{"collection":"Buddhism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/bud/tib/dying_p.htm","path":"bud/tib/dying_p.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/bud/tib/dying_p.htm","text":"THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF THE DYING:\nA BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE\nCompiled by:\nVen Pende Hawter\nThe Karuna Hospice Service\nP.O. Box 2020\nWindsor 4030\nQueensland, Australia\nTel. (07) 3857 8555\nFax: (07) 3857 8040\nIntroduction\n============\nIn discussing the spiritual needs of the dying from the Buddhist\nperspective, we firstly need to look at several key points, namely:\ngaining an understanding of the shortness and preciousness of life.\nconsidering what can help ourselves and others at the same time of\ndeath.\nconsidering what goes on after death.\nthe Buddhist concept of mind.\nReflections On Death\n====================\nIn order to gain an understanding of the shortness and preciousness of\nlife and how to make it meaningful we need to reflect on the fact that\ndeath is certain and that the time of death is uncertain. These points\nmay seem obvious but we rarely stop to consider the truth of them.\nFor example, when we consider that death is certain we can reflect on\nseveral points:\n1) there is no possible way to escape death (nobody ever has),\n2) life has a definite, inflexible limit and each moment brings\nus closer to the end of this life, and\n3) death comes in a moment and it's time is unexpected (and\neven while alive we devote very little of our life to spiritual\npractice).\nWhen reflecting on the fact that the time of death in uncertain we can\nanalyse this further by recognising that:\n1) the duration of our lifespan is uncertain - young people can\ndie before old people, the healthy before the sick, etc.\n2) there are many causes and circumstances that lead to death\nbut few that favour the sustenance of life - in fact even the things\nthat sustain life and make it comfortable can kill us e.g. food, our\nhouse, our car.\n3) the weakness and fragility of our body contributes to life's\nuncertainty - our body can be easily destroyed by disease or accident.\nReflecting on these points can help us to realise that life is short\nand precious and that there is no time to lose. It is good to remind\nourselves of these points each day. It can be very helpful when first\ngetting up each day to say to ourselves \"today may be the last day of\nmy life, let me live it therefore by making it as meaningful as\npossible, being of benefit to others, etc.\".\nIt can also be very helpful to consider how we would react if we were\ntold, for example, that we only had 3 or 6 months to live, to ask\nourselves questions like:\nam I ready to die?\nwhat unfinished business do I have?\nwhat do I want to do or achieve in the time I have left?\nwill my priorities change?\nwhat can help me at the time of death?\nor as somebody put it \"Live each day as though it were your last and\none day you'll be right!\"\nThe other critical point is to consider what will help us at the time\nof death. Reflection here reveals that:\n1) worldly possessions such as wealth, position or money can't\nhelp us\n2) relatives and friends can neither prevent death nor go with\nus\n3) even our own precious body is of no help to us and we have\nto leave it behind.\nSo ultimately the only thing that can help us is the state of our mind,\nthe state of our mental or spiritual development.\nKarma and the mind\n==================\nHow is this so? The Buddhist belief is that every action of body,\nspeech and mind that we create lays down a subtle imprint in our mind\nwhich has the potential to ripen as future happiness or suffering,\ndepending on whether the action was positive or negative. These\nimprints remain in the mind until they ripen or until they are purified\nor cleansed by spiritual practices. This process in known as the law of\nkarma.\nThe mind itself is formless, shapeless, colourless, genderless, and has\nthe ability to know or cognize all phenomena. It's basic nature is\nluminous and knowing. The mind also has different levels - gross,\nsubtle, and very subtle. The very subtle mind is very clear and is\nusually only experienced at the time of death or during advanced\nmeditation practices. The imprints of our actions (karmic imprints) are\nstored in the very subtle mind.\nDeath, intermediate state and rebirth\n=====================================\nAt the time of death, the body and mind go through a process of\ndissolution, where the 25 psycho-physical constituents that we are\ncomprised of gradually absorb and lose their ability to function.1 This\nprocess of dissolution is associated with external and internal signs.\nThis process continues even after the breathing ceases, for up to 3\ndays.\nDuring this process the mind becomes more and more subtle and clear\nuntil it eventually reaches the point of the 'clear light of death',\nwhere it is said to be approximately 9 times more clear than in the\nnormal waking state. At this point the mind separates from the body,\ntaking with it all of the subtle imprints from that life and previous\nones.\nThis very subtle mind or consciousness and the very subtle wind upon\nwhich it rides then arises into an intermediate state (bardo) being\nwhich has a subtle (non-physical) body that can move through solid\nobjects, travel anywhere just by thinking of that place, and so on. The\nintermediate state being stays in that state for up to 7 weeks, by\nwhich time a suitable place of rebirth is usually found. This place of\nrebirth is determined by the force of karma, whereby the intermediate\nstate being dies and the consciousness is propelled without control\ntowards the place of rebirth. The consciousness enters the fertilized\negg at or near the moment of conception and the new life begins.\nCrucial in this whole process is the state of mind at the time of\ndeath, because it is this that determines the situation a person will\nbe reborn into. If the mind is calm and peaceful and imbued with\npositive thoughts at the time of death, this will augur well for a\nhappy rebirth. However, if the mind is in a state of anger or has\nstrong desire or is fearful etc, this will predispose to an unhappy or\nlower type of rebirth.\nThe mind that arises at the time of death is usually the one that the\nperson is most habituated to. People tend to die in character, although\nthis is not always so. So in the Buddhist tradition it is emphasised\nstrongly that the time to prepare for death is now, because if we\ndevelop and gain control over our mind now and create many positive\ncauses we will have a calm and controlled mind at the time of death and\nbe free of fear. In effect, our whole life is a preparation for death\nand it is said that the mark of a spiritual practitioner is to have no\nregrets at the time of death. As a friend of mine said recently on\nhearing about these concepts, \"Perhaps it's time I started swotting for\nthe finals!\"\nThe spiritual needs of the dying\n================================\nWhen considering the spiritual needs of the dying, the basic principle\nis to do whatever you can do to help the person die with a calm and\npeaceful mind, with spiritual/positive thoughts uppermost. This is\nbecause it is believed that the state of mind at the time of death is\nvitally important and plays an important role in determining what will\nhappen to the person after death.\nSo whether we are a doctor or nurse relieving pain and other\ndistressing symptoms and reassuring the family, a counsellor helping to\nresolve emotional issues, a minister of religion offering spiritual\ncounsel, or a volunteer who offers companionship and support for the\ndying person and their loved ones, we are all contributing\nsignificantly towards obtaining this calm and peaceful state of mind.\nWithin this basic principle, there are several ways we can categorise\npeople which will help to determine the type of spiritual support that\nthey need, namely:\nIs the person conscious or unconscious?\n- if conscious, you can do the practices with them or\nget them to do them\n- if unconscious, you have to do the practices for them\nDoes the person have specific religious beliefs or not?\n- if religious, remind them of their religious\npractices\n- if not religious, encourage them to have positive\nthoughts, or remind them of positive things they have done\nFor a person with a spiritual faith it is beneficial to have spiritual\nobjects around them e.g. an altar, a rosary, photos of their spiritual\nteacher, or to play spiritual music, or to burn incense, and so on -\nwhatever reminds them of their spiritual practice. It is good also to\ntalk to them about their spiritual practices, recite prayers with them\nand so forth. For an unconscious person it is said to be good to recite\nprayers, mantras etc into their ear.\nIf a person does not have a spiritual faith, it is helpful to remind\nthem of positive things they have done in their life, or of positive\nqualities such as love and compassion and kindness.\nIt is important to avoid religious activities that are inappropriate or\nunwanted by the dying person. Someone standing at the end of the bed\nreciting prayers may be an annoyance, and I have seen a case of an\nattempted deathbed salvation which greatly angered the dying person.\nThe basic aim is to avoid any objects or people that generate strong\nattachment or anger in the mind of the dying person. From the spiritual\nviewpoint it is desirable to avoid loud shows of emotion in the\npresence of the dying person. We have to remind ourselves that the\ndying process is of great spiritual importance and we don't want to\ndisturb the mind of the dying person, which is in an increasingly clear\nand subtle state. We have to do whatever we can to allow the person to\ndie in a calm/happy/peaceful state of mind.\nMeditations for sick and dying people\n=====================================\nFor those who have advanced illness but are still conscious there are a\nnumber of simple meditation techniques or visualisations that can be\nvery helpful.\nFor those who are anxious or fearful of dying, teaching them relaxation\nor guiding them through a simple relaxation technique can be very\nbeneficial. I will usually leave them a relaxation tape that they can\nuse any time of day or night, whenever the need arises. When\nappropriate, touch, massage, reflexology and similar techniques can\nalso be very soothing and stress-relieving, especially as the person\nmay be somewhat starved of touch due to the fears and awkwardness of\npeople who visit them.\nA simple meditation technique that is very effective is awareness of\nthe breath. The person becomes aware of the movement of the breath\ninwards and outwards at the level of the nostrils, breathing naturally\nand easily, not forcing or exaggerating the breath. At the same time,\nany thoughts that arise are let go of, constantly bringing the mind\nback to the breath. This technique, although simple, can generate very\ncalm states of mind and relieve anxiety.\nWhen the awareness of breath is then combined with the recitation of\ncertain words or mantras or prayer it becomes very powerful. Just to\nsay \"Let...go...let...go...\" in time with the in and out breaths can be\nsoothing and relaxing. A person with a spiritual belief can use a\nprayer or mantra with the breath. For example, one lady whom I was\nvisiting who was an ex-Catholic nun chose the prayer \"not mine, Lord,\nbut thy will be done\". She shortened this by reciting \"Not my will\" on\nthe in-breath and \"but yours\" on the out-breath, repeating this over\nand over again.\nThe beauty of this technique is that 1) it can be done for short\nperiods of time and requires little concentration, which is often\nreduced by the effects of disease and medication, 2) it helps to calm\nthe mind and reduce anxiety, 3) it utilizes and strengthens the\nperson's spiritual refuge, 4) it does not require anything other than\nthe breath.\nFor both a religious and a non-religious person a white light 'healing'\nmeditation can bring a lot of comfort and benefit. The person\nvisualizes a brilliant ball of white light above their head, with the\nlight streaming down through their bodies, removing sickness, pain,\nfear, anxiety and filling the body with blissful healing light energy.\nDepending on the person's belief system, they can see the light as\nbeing in the nature of Jesus, or Buddha or some other spiritual figure,\nor they can just visualise it as a source of universal healing energy.\nThis meditation combines very well with the breath awareness technique\nand is also good to have on tape to leave with the person, to be used\nwhenever needed day or night. When a person is close to death they can\nalso be encouraged to let go into the light, into the heart of Jesus or\nBuddha seated above their head, whatever is appropriate for that\nperson.\nThe use of guided imagery or gentle music can also be soothing and\nrelaxing and help the person to have a calm and peaceful mind as they\napproach death.\nA person in pain can also be guided through a pain meditation, a\ntechnique whereby the pain is explored in detail, often leading to a\nreduction or eradication of the pain.2A very profound meditative\ntechnique is to actually use the illness or pain as a way of developing\ncompassion. For those who can use this technique the results can be\nvery great. The person is encouraged to think that \"by me experiencing\nthis cancer/AIDS/pain etc, may all other beings in the world be free of\nthis, and may they have good health, happiness and long life\". The\nperson uses their sickness or pain as a way of opening their heart to\nothers who are in a similar situation. People who have used this\ntechnique have often gone from being totally caught up in their own\nmisery to a state of open-heartedness and peace.\nAn even more advanced technique is the meditation on \"taking and giving\non the breath\" as described in the Tibetan Buddhist scriptures. In this\nmeditation, one visualises taking on the suffering of all other living\nbeings (or this could be restricted to those with cancer or AIDS etc)\nin the form of black smoke, which is taken in on the in-breath. Then on\nthe out-breath all of our health and happiness and all positive\nqualities are sent out to other living beings in the form of white\nlight, and we visualise them receiving everything that they want. At\nour heart we visualise a black rock of selfishness, and as the black\nsmoke is inhaled we visualise it hitting the black rock and smashing it\ncompletely, thus eradicating all trace of selfishness from our minds.\nThis meditation is a profound method for developing compassion quickly\nbut there will only be a minority of patients who will be able to use\nthis method. The usual way to progress in these meditations is to start\nwith small problems such as a headache or tiredness etc, then gradually\ntrain our minds to transform bigger and bigger problems.\nConclusion\n==========\nThe aim of all these methods is to help the dying person die with a\ncalm, happy and positive mind. Anything that we can do to achieve this\nwill benefit the person, whether that be good nursing care and pain\nrelief, massage, the presence of a loving family, or whatever. It is\nsaid that the best thing we can bring to a dying person is our own\nquiet and peaceful mind.\nIn this way we will help the dying person make the transition from this\nlife to the next as smooth and as meaningful as possible, recognising\nthe vital spiritual importance of this transition.\nMy wish is that this short paper may in some way be of benefit to those\nwho read it and reflect on it, and hence to the sick or suffering\npeople that you serve.\nLast revised August 1995\nREFERENCES\nFremantle, Francesca and Chogyam Trungpa, The Tibetan Book of the Dead:\nThe Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo, Shambala, Boulder\nand London 1975.\n(or the new translation by Robert A.F. Thurman, Aquarian Press,\nLondon, 1994)\nKapleau, Philip, The Wheel of Life and Death, Doubleday, New York,\n1989.\nLati Rinbochay 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.\n1 see \"Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth\" by Lati Rinbochay\nand Jeffrey Hopkins or my paper on \"Death and Dying in the Tibetan\nBuddhist Tradition\" for full details of this process.\n2 for full details of this technique, refer to \"You Can Conquer\nCancer\" by Ian Gawler, pp 177-180 or to my paper \"Relaxation Therapy\nand Meditation in Pain Control\".","title":"Dying P","type":"page"}