{"collection":"Buddhism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/bud/tib/deathtib.htm","path":"bud/tib/deathtib.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/bud/tib/deathtib.htm","text":"DEATH AND DYING IN THE TIBETAN\nBUDDHIST TRADITION\nCompiled by:\nVen. Pende Hawter\nThe Karuna Hospice Service\nP.O. Box 2020\nWindsor 4030\nQueensland, Australia\nTel. (07) 3857 8555\nContemplation and meditation on death and impermanence are\nregarded as very important in Buddhism for two reasons : (1) it is\nonly by recognising how precious and how short life is that we are most\nlikely to make it meaningful and to live it fully and (2) by\nunderstanding the death process and familiarizing ourself with it, we\ncan remove fear at the time of death and ensure a good rebirth.\nBecause the way in which we live our lives and our state of\nmind at death directly influence our future lives, it is said that the\naim or mark of a spiritual practitioner is to have no fear or regrets\nat the time of death. People who practice to the best of their\nabilities will die, it is said, in a state of great bliss. The mediocre\npractitioner will die happily. Even the initial practitioner will have\nneither fear nor dread at the time of death. So one should aim at\nachieving at least the smallest of these results.\nThere are two common meditations on death in the Tibetan\ntradition. The first looks at the certainty and imminence of death\nand what will be of benefit at the time of death, in order to motivate\nus to make the best use of our lives. The second is a simulation or\nrehearsal of the actual death process, which familiarizes us with death\nand takes away the fear of the unknown, thus allowing us to die\nskilfully. Traditionally, in Buddhist countries, one is also encouraged\nto go to a cemetery or burial ground to contemplate on death and\nbecome familiar with this inevitable event.\nThe first of these meditations is known as the nine-round death\nmeditation, in which we contemplate the 3 roots, the 9 reasonings, and\nthe 3 convictions, as described below:\nA DEATH IS CERTAIN\n1. There is no possible way to escape death.\nNo-one ever has, not even Jesus, Buddha, etc. Of the\ncurrent\nworld population of over 5 billion people, almost none\nwill be\nalive in 100 years time.\n2. Life has a definite, inflexible limit and each moment\nbrings us\ncloser to the finality of this life.\nWe are dying from the moment we are born.\n3. Death comes in a moment and its time is unexpected.\nAll that separates us from the next life is one breath.\nConviction: To practise the spiritual path and ripen our inner\npotential by\ncultivating positive mental qualities and abandoning disturbing mental\nqualities.\nB THE TIME OF DEATH IS UNCERTAIN\n4. The duration of our lifespan is uncertain.\nThe young can die before the old, the healthy before\nthe sick,\netc.\n5. There are many causes and circumstances that lead to\ndeath, but\nfew that favour the sustenance of life.\nEven things that sustain life can kill us, for example\nfood, motor\nvehicles, property.\n6. The weakness and fragility of one's physical body\ncontribute to life's uncertainty.\nThe body can be easily destroyed by disease or\naccident, for\nexample cancer, AIDS, vehicle accidents, other\ndisasters.\nConviction: To ripen our inner potential now, without delay.\nC THE ONLY THING THAT CAN HELP US AT THE TIME OF DEATH IS\nOUR MENTAL/SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT (because all that goes on to\nthe next life is our mind with its karmic (positive or\nnegative) imprints.)\n7. Worldly possessions such as wealth, position, money\ncan't help.\n8. Relatives and friends can neither prevent death nor go\nwith us.\n9. Even our own precious body is of no help to us.\nWe have to leave it behind like a shell, an empty husk,\nan\novercoat.\nConviction: To ripen our inner potential purely, without staining our\nefforts with attachment to worldly concerns.\nThe second meditation simulates or rehearses the actual death\nprocess. Knowledge of this process is particularly important because\nadvanced practitioners can engage in a series of yogas that are\nmodelled on death, intermediate state (Tibetan: bar-do) and rebirth\nuntil they gain such control over them that they are no longer subject\nto ordinary uncontrolled death and rebirth.\nIt is therefore essential for the practitioner to know the\nstages of death and the mind-body relationship behind them. The\ndescription of this is based on a presentation of the winds, or\ncurrents of energy, that serve as foundations for various levels of\nconsciousness, and the channels in which they flow. Upon the serial\ncollapse of the ability of these winds to serve as bases of\nconsciousness, the internal and external events of death unfold.\nThrough the power of meditation, the yogi makes the coarse winds\ndissolve into the very subtle life-bearing wind at the heart. This yoga\nmirrors the process that occurs at death and involves concentration on\nthe psychic channels and the channel-centres (chakras) inside the body.\nAt the channel-centres there are white and red drops, upon\nwhich physical and mental health are based. The white is predominant\nat the top of the head and the red at the solar plexus. These drops\nhave their origin in a white and red drop at the heart centre, and\nthis drop is the size of a small pea and has a white top and red\nbottom. It is called the indestructible drop, since it lasts until\ndeath. The very subtle life-bearing wind dwells inside it and, at\ndeath, all winds ultimately dissolve into it, whereupon the clear\nlight vision of death dawns.\nThe physiology of death revolves around changes in the winds,\nchannels and drops. Psychologically, due to the fact that\nconsciousnesses of varying grossness and subtlety depend on the winds,\nlike a rider on a horse, their dissolving or loss of ability to serve\nas bases of consciousness induces radical changes in conscious\nexperience.\nDeath begins with the sequential dissolution of the winds\nassociated with the four elements (earth, water, fire and air).\n\"Earth\" refers to the hard factors of the body such as bone, and the\ndissolution of the wind associated with it means that that wind is no\nlonger capable of serving as a mount or basis for consciousness. As a\nconsequence of its dissolution, the capacity of the wind associated\nwith \"water\" (the fluid factors of the body) to act as a mount for\nconsciousness becomes more manifest. The ceasing of this capacity in\none element and its greater manifestation in another is called\n\"dissolution\" - it is not, therefore, a case of gross earth dissolving\ninto water.\nSimultaneously with the dissolution of the earth element, four\nother factors dissolve (see Chart 1), accompanied by external signs\n(generally visible to others) and an internal sign (the inner\nexperience of the dying person). The same is repeated in serial order\nfor the other three elements (see Charts 2-4), with corresponding\nexternal and internal signs.\nCHART 1: FIRST CYCLE OF SIMULTANEOUS DISSOLUTION\nFactor dissolving External sign\nInternal sign\nearth element body becomes very thin,\nlimbs loose; sense that\nbody is sinking under\nthe earth\naggregate of forms limbs become smaller,\nbody becomes weak\nand powerless\nbasic mirror-like sight becomes unclear\nappearance of\nwisdom (our ordinary and dark mirages\nconsciousness that\nclearly perceives many\nobjects simultaneously)\neye sense one cannot open or close\neyes\ncolours and shapes lustre of body diminishes;\none's strength is consumed\nCHART 2: SECOND CYCLE OF SIMULTANEOUS DISSOLUTION\nFactor dissolving External sign\nInternal sign\nwater element saliva, sweat, urine,\nblood and regenerative\nfluid dry greatly\naggregate of feelings body consciousness can\n(pleasure, pain and no longer experience the\nneutrality) three types of feelings\nthat accompany sense\nconsciousnesses\nbasic wisdom of equality one is no longer mindful\nappearance of smoke\n(our ordinary conscious- of the feelings accom-\nness mindful of pleasure, panying the mental\npain and neutral feelings consciousness\nas feelings)\near sense one no longer hears\nexternal or internal\nsounds\nsounds 'ur' sound in ears no\nlonger arises\nCHART 3: THIRD CYCLE OF SIMULTANEOUS DISSOLUTION\nFactor dissolving External sign\nInternal sign\nfire element one cannot digest food or\ndrink\naggregate of discrimi- one is no longer mindful\nnations of affairs of close\npersons\nbasic wisdom of analysis one can no longer\n(our ordinary conscious- remember the names\nappearance of fireflies\nness mindful of the of close persons\nor sparks within smoke\nindividual names, pur-\nposes and so forth of\nclose persons)\nnose sense inhalation weak, exhala-\ntion strong and lengthy\nodours one cannot smell\nCHART 4: FOURTH CYCLE OF SIMULTANEOUS DISSOLUTION\nFactor dissolving External sign\nInternal sign\nwind element the ten winds move to\nheart; inhalation and\nexhalation ceases\naggregate of composi- one cannot perform\ntional factors physical actions\nbasic wisdom of achiev- one is no longer mindful\ning activities (our of external worldly\nordinary consciousness activities, purposes and\nmindful of external so forth\nappearance of a\nactivities, purposes\nsputtering butter-lamp\nand so forth) about to go out\ntongue sense tongue becomes thick and\nshort; root of tongue\nbecomes blue\ntastes one cannot experience\ntastes\nbody sense and tangible one cannot experience\nobjects smoothness or roughness\nCHART 5: FIFTH TO EIGHTH CYCLES OF DISSOLUTION\nFactor dissolving Cause of appearance\nInternal sign\nFIFTH CYCLE\neighty conceptions winds in right and left\nat first, burning\nchannels above heart\nbutter-lamp; then,\nenter central channel at\nclear vacuity filled\ntop of head\nwith white light\nSIXTH CYCLE\nmind of white winds in right and left\nvery clear vacuity\nappearance channels below heart\nfilled with red light\nenter central channel at\nbase of spine\nSEVENTH CYCLE\nmind of red increase upper and lower winds at\nfirst, vacuity filled\ngather at heart; then\nwith thick darkness;\nwinds enter drop at\nthen, as if swooning\nheart\nunconsciously\nEIGHTH CYCLE\nmind of black near- all winds dissolve into\nvery clear vacuity free\nattainment the very subtle life-\nof the white, red and\nbearing wind in the\nblack appearances -\nindestructible drop at\nthe mind of clear\nthe heart\nlight of death\n(The above charts are taken from \"Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth\nin Tibetan Buddhism\" by Lati Rinbochay and Jeffrey Hopkins)\nUpon the inception of the fifth cycle the mind begins to\ndissolve, in the sense that coarser types cease and subtler minds\nbecome manifest. First, conceptuality ceases, dissolving into a mind of\nwhite appearance. This subtler mind, to which only a vacuity filled by\nwhite light appears, is free from coarse conceptuality. It, in turn,\ndissolves into a heightened mind of red appearance, which then\ndissolves into a mind of black appearance. At this point all that\nappears is a vacuity filled by blackness, during which the person\neventually becomes unconscious. In time this is cleared away, leaving a\ntotally clear emptiness (the mind of clear light) free from the white,\nred and black appearances (see Chart 5). This is the final vision of\ndeath.\nThis description of the various internal visions correlates\nclosely with the literature on the near-death experience. People who\nhave had a near-death experience often describe moving from darkness\n(for example a black tunnel) towards a brilliant, peaceful, loving\nlight. A comprehensive study comparing death and near-death experiences\nof Tibetans and Euro-Americans has shown many similarities between the\ntwo (Carr, 1993). Care must be taken though in such comparisons because\nthe near-death experience is not actual death, that is, the\nconsciousness permanently leaving the body.\nSince the outer breath ceased some time before (in the fourth\ncycle), from this point of view the point of actual death is related\nnot to the cessation of the outer breath but to the appearance of the\nmind of clear light. A person can remain in this state of lucid\nvacuity for up to three days, after which (if the body has not been\nravaged by illness) the external sign of drops of red or white liquid\nemerging from the nose and sexual organ occur, indicating the departure\nof consciousness.\nOther signs of the consciousness leaving the body are 1) when\nall heat has left the area of the heart centre (in the centre of the\nchest), 2) the body starts to smell or decompose, 3) a subtle awareness\nthat the consciousness has left and the body has become like 'an empty\nshell', 4) a slumping of the body in a practitioner who has been\nsitting in meditation after the stopping of the breath. Buddhists\ngenerally prefer that the body not be removed for disposal before one\nor more of these signs occur, because until then the consciousness is\nstill in the body and any violent handling of it may disturb the end\nprocesses of death. A Buddhist monk or nun or friend should ideally be\ncalled in before the body is moved in order for the appropriate prayers\nand procedures to be carried out.\nWhen the clear light vision ceases, the consciousness leaves\nthe body and passes through the other seven stages of dissolution\n(black near-attainment, red increase etc.) in reverse order. As soon as\nthis reverse process begins the person is reborn into an intermediate\nstate between lives, with a subtle body that can go instantly wherever\nit likes, move through solid objects etc., in its journey to the next\nplace of rebirth.\nThe intermediate state can last from a moment to seven days,\ndepending on whether or not a suitable birthplace is found. If one is\nnot found the being undergoes a \"small death\", experiencing the eight\nsigns of death as previously described (but very briefly). He/she then\nagain experiences the eight signs of the reverse process and is reborn\nin a second intermediate state. This can happen for a total of seven\nbirths in the intermediate state (making a total of forty-nine days)\nduring which a place of rebirth must be found.\nThe \"small death\" that occurs between intermediate states or\njust prior to taking rebirth is compared to experiencing the eight\nsigns (from the mirage-like vision to the clear light) when going into\ndeep sleep or when coming out of a dream. Similarly also, when\nentering a dream or when awakening from sleep the eight signs of the\nreverse process are experienced.\nThese states of increasing subtlety during death and of\nincreasing grossness during rebirth are also experienced in fainting\nand orgasm as well as before and after sleeping and dreaming, although\nnot in complete form. It is this great subtlety and clarity of the\nmind during the death process that makes it so valuable to use for\nadvanced meditation practices, and why such emphasis is put on it in\nBuddhism. Advanced practitioners will often stay in the clear light\nmeditation for several days after the breathing has stopped, engaging\nin these advanced meditations, and can achieve liberation at this time.\nThe Buddhist view is that each living being has a continuity or\nstream of consciousness that moves from one life to the next. Each\nbeing has had countless previous lives and will continue to be reborn\nagain and again without control unless he/she develops his/her mind to\nthe point where, like the yogis mentioned above, he/she gains control\nover this process. When the stream of consciousness or mind moves from\none life to the next it brings with it the karmic imprints or\npotentialities from previous lives. Karma literally means \"action\",\nand all of the actions of body, speech and mind leave an imprint on the\nmind-stream. These karmas can be negative, positive or neutral,\ndepending on the action. They can ripen at any time in the future,\nwhenever conditions are suitable. These karmic seeds or imprints are\nnever lost.\nAt the time of death (clear light stage) the consciousness\n(very subtle mind) leaves the body and the person takes the body of an\nintermediate state being. They are in the form that they will take in\ntheir next life (some texts say the previous life), but in a subtle\nrather than a gross form. As mentioned previously, it can take up to\nforty-nine days to find a suitable place of rebirth. This rebirth is\npropelled by karma and is uncontrolled. In effect the karma of the\nintermediate state being matches that of its future parents. The\nintermediate state being has the illusory appearance of its future\nparents copulating. It is drawn to this place by the force of\nattraction to its parent of the opposite sex, and it is this desire\nthat causes the consciousness of the intermediate state being to enter\nthe fertilized ovum. This happens at or near the time of conception and\nthe new life has begun.\nOne will not necessarily be reborn as a human being. Buddhists\ndescribe six realms of existence that one can be reborn into, these\nbeing the hell realms, the preta (hungry ghost) realm, the animal\nrealm, the human realm, the jealous god (asura) realm and the god\n(sura) realms. One's experience in these situations can range from\nintense suffering in the hell realms to unimaginable pleasures in the\ngod realms. But all of these levels of existence are regarded as\nunsatisfactory by the spiritual practitioner because no matter how\nhigh one goes within this cyclic existence, one may one day fall down\nagain to the lower realms of existence. So the aim of the spiritual\npractitioner is to develop his/her mind to the extent where a stop is\nput to this uncontrolled rebirth, as mentioned previously. The\npractitioner realises that all six levels of existence are ultimately\nin the nature of suffering, so wishes to be free of them forever.\nThe state of mind at the time of death is regarded as extremely\nimportant, because this plays a vital part in the situation one is\nreborn into. This is one reason why suicide is regarded in Buddhism as\nvery unfortunate, because the state of mind of the person who commits\nsuicide is usually depressed and negative and is likely to throw them\ninto a lower rebirth. Also, it doesn't end the suffering, it just\npostpones it to another life.\nWhen considering the spiritual care of the dying, it can be\nhelpful to divide people into several different categories, because\nthe category they are in will determine the most useful approach to\nuse. These categories are: 1) whether the person is conscious or\nunconscious, and 2) whether they have a religious belief or not. In\nterms of the first category, if the person is conscious they can do\nthe practices themselves or someone can assist them, but if they are\nunconscious someone has to do the practices for them. For the second\ncategory, if a person has specific religious beliefs, these can be\nutilised to help them. If they do not, they still need to be\nencouraged to have positive/virtuous thoughts at the time of death,\nsuch as reminding them of positive things they have done during their\nlife.\nFor a spiritual practitioner, it is helpful to encourage them\nto have thoughts such as love, compassion, remembering their spiritual\nteacher. It is beneficial also to have an image in the room of Jesus,\nMary, Buddha, or some other spiritual figure that may have meaning for\nthe dying person. It may be helpful for those who are with the dying\nperson to say some prayers, recite mantras etc. - this could be silent\nor aloud, whatever seems most appropriate.\nHowever, one needs to be very sensitive to the needs of the\ndying person. The most important thing is to keep the mind of the\nperson happy and calm. Nothing should be done (including certain\nspiritual practices) if this causes the person to be annoyed or\nirritated. There is a common conception that it is good to read \"The\nTibetan Book of the Dead\" to the dying person, but if he/she is not\nfamiliar with the particular deities and practices contained in it,\nthen this is not likely to prove very beneficial.\nBecause the death process is so important, it is best not to\ndisturb the dying person with noise or shows of emotion. Expressing\nattachment and clinging to the dying person can disturb the mind and\ntherefore the death process, so it is more helpful to mentally let the\nperson go, to encourage them to move on to the next life without fear.\nIt is important not to deny death or to push it away, just to be with\nthe dying person as fully and openly as possible, trying to have an\nopen and deep sharing of the person's fear, pain, joy, love, etc.\nAs mentioned previously, when a person is dying, their mind\nbecomes much more subtle, and they are more open to receiving mental\nmessages from those people close to them. So silent communication and\nprayer can be very helpful. It is not necessary to talk much. The\ndying person can be encouraged to let go into the light, into God's\nlove etc. (again, this can be verbal or mental).\nIt can be very helpful to encourage the dying person to use\nbreathing meditation - to let go of the thoughts and concentrate on\nthe movement of the breath. This can be helpful for developing\ncalmness, for pain control, for acceptance, for removing fear. It can\nhelp the dying person to get in touch with their inner stillness and\npeace and come to terms with their death. This breathing technique can\nbe especially useful when combined with a mantra, prayer, or\naffirmation (i.e. half on the in-breath, half on the out-breath).\nOne of the Tibetan lamas, Sogyal Rinpoche, says that for up to\nabout twenty-one days after a person dies they are more connected to\nthe previous life than to the next one. So for this period in\nparticular the loved ones can be encouraged to continue their (silent)\ncommunication with the deceased person - to say their good-byes, finish\nany unfinished business, reassure the dead person, encourage them to\nlet go of their old life and to move on to the next one. It can be\nreassuring even just to talk to the dead person and at some level to\nknow that they are probably receiving your message. The mind of the\ndeceased person at this stage can still be subtle and receptive.\nFor the more adept practitioners there is also the method of\ntransference of consciousness at the time of death (Tibetan: po-wa).\nWith training, at the time of death, the practitioner can project his\nmind upwards from his heart centre through his crown directly to one\nof the Buddha pure realms, or at least to a higher rebirth. Someone who\nhas perfected this training can also assist others at the time of\ndeath to project their mind to a good rebirth.\nIt is believed that if the consciousness leaves the body of the\ndead person through the crown or from a higher part of the body, it is\nlikely to result in a good type of rebirth. Conversely, if the\nconsciousness leaves from a lower part of the body this is likely to\nresult in rebirth in one of the lower realms. For this reason, when a\nperson dies it is believed that the first part of the body that should\nbe touched is the crown. The crown is located about eight finger widths\n(of the person being measured) back from the (original) hairline. To\nrub or tap this area or gently pull the crown hair after a person dies\nis regarded as very beneficial and may well help the person to obtain\na higher rebirth. Their are special blessed pills (po-wa pills) that\ncan be placed on the crown after death which also facilitates this\nprocess.\nOnce the consciousness has left the body (which, as mentioned\nearlier, can take up to three days) it doesn't matter how the body is\ndisposed of or handled (including the carrying out of a post-mortem\nexamination) because in effect it has just become an empty shell.\nHowever, if the body is disposed of before the consciousness has left,\nthis will obviously be very disturbing for the person who is going\nthrough the final stages of psychological dissolution.\nThis raises the question of whether or not it is advisable to\ndonate one's organs after dying. The usual answer given by the Tibetan\nlamas to this question is that if the wish to donate one's organs is\ndone with the motivation of compassion, then any disturbance to the\ndeath process that this causes is far outweighed by the positive karma\nthat one is creating by this act of giving. It is another way in which\none can die with a positive and compassionate mind.\nA Tibetan tradition which is becoming more popular in the West\nis to get part of the remains of the deceased (e.g. ashes, hair,\nnails) blessed and then put into statues, tsa-tsas (Buddha images made\nof clay or plaster) or stupas (reliquary monuments representing the\nBuddha's body, speech and mind). These stupas for instance could be\nkept in the person's home, larger ones could be erected in a memorial\ngarden. Making offerings to these or circumambulating them and so on\nis regarded as highly meritorious, both for the person who has died\nand for the loved ones.\nThere are also rituals for caring for the dead, for guiding the\ndead person through the intermediate state into a good rebirth. Such a\nritual is \"The Tibetan Book of the Dead\", more correctly titled\n\"Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo\".\n- revised January 1995\nREFERENCES\nCarr, Christopher Death and Near-Death: A Comparison of Tibetan and\nEuro- American Experiences, Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1993,\nVol 25, No 1 pp 59-110\nFremantle, Francesca and Chogyam Trungpa The Tibetan Book of the Dead:\nThe Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo, Shambhala, Boulder\nand London, 1975\n(or the excellent new translation by Robert A.F. Thurman,\nAquarian Press, London,1994)\nKapleau, Philip The Wheel of Life and Death, Doubleday, New York, 1989\nRinbochay, Lati and Jeffrey Hopkins Death, Intermediate State and\nRebirth in Tibetan Buddhism, Rider & Co, London, 1979\nLevine, Stephen Healing Into Life and Death, Anchor Press/Doubleday,\nNew York, 1987\nLevine, Stephen Who Dies, Anchor Press/Doubleday, New York, 1982\nMackenzie, Vicki Reincarnation: The Boy Lama, Bloomsbury, London, 1988\nMackenzie, Vicki Reborn in the West: The Reincarnation Masters,\nBloomsbury, London, 1995\nMullin, Glenn H. Death and Dying: The Tibetan Tradition, Arkana,\nLondon, 1986\nSogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Rider, London,\n1992","title":"Deathtib","type":"page"}