AND CEREMONIES

Most lamas will conduct prayers and ceremonies upon request. If you go this route, accompany your request with a financial offering as you would do if you were requesting the services of a cleric in another religion. Ordained nuns and monks also perform these services.

DEATH YANTRAS

A yantra is a picture, usually geometric, that brings into focus and magnifies spiritual forces. If we contact a yantra through one of our senses, including touch, the blessing is transmitted to our stream of consciousness. There is a set of yantras that can be placed within and upon a coffin prior to burial or cremation. It is said they will help the consciousness of the deceased to remember to focus. They create a beneficial atmosphere to ward off fear and confusion and connect the mind to its enlightened reality.

Some Buddhist Centres have made up a 'death kit' which contains a set of yantras and an audio tape with chanting of mantras to help the dead.

These are a few of the things you can do. If you want to follow up on them, contact an authentic Tibetan Buddhist centre. Even though many lamas and monks will not charge to perform these services, it is appropriate to make a meaningful offering, especially if you are serious about wanting to help someone and if you value that person. These offerings are for the benefit of the person concerned, rather than a reward for the teachers. The teachers personally don't mind whether there is an offering or not.

In all the methods we have reviewed here there is a simple principle involved. When we die and enter the death bardos we find ourselves in a very strange territory where familiar reference points have vanished. Most people become confused and afraid, so they suffer and forget all the teachings about recognition. They are blown through the death bardo as by a hurricane.

To some extent, we can reach them by speaking to them, and this may help. But in addition, there are immensely powerful ways of helping, ways that involve bringing beneficial spiritual forces into focus upon them. Because their minds are so much more sensitive, there is a good chance they will respond and benefit. Even if they do not become enlightened, the benefit will carry over into the following and even future lifetimes.

This may seem very Tibetan and not acceptable to some people. In this book, we are looking at the Buddha's teaching as preserved and transmitted to us within a Tibetan Buddhist context. But it doesn't mean we can't benefit, and neither does it mean we have to take on board all the Tibetan stuff. I am trying to extract the principles and give them to you in a way you can understand and use beneficially. You don't have to be a Buddhist, you don't have to be Tibetan. All you need is to have compassionate motivation and a bit of determination to go for it.

HUNGRY SHADES OUTSIDE THE WALLS

Outside the walls, they stand, and at crossroads. At door posts they stand, returning to their old homes. But when a meal with plentiful food and drink is served, no one remembers them:

Such is the karma of living beings.

Thus those who feel sympathy for their dead relatives give timely donations of proper food and drink - exquisite, clean thinking: 'May this be for our relatives. May they be happy!'

For in their realm there's no farming, no herding of cattle, no commerce, no trading with money.

They live on what is given here, hungry shades whose time here is done.

'He gave to me, she acted on my behalf, they were my relatives, companions, and friends': Offerings should be given for the dead when one reflects thus on things done in the past. For no weeping, no sorrowing no other lamentation benefits the dead.

But when this offering is given, well-placed in the Sangha, it works for their long-term benefit and they profit immediately.

In this way the proper duty to relatives has been shown, great honour has been done to the dead.

The KHUDDAKAPATHA from the TIROKUDDA KANDA SUTTA (From one of the Buddha's teachings)

MAKING OFFERINGS

This falls into two categories:

1) Food offerings to the deceased.

2) Offerings on behalf of the deceased

FOOD OFFERINGS

It seems that some people who have died think they still need food and drink even though they no longer have a body to support. This belief causes them suffering because they search for sustenance without finding it, and experience the psychological equivalent of hunger and starvation without being able to find relief. We can help them.

When you have a meal, think of the person and put a small portion of food aside on a plate for them. When doing so, say the mantra om mani peme hung three or seven times, and think, 'This is for you.' After the meal, put the food outside where people don't walk, in a place where birds or wild animals will be able to eat it. This will give relief.

A more complicated procedure involves a bit of chanting. In this instance, you burn the food and offer the smoke or smell of burnt food. Evidently, the smell of burnt food offered in this way satisfies the hunger of those who have died. Not only humans but a wide range of suffering beings. This is normally done at monasteries and is called 'tsur' in Tibetan.

OFFERINGS ON BEHALF OF THE DECEASED

Helping people who are poor, hungry or suffering generates good karma.

What the lamas suggest is that we do beneficial acts on behalf of a deceased person, thinking, 'This is for you; I dedicate the benefit of what I am doing to your welfare' or words to that effect. The words aren't important. What matters is to undertake compassionate activity with the pure intention of helping the person. Best of all, distribute some of their wealth or possessions with this in mind. Practising generosity, even on behalf of others, is a very powerful spiritual help for them.

In Buddhist countries, it is common for relatives of dead people to make offerings to monasteries or endow temples with this motivation. It is said that one way of generating spiritual energy, not only on behalf of people who have died but for everyone, is to make offerings to spiritual teachers or to support spiritual institutions. The teachers are not enriched by these offerings; in the Tibetan tradition they do not earn 'salaries'. The offerings contribute to the professional running and upkeep of the centres, to the support of visiting teachers, the printing of dharma texts and other literature.

So this is something we can all do; it's practical and in harmony with our Western philanthropical practices. Many of the West's greatest institutions — universities, hospitals, schools, churches were founded and are supported by the endowments and bequests of ordinary folk, as well as industrial billionaires. In the East there is also an extra spiritual dimension to this that can help the dead; that ordained Buddhists keep their vows of poverty, teachers are not paid, and the intention of the giver, not the size of the gift, is what counts. Dana (an offering to a teacher or institution) benefits the giver as well as the recipient.

I find this area of teaching very heartening and practical because it is so empowering. Instead of collapsing in grief and self-pity when someone close and dear dies, we know that death is not the end of the story. It is the opening of a new chapter where we can do things that will help the person as never before. We can do more for their true, long-term spiritual welfare than may have been possible in life. If we love someone, what more could we ask?

As we travel the path, the moment that we have expectations is the moment we fail.

-- Kyabgon Phakchok Rinpoche

学佛不一定吃素 但吃得却值得提倡

印顺法师

我们中国佛教徒特别重视素食，所以学佛的人每以为学佛就要吃素，还不能断肉食的，就会说：看看日本、锡兰、缅甸、泰国或者我国的西藏、蒙古的佛教徒，不要说在家信徒，连出家人也都是肉食的，你能说他们不学佛，不是佛教徒吗？

不要误会学佛就得吃素，不能吃素就不能学佛，学佛与吃素并不是完全一致的。

一般人看到有些学佛的，没有学到什么，只学会吃素，家庭里的父母兄弟儿女感觉讨厌，以为素食太麻烦。

其实学佛的人应该这样——学佛后先要了解佛教的道理，在家庭社会依照佛理做去，使自己的德行好、心里清净，使家庭中其他的人觉得：你在没学佛以前，贪心大，嗔心很重，缺乏责任心与慈爱心’学佛后一切都变了，贪心淡，嗔恚薄，对人慈爱，做事更负责，使人觉得学佛在家庭社会上的好处。那时候要素食，家里的人不但不反对，反而生起同情心，渐渐跟你学。如一学佛就学吃素、不学别的，一定会发生障碍、引起讥嫌。

虽然学佛的人不一定吃素，但吃素确是中国佛教良好的德行，值得提倡。佛教说素食可以养慈悲心，不忍杀害众生的命，不忍吃动物的血肉，不但减少杀生业障，而且对人类苦痛的同情心会增长。大乘佛法特别提倡素食，说素食对长养慈悲心有很大的功德。所以吃素而不能长养慈悲心，只是消极的戒杀，那还近于小乘呢！

以世间法来说，素食的利益极大，较经济，营养价值也高，可以减少病痛。现在世界上有国际素食会的组织，无论何人凡是喜欢素食都可以参加，可见素食是件好事，学佛的人更应该提倡。但必须注意的就是，不要把学佛的标准提得太高，认为学佛就非吃素不可。遇到学佛的人就会问：“有吃素吗？为什么学佛这么久还不吃素呢？”这样把学佛与素食合一，对于弘扬佛法是有碍的。

Wisdom in Buddhism does not mean the knowledge of facts gathered through conceptual thinking. Rather, wisdom transcends the conceptual mind and is a direct experience of the nature of reality.

-- Dza Kilung Rinpoche

Three Visits to Singapore

by Khenpo Sodargye Rinpoche

This is my third visit to Singapore. The first time I came here was with His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche in 1995 and now he has left us. Listening to our host speaking, I feel a little heavy in my heart. When I arrived in Singapore yesterday I experienced an indescribable feeling. My guru was very good to me. I owe everything I have today to my venerable guru. All of you students here should remember that you owe all the knowledge you have to your teachers. When our teachers leave us, we cannot express our feelings in words and cannot repay them our debt of gratitude.

When in Singapore I saw the beautiful flowers in the gardens, I couldn’t describe the feelings I had. I was very young when I came here with my guru. We spent about one month with scholars and Buddhists, exchanging views and giving speeches. But now my guru has left this world. No matter how hard I try, I cannot put my feelings into words.

The second time I came to Singapore was in 1999. It’s been 14 years since then. No matter where I go, no matter what high-ranking people I know or associate with, it is, for me, a life experience and an opportunity. Today, sharing and exchanging with you is also a precious opportunity for me. Although I may not iterate any profound truth, what I’m going to talk about are my own opinions and experiences. I hope that they can be of benefit to some of you.

THE REALISATION OF LIFE: FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS 

My topic today is the Realisation of Life. In fact, for every one of us, from the time we come into this world until we depart, there are some wonderful and meaningful experiences in life. Whether we can understand and make use of them is very important. Ever since I began to study Buddhism, my life has experienced a great many changes. I cannot say that I have attained supreme enlightenment, but I do comprehend many truths of this world. I hope that the young people here will think more about what religion brings us in the pursuit of our life goals.

There are different levels in the realisation of life. In this mundane world, there are different understandings and ways of achieving liberation, freedom and letting go; while in the supra-mundane world, there are deeper understandings and better ways.

For example, in Buddhist teachings, one who really achieves the realisation of life knows the Four Noble Truths. This is the realisation of an Arhat or a Bodhisattva. As such, we mortal beings can hardly touch these deep meanings. More than 2500 years ago in India, Shakyamuni Buddha set in motion the Wheel of Dharma. You must know that very well. I shouldn’t talk in too simple a language since I believe that in the National University of Singapore, which ranks first among all Asian universities, the common language we use in the mundane world is familiar to you.

All of us here should make an effort to understand the Noble Truths of Buddhism and what they mean. Shakyamuni Buddha taught us 84,000 Dharma doors which can be summed up in the Four Noble Truths.

When Shakyamuni delivered his first sermon in the Deer Park in India, he said:

This is suffering; it is oppressive.

This is the cause of suffering; it beckons.

This is the cessation of suffering; it can be realised.

This is the Way; it can be cultivated.

He pointed out the truths in life. All of the kinds of suffering we experience have their own causes and conditions which can be known and eliminated through Dharma practice. He described the fact of the truth.

When he delivered the second sermon, he said:

This is suffering; you should know it.

This is the cause of suffering; you should cut it off.

This is the cessation of suffering; you should realise it.

This is the Way; you should cultivate it.

What does that mean? We should know that all the kinds of suffering we experience are caused by our own attachment and ignorance, which should be eradicated. So how do we eradicate them? It is through Dharma practice. Then what do we achieve in the end? We achieve enlightenment. The second sermon tells the methods of practice.

When he delivered the third sermon, he said:

This is suffering; I already know it.

This is the cause of suffering; I have already cut it off.

This is the cessation of suffering; I have already realised it.

This is the Way; I have already cultivated it.

These teachings were based on the perceptual experiences of Shakyamuni Buddha. Likewise, the Arhats, Bodhisattvas and siddhas’ teachings are also based on their own experiences. They have known suffering and with that have found the cause of suffering and eliminated it through practice which has led to the cessation of suffering and enlightenment. These are truths taught by the Buddha in the third sermon.

SAMSARA IS FULL OF SUFFERING 

If all of us here look more deeply into our lives, it is suffering we should see first. Many of you may think that rather than suffering, you are living a happy life. However, in this world, where science becomes more and more developed and economic and social conditions become more and more demanding, the pressure we feel becomes greater and greater.

When I came here 18 years ago, the Singaporeans also had worries and pressures, but they were not as busy as they are now. Prices were not as high as now. Now they have reclaimed a large area of land from the sea and built taller buildings, but somehow people seem to feel more upset, exhausted, pained and worried. Why? Because everything we experience in our life has the quality of suffering. It is important to realise this truth and not to regard life as full of happiness. If you believe life is full of happiness, when you encounter setbacks, you will feel unhappy and find them difficult to accept. On the other hand, if we know that life is full of suffering, we will readily accept that what little happiness we experience is probably an illusion, since it will change very soon.

Some people say, ‘My life is happy and sweet, so why is samsara described as full of suffering?’ In fact, if we use our wisdom to observe the three planes of existence, we’ll see that hell beings suffer from intense cold and heat, hungry ghosts suffer from hunger and thirst, animal beings suffer from being exploited and eaten by each other, Asuras suffer from wars, heavenly beings suffer from indulgence and being reborn in one of the lower realms and human beings have three forms of suffering and eight types of suffering.

In Practice, believing in causality means to do positive things and to refrain from negative actions. It is also about clearing away cognitive obscurations and cultivating an unbiased mind. If we want to avoid suffering, we should abandon all thoughts and acts that will cause it. If we want happiness, we should develop thoughts and acts that will bring it.

-- Khenpo Sherab Zangpo Rinpoche

佛法为人生之必要

太虚大师

论到佛法大意，本来头头彰显，不待言说，言说不及。若欲方便开演，则尘说刹说，说之终不能尽，今又安从宣扬起耶？夫佛法虽不单为吾人之需要而施设，亦不单为吾人之需要而存在，但吾人欲信解行证于佛法，必先知吾人于佛法有必须之需要，心志乃能坚切；故今且就吾人之需要上一推论之。

通常所谓吾人者，实唯指此身命而言。失此身命，即无所谓吾人，故吾人以维持保护此身命之生存安全为第一需要，而衣食住等等资生之具，及营谋此资具之事业尚矣。然此身命资具非突焉而集，盖有从之而出生，而长存，而归著之处。故上之则有宗祖父母，下之则有子孙云礽，更自伯叔兄弟，旁及姻娅戚畹而有此大家族，光前裕后，养生送死之需要矣。以今察之，家族又栖寄于群众之社会，使无秩序安宁之社会，则家族亦不能保其团聚传续之繁荣，故秩序安宁之社会，亦成需要。更进而察之，则社会之安宁秩序，又须有强固严整之国政以保持之，故强固严整之国政为尤要。然使国与国常相战争侵伐，则大地莽莽刀兵之劫至无时，国群家资之为身命所需要者，仍无以保全，则太平大同之世界又尚矣。

推至太平大同之世界，庶乎完成保持身命之需要矣；然旱潦不时则饥馑洊至，阴阳失调则疾疫流行，其所以困厄身命者犹在，才可寄其希望于化学、农学、物理学、生理学、医学等等进步以免除之耳。藉令刀兵、饥馑、疾疫之三灾皆灭，而人生身命之安全达于极度，但人身生活之命限殊促，上寿百岁，世不数觏，五十今衰，七十古稀，极全世界人类所传承、所创造之智力用以保持之者，卒不过占空间者数尺，占时间者数十年之身命，老死一至，即归澌灭。尧跖同为腐骨，圣愚尽化黄土，草、木、禽、虫，朽亡无择，不亦大可哀欤！或曰：吾人行孝慈于家族，则祖父孙曾之彝德有恒；立忠信于国群，则社会政治之功业可崇；施仁义于世界，则人道文化之言教垂久，使吾人死而不死以常存者，固有此立德、立功、立言之三不朽在焉。然此三者之所以为人称诵不衰，亦只以相续相互能维保于身命而已！

微论其保持之者，仍皆为一个一个数十寒暑即消灭之身命，都无价值可言。即就其相续以言，子孙相续，无不灭之家族；君民相续，无不灭之国群；人类相续，亦无不灭之人类，及无不坏之世界。家族、国群、人生、世界皆灭坏之时，此三不朽云者，亦尚能保存而不朽乎？故此之不朽云者，亦不过茍延残喘，慰情聊胜。使吾人仅如此者，其最后之结果，卒不免归于断灭虚无而已。欲求所谓不虚此一生者，终无所得，不尤深可哀欤？

夫既得此生，当求不虚得此生，若使此生终归断绝，则今亦安用维持？由维持此生命而得不虚之真果，于身命乃有维持之必要；故既能满足维持身命之需要，当以求其不虚此一生为尤大之需要。于是探究生生不生、化化不化之本元，或名之曰天命、天性、天理、天主、自然、自在、大道、大梵、太极、真宰、上帝、神我等等，而崇拜皈命之，以冀保存其最高永久之价值，或乘万化而无极，或登九天而永生，则从凡夫又转成外道，认有漏业果为真常觉性，业尽果坏，依然一场落空。至此、则欲求不落空亡而成实效，惟佛法乃成第一需要矣！

佛法最初浅之说，即在能供给凡夫所希望不虚此一生之需要，而发明从惑起业，由业招报，得报又起惑之正因缘生果义，以破除外道之邪因、无因。使先有以发见惑业果三流转不断之生死苦轮，方知外道所崇拜皈命者，正此生死流转之苦果所依起之惑业而已。既知生死流转之苦轮，及见苦果集起之惑业可断，则苦网可得解脱，而当修戒定慧等种种正道以超出之矣。故欲了脱生死，当先了知生死，知苦、即是了知苦惑业苦之牵率流转，修道以断集、证灭，即是了脱生死。凡外且未能了知生死，又安能了脱生死乎？

了知生死则便见一言一行之业皆将展转获果招报以相续无尽，已足使吾人得知前无始、后无终、内无中、外无边之业果恒流，价值不灭矣。此为人天业果之教。然或善、或恶、或罪、或福，浮沉不定，升降无主，非修生空慧以根本解脱之，则常处劳作忧虑之中，难免危怖！故三界不啻火宅，而三乘竟出苦门也，此为三乘解脱之教。虽然，三界之苦，招由妄业，妄业之兴，乃依迷惑，迷惑而有、有非真，有如睡心之梦事，譬眚眼之狂华，故彼业果当体空寂，但能智照现前，本来德性圆成，此为大乘般若之教。设非佛法，吾人终末由捐众累而圆万德，故惟佛法为吾人最切之需要。

然佛之法门，方便无量，虽一切皆能得入，而在此邦，则北宋来要以参禅、念佛二门为实践之行。参禅须顿悟本心，直下相应，一切繁兴，常不离此，盖非大力量人一站站住者不能。余虽觉悟，其力未充，尤不免随无始业习暴流以流转，则非以戒定慧法一门深入，久久修习，以转其现业流识不可，此则念佛一法，亦为具足戒定慧法一念中修之妙门矣。然专念阿弥陀佛以求往生极乐净土者，因此方恶缘充满，众苦逼迫，生命呼吸，尤为危险，长劫修行以转识成智，艰难不易！于是本师释迦佛引同十方诸佛，皆恳切示教吾人：在西方有一极乐世界，乃阿弥陀佛本行净愿所成，专以不可思议愿力摄受十方世界沉没在苦海中之众生，使藉登弥陀愿力大船，先诞登安养之地，然后于纯乐无苦诸佛菩萨常会一处之净土，闻法修行，以令有进无退。

欲上此愿船者，一、须深信佛所示净土之教，真实不虚；二、须时时发速出娑婆苦海而往生极乐净土之愿；三、须止恶修善，力念阿弥陀佛，俾与佛之本愿及其净业相感应一致，则平日常为摄护，而临终决承接引，不致随杂业流转矣。斯又为吾头出头没于苦海而无力自拔诸众生所最需要之法门！吾人有感觉于佛法为需要者，即当勉力行之！

Taking care of our parents is a golden opportunity for oneself.

We should remember their kind words, gentle touch, warm hugs...

Not for a day, or a week, or a month, not even for a year. Rather, for years.

When I was a child, the scent and shadow of my mother was my security.

Life is very short, we're not here forever. So we should try our best to be a good person.

We are missing these values in today's life.

We mustn't forget that we will age too.

So we should remember the law of karma, and then we will all have a meaningful life.

-- Chodpa Lama Rinpoche

Advice to Three-Year Retreatants

by  Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

This is addressed to those staying in a three-year retreat in France.

Those of you who live in Europe and other modern countries have all the amenities and luxuries this life affords, but until recently you had never even heard of the practice of Dharma. In recent times, it so happened that the teachings declined in Tibet, and many lamas of senior and junior rank from all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism arrived in India. Now, when their various teachings are being revived and the allotted time for the Buddhadharma to remain has not yet passed, a number of great masters have gone to visit and settle in other countries, with the result that many people throughout the modern world have the intention to practise Dharma.

The students of my teacher Kangyur Rinpoche in particular have come to regard me as their own root teacher and have a sincere desire to practise Dharma throughout their entire lives. Through the inspiration and assistance of Tsetrul Pema Wangyal Rinpoche, they have established a retreat centre at Chanteloube. The real purpose behind this centre is that those who remain in retreat establish themselves firmly on the path to liberation. If they do so, they will fulfil the enlightened vision of Kangyur Rinpoche, serve their own teachers, and make the very best use of the many profound teachings they have received.

With this in mind, all who commit themselves to remain in retreat should ensure that faith, renunciation, compassion and look into the nature of mind lie at the very heart of their practice.

FAITH

‘Faith’ means complete trust in, and reliance upon, the Three Jewels in general, and our own teacher in particular, as well as in the Dharma we are practising. If we practise for a long time, after a while we might think, “I still haven’t gained any signs of progress! The teacher can’t have given me the most profound instructions. It would be better for me to do the main practice, rather than the preliminaries because it’s more profound!” Or if we are doing the main practice we might think, “I think it would be better for me to set aside this simple generation stage practice and do some dzogrim instead.” Or even, “Dzogchen would be more profound than these completion stage practices like tummo.”

You might think that once you have received the Dzogchen teachings you will have all kinds of profound lofty experiences, even after just a few days. If you have such high expectations, then when things don’t work out that way, you will begin to doubt the instructions and relax your diligence. Or, if you do develop the slightest hint of renunciation or gain some minor experience or realisation, you will only develop pride and think, “The Kagyü, Sakya and Gelug schools have nothing to compare with these Nyingma teachings!” You must avoid developing such wrong views and arrogantly supposing that you have gained some special experience or realisation. No matter who you are, the ordinary mind is always prone to change and transformation, so you should try never to get carried away.

Even if you were to practise day and night with unflagging diligence for a full twelve years and still fail to have even one good dream, you must never lose heart. Recognising that this is due simply to the strength of your own obscurations, you must be confident that neither your teachers nor the teachings will ever let you down.

On the other hand, even if you were to make such swift progress that in just a single day you reached the level at which there is nothing further in saṃsāra to be abandoned nor anything further in nirvāṇa to be gained, you should feel no pride, because to do so would only invite the demon of obstacles. That is why Jetsün Milarepa said:

When you are approaching the end of the Dharma

Continue ceaselessly, without any highs or lows,

And without hopes for signs of swift attainment,

Ensure your practice endures as long as you do!

This is marvellous advice.

RENUNCIATION

‘Renunciation’ means that while in the retreat centre, every single time you recite the Seven Line Prayer or complete a single mālā of maṇi mantras, you must dedicate it towards the attainment of Buddhahood for yourself and all other sentient beings. While in retreat, you should not waste even a single moment in idleness or frivolity, and you must avoid any form of insincerity or duplicity, such as pretending — for as long as you are in other people’s view — to practise perfectly.

Do all that you can to bring your own stubborn mind under control and to develop your faith, diligence and renunciation. Never think that the Dharma you are practising is for your benefit alone. To recite even a single maṇi mantra is of inconceivable benefit, so dedicate it for the sake of all who live.

Again and again, develop compassion for all sentient beings in general, and particularly for those who dislike you. It might be difficult at first, but you will never attain enlightenment as long as you continue to feel ill will towards your enemies. Those who are now your enemies were in the former lives of your parents, and there is nothing fixed about the status of an enemy or friend. To feel hostility towards enemies and affection towards friends is nothing but a deluded form of perception. If you train your mind to recognise everything as insubstantial like a dream, hostility towards enemies will lose its meaning entirely. This is crucially important because ordinarily our lives are driven by the yearning to acquire food and clothing, possessions, partners, status and acclaim. We put a great deal of thought into devising the cleverest, most efficient ways to obtain them, and we think, “So-and-so has this much money, my friends have this much, so I need more.” Or: “In the past, I stayed in this kind of house, in this part of town, but now I shall move to a better place.” We must put a stop to all such thinking.

With ordinary work, the more you do the more suffering you create for the future. But now that you have found a human existence, met an authentic teacher, and received the Dharma teachings, your situation is even better and more fortunate than that of Indra, king of the gods. If you now put the teachings into practice with steadfast determination, you are sure to find happiness in all your future lives. So be content with only the most basic food and clothing. Let me put it simply: do all that you can to renounce and minimise the ordinary affairs and activities of saṃsāra.

No one should stay in the retreat centre without taking the vows of refuge. Even if you are a layperson, for the three years that you are in retreat you must avoid sexual relations, and, while in retreat, it is enormously significant and beneficial to wear the robes of a monk or nun. The Buddha himself said it is permissible for anyone who has taken the vows of refuge to wear monastic robes.

COMPASSION

Generally speaking, you have been practising the teachings of the Mahāyāna ever since you first entered the door of the Dharma, and this is really nothing other than compassion. Without genuine compassion, there is simply no possibility of reaching Buddhahood.

In their delusion, all the beings of saṃsāra cherish only their own selfish interests and neglect others’ welfare. At the moment, no matter how well off we may be in terms of food, clothing or material possessions, and no matter how much happiness we may experience, we can never be satisfied. At the same time, if we give away even just a tiny fraction of what we own, it feels as if we are losing something enormous. We must let go of such attitudes, and, instead of caring for ourselves alone, learn to cherish others. Previously we neglected others, but now we must neglect our own selfish goals. Whenever we perform any virtuous deed with body, speech or mind, we must first remember that we are doing so as a means to bring about the enlightenment of all.

In Dharma practice, the most important thing is motivation. If it is motivated by the wish to benefit all beings, then even a single prostration or a single recitation of the hundred-syllable mantra will yield inexhaustible merit — merit that will remain until we have reached enlightenment and there are no beings left in saṃsāra. Whereas if we do not have this motivation of universal benevolence, even a hundred thousand prostrations, or a hundred thousand recitations of the hundred-syllable mantra, will bear fruit only once before the merit is exhausted, and a single burst of anger will be enough to destroy our entire stock of virtue. It is crucial to understand this. If we consider that our practice is for the sake of all others, then because sentient beings are infinitely vast in number, our own merit will be equally vast.

No one is entirely free from suffering, so consider all the major and minor sufferings that befall others, and imagine them happening to you instead. How would you feel? Surely you would do all that you could to find a way to avoid the pain. So reflect continually on all the sufferings that other beings undergo and develop the compassionate wish that they may be free from pain. Once you have true compassion, you will naturally feel the wish to benefit others. Our teacher, the Buddha, while still a bodhisattva, had such vast and overwhelming compassion that he made five hundred prayers of aspiration for our benefit, and, as his followers, we too must make compassion the very core of our practice.

The immeasurable benefits of generating true compassion are described in detail in The Words of My Perfect Teacher and the Bodhicaryāvatāra, so please study them.

LOOKING INTO THE NATURE OF MIND 

To look into the nature of the mind we must understand how all its ordinary thoughts about anything and everything imaginable are just empty and insubstantial. Until now, we have been the slave of what we call ‘mind’, forced to wander helplessly through saṃsāric existence. Now we must reverse the situation, and take control of our own minds. It will be easy to do this if we have some real understanding of how the mind is empty, but just entertaining some vague notion of mind’s emptiness, by thinking, “Well, this is what the masters say,” or “This is what it says in the texts,” will not help us to recognise the insubstantiality of our own deluded perception.

Turn your attention within them, and allow your mind to relax. You will notice not just one thought or idea, but many. For example, if you think of your mother, that is one thought, but then it in turn evokes all kinds of other thoughts, such as memories of the kindness she showed you. If she is still alive, you might think about going to visit her, and if not, you might feel sad. These are thoughts of attachment. If you think about your enemies, reflecting on the ways they have hurt you in the past, how they are sure to do so again in the future, and how you must find some way to be rid of them, these are thoughts of aversion. You might wonder where this attachment and aversion come from. In fact, they come from the deluded belief in the existence of what we call 'I'.

Where is such an 'I' to be found? Is it in the body or the mind? If you really look into the body, examining each of its parts — flesh, blood, bones and skin — you cannot find anything at all called ‘body’, so how could this be the location of the 'I'? The mind, on the other hand, is insubstantial, so how could the 'I' abide within it? In fact, the 'I' is merely a concept or a thought. There is no location within a thought, and nothing could remain there, but still, the power of one thought, such as the thought of our mother, causes us to think another thought, about her kindness to us, and that in turn inspires the thought of wishing to see her.

If we look into this process in more detail, we can see that while we are thinking about our mother’s kindness, the initial thought of our mother is no longer there — it has already gone. And the thought that we must visit her has not yet occurred — it is still in the future. As soon as we look into it, the present thought of our mother’s kindness is no longer there; it has already turned into the future thought of wanting to visit her. This means that the thoughts of the past, present and future cannot exist at the same time, and we only use these terms for the sake of communication. The past is gone, like a person who has died, and the future (or ‘that which is yet to come’) does not exist at all. In fact, there is no such thing as a ‘present thought’ existing somehow independently of past and future. Before we thought of our mother that ‘present thought’ was still in the future. Then, as we thought of her, it was present. Finally, as we brought to mind her kindness, it was already in the past.

For one thought to pass through these three phases of time is a sign of its impermanence, and whatever is impermanent is empty. It is because a thing is empty that it can change over the course of the past, present and future.

Consider the surface of a mirror: because it is empty [and not fixed in a particular way], reflections can appear within it. When a person’s likeness appears in a mirror, the reflection resembles the real person, but the person’s face has neither entered the mirror nor been transferred to its surface. The image of the face appears because of certain causes and conditions, including the clarity of the mirror and the presence of the person’s face before it. The reflection of the face and the face itself are not the same. The reflection is inanimate, and when the reflection disappears the real face does not. A face can be burned if it is touched by fire, but you cannot burn a reflection. Nevertheless, the reflection and the face are not completely different either, because the reflection cannot appear in the absence of the person’s face, and if the person adopts a particular expression, such as a smile or a look of anger, the reflection also appears that way.

For these reasons, thoughts and reflections appear to be real only when we fail to examine them or look into them in any detail. If we do pause to consider them, we find that although they appear, they do not really exist. And this is true not just of these phenomena. It applies to all the appearances of our deluded saṃsāric experience: they seem real enough as long as we do not examine them too deeply, but when we do, we find that they are not real. This is why we refer to them as “unexamined, seeming reality.”

If the understanding of this point develops and takes hold, so that it becomes self-sustaining, that is what we call ‘experience’. When we become more and more familiar with this, so that the mind is no longer swayed by thoughts of aversion or attachment, that is what we call ‘realisation’.

When we examine thoughts again and again in this way, we come to see that although they have no real existence, still they appear, and although they appear, they are insubstantial. At the same time, we understand how the thoughts of the past, present and future exist only as mere names or labels and have no more reality than that.

If we have this understanding, then whenever we think of our mother and remember all the kindness she showed us, we need not succumb to thoughts of attachment. We will think, “Even if I were to go and see my mother, what good would that do? She has managed to provide food and clothing for herself, and even to provide for my material needs as well. If I were to take on this role, I would need to find work in some trade or business, and that would provoke all kinds of attachment and aversion and produce lots of distractions, which would only come in the way of my Dharma practice. Instead, I should put my energy into practising the Dharma, straightaway as much as I can, then dedicate all my sources of merit to my mother, to help relieve her sufferings of birth, death and the bardo states. It would be better for me to forget about ordinary worldly feelings of attachment to my mother. She has other children who can take care of her material needs, but there is no one but me to offer her spiritual assistance.” If we think this way, it will prevent us from getting caught in the ordinary patterns of thought which can come up whenever we recall our mother.

This also gives us some clues as to how we can give up our thoughts of aversion towards our enemies. At first, it might be a little difficult to overcome our attachment and aversion, but by practising again and again, it will become easier.

If you can overcome attachment and aversion, you will no longer accumulate karma. Moreover, if you look into the unaltered state of mind that follows whenever feelings of attachment or aversion have subsided, you will find the nature of mind. As long as there are not too many thoughts arising, look undistractedly into the mind itself. Whenever there are lots of thoughts, examine them in the way I just described. If you become really familiar with this by training in it, again and again, recognition of the nature of mind will occur naturally and spontaneously. The mind will no longer be caught up in thoughts, and even if thoughts do arise, they will not have any real strength and there will be no need to analyse or examine them. It will be sufficient simply to maintain an unaltered state of mind.

If ever you cannot counteract a thought of attachment or aversion, repeat the process of investigation. When you have thoughts, don’t react with anxiety, thinking, “I shouldn’t have thoughts during meditation! Now lots of thoughts are going to come.” Simply look straight into the nature of any thought — be it positive or negative — and it will lose its strength and disappear. Without letting go of the state which follows, look gently into the nature of mind, and thoughts will vanish by themselves. When thoughts no longer occur one after another in swift succession you will gradually be able to liberate them.

When looking into the nature of mind, don’t expect to gain some exceptionally high or profound realisation, or to see anything new. Nor should you hesitate or doubt your ability to meditate. Just trust that the nature of mind is simply the mind itself left in an unaltered state, and do all that you can to sustain this, without distraction, at all times, during and between the meditation sessions. Don’t expect to gain realisation in just a few months or even years. Whether you develop any of the qualities that come from the practice or not, remain steadfastly determined and resolve to continue the practice with diligence, day and night, throughout this life, future lives and the bardo state.

Understand this: it is more important to take to heart the key instructions than to receive a great many teachings.

In general, you should look at the instruction manual Words of My Perfect Teacher, and check whether or not your practice accords with what it says there. If you notice something that does not correspond, change it; and if there is something that is only partially in agreement, see whether or not it can be improved.

Aspire to practise the Dharma authentically, and never do anything that might upset your Dharma brothers and sisters.

In short, devote yourself to the Dharma as much as you possibly can, with body, speech and mind.

I will certainly come and visit you, and I will always remember to pray and practise for your protection so that all your wishes in accordance with the Dharma will be accomplished.

One should give up anger. 

One should abandon pride. 

One should overcome all fetters. 

Ills never befall him who clings not to mind and body and is passionless.

-- The Buddha