SIX BARDOs TEACHING (Part 4)

 (A brief teaching by H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche, Nov.1982 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

4. Bardo at the Moment of Death

This is the fourth one. Here basically, before that moment comes, we have to prepare for that moment. When the moment comes, we have to prepare everything, it is too late. Before that moment comes, what we can prepare is; do whatever possible for us to do - something meaningful, and avoid whatever for us to avoid - everything meaningless, and this way the accumulation of merits as outside and accumulation of wisdom as inside.  Whatever we are able to develop and cultivate, we take the opportunity that is made ready for that and on this moment are, anyway, we all have to face this moment one day, definitely.  Anybody who are here, you know, today few people here I don't think out of this anybody is still alive after 100 years.  I don't think so. I don't think so. I will not really appreciate that but I don't think so. And we all must be gone. Even anybody in the whole world right now, even babies who is born today or babies who are inside the mother, they will not be here after one century, I don't think so. Even they are here, they are not in a good shape you know. Anyway, because of this, we all have to know this quite clearly.

During our death, that is the very important moment for us, because this is the moment of this life to the next life. The judgment there is our karma; no one else.  But in that moment if we have clear understanding and clear opportunity, we can make great accumulations and purification on that moment. Because, at that time, we mean it.  Right now, few of us can mean but everybody don't think so. Even they pray, they pray with some certain amount of faith and there is the degree of pureness and confidence and real kind of strength in it. But when we die, you know, in that moment if we have learn how to think and how to dedicate and how to take that opportunity, then the moment is very, very pure. That moment one minute thinking will be much stronger and powerful than years of thinking in one whole life when you are happy and you are alive because you are really facing the most serious event, serious moment. Because of this, we have to know which will disturb us. Our fame will disturb, our wealth will disturb; our relation will disturb. Those 3 things are which will disturb us most during our death. If we have attachment for our fame, if we have attachment for our wealth, if we have attachment for our relation, that is biggest obstacle. Therefore, when the moment comes we have to be ready to release everything. “Now no more of these I need. Even I attach and hold on my wealth but I can take nothing. My wealth will be in my cold hands. I am gone.” And fame is also the same. The relation is also the same. Because of that, that moment have to be clear.  “I have done everything my best. Now I have nothing to feel sorry about, feel regret about, and what I have done is my best.” We must have these simple feeling in the moment of death.

To be able to feel that, we must do everything from  now, our best. And with this feeling, then we do whatever meaningful we can do with our material belongings, our fame, and whatever meaningful things we can do to our good related person, family or friend or whatever. Then we dedicate all of our merit towards the all sentient beings and we pray and wish that all beings be free from samsara. And we pray that according to our capability, say “May I reborn again into human realm. “May I cultivate more and then able to achieve certain kind of realization” or “May I be reborn to the Dewachen, the Sukhavati Pure Land.” Or whatever we are capable of saying.  If you capable of saying “May I go to hell and help all the beings of hell, until they are free from hell, may I remain in the hell” - if you can mean it, that is the best. But anyway, according to your capability you do whatever you can pray.

And then, after the death of the person, then the people who live - who are alive, their responsibility is very great. Because, from this moment until 49 days, the being is not really entered into a next realm.  Somehow this is the between of this life to the next life. Therefore, the person has to do all sorts of accumulations and the dedications which are aimed on behalf of that person who passed away. That is very important. And this is the moment of the death and here one aspect of special meditation and puja and performance used to do, that is transference of consciousness. But I think you should learn this later from when another Rinpoche comes, you learn from them because it needs the some time you know. I cannot explain right now here in a short time. It need at least one whole evening on that. And this is the Moment of Death Bardo.

Briefly about H.E. Tai Situpa and Karma Kagyu Lineage

H.E.12^th Tai Situ Rinpoche (born on 15^th Feburualy1954) founded the Palpung – Sherabling Monastery in Northern India in the Himalayan Regions. He is the Root Guru of the present 17^th Gyalwa Karmapa.

The 11^th Tai Situ Rinpoche was the Root Guru of 16^th Gyalwa  Karmapa and the 16^th Gyalwa Karmapa was the Root Guru of 12^th Tai Situpa. By tracing back to the past, the two of them took turn to be Guru in one life and became the disciple in the next life. This is the way how the lineage is kept unbroken from Guru to disciple in the Karma Kagyu 

This lineage was founded by Vajra Dhara (Dorje Chang), sambhogakaya form of Buddha Sakyamuni, who taught Tilopa , an Indian Mahasidha. And this lineage from India continued to Tibet unbroken until the present 12^th Tai Situ Rinpoche who is the only holder of the Special Oral Transmission Lineage of the Karma Kagyu Tibetan Buddhism. When a person receives this Special Oral Transmission, he or she will get immediate good experience in his or her meditation practice. According to Rinpoche, to receive this Special Oral Transmission Blessings, the devotee’s Karma must be ripe at that time. This blessing is powerful because it comes from the whole Karma Kagyu Lineage.

SIX BARDOs TEACHING (Part 2)

(A brief teaching by H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche, Nov.1982 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

2. Bardo of Dream

Here the principle of this bardo is explaining that which makes us able to understand whole universe, whole life, whole experience as a dream. The principle here is 3, the samsaric dream, the life dream, the sleeping dream, three of them. From beginningless time until the realization of ultimate, which is Buddhahood, this is the dream of samsara.

No matter which realm we belong to, no matter what kind of individual we are, anyway we are dreaming.  The all aspect of trips of ego even we are an animal still we have “I”.   Even if we are a human being, still we have "I". Even if we are a deva still we have "I". We can be rich one; we can be poor one; we can be people of different nation and different culture, always we have "I".  This “I”.... we wake up from it when we achieve the enlightenment. That is the only time when we are free from this "I" totally and that is the samsara dream.

The second dream is the life dream. Life dream is known as dream of Karma.  According to our individual we experience the dream of Karma. Even about the same thing, sometimes we are happy about it, sometimes we hate it; sometimes it helps us, sometimes it bothers us. Nothing is certain; nothing is real, always fixed, as true existence.... everything change. About the same thing, various people have various aspects of way of looking at it, affect by this. This is the life dream.  It starts when we are born.  It ends when we die, but another one will start. This is the life dream.

Now the sleeping dream. The sleeping dream is dream of sub-conscious.

According to what kind of sub-conscious we have, we will dream that.  Sometimes we dream about the future. Sometimes we dream about the past, but will not dream anything which has nothing to do with us. Whatever we dream has something to do with us. May be we imagine that way. May be we have this experience before. May be we have karma to experience that in future. Because of that sometimes dreams come true. This is the sleeping dream. We wake up from this when we wake up in the morning. And now in this teaching the practice is first to realize the unrealness and the illusion of the sleeping dream. You have awareness so that your dream cannot fool you anymore. You can control your dream instead of dream controls you - and since you have this freedom completely, then you will have certain amount of freedom in the life. This life dream cannot control you anymore. You can control your life dream. The miracles of great realized beings also come in this point.

Here I want to make a little comment under miracle and the magic. People, it is very simple, but still people make mistake between the miracle and the magic. The miracle is ultimate quality that is ultimate freedom. The magic is relative kind of performance.

You know how to do things by learning the material tricks, or the important powerful substance, or the special words or the strong imagination can make things happen, but that is not always happened when we do. That is involved with hope and fear. Hope that “I want to do it”; “I want to do it successfully”, and fear that “May be I will not succeed this time”, and this is always involved with the "I" the ego. That is why there is hope and fear. It is interesting - interesting things to watch, but there is not really a quality which benefits you ultimately. Even the magicians themselves have full of suffering, full of desire, anger, ignorance, everything but their greatness is that they know the trick. They know the key. But we can learn one thing from the magic. It proves us, all the samsara is illusion. Because of this illusion, magic can also be performed. If it isn't illusion, nothing can happen behind of what is there. 

And the miracle, miracle is freedom. It has nothing to do with hope, nothing to do with fear. It has nothing to do with ego. How less your ego is, that profound your miracle is. People see miracle. People experienced miracle but they don't recognize it.  The miracle, simple miracle of profound teaching of Buddha - this can change life of a being who is suffering one, who is evil one, into life of the most kind being, just by moment of right understanding. This miracle of the simple basic Dharma can change whole world into peace. Simply people know one of the very simple first step - understanding - the basic loving kindness and compassion to each other as a brother and sister. Then, how the violence, all kind of wars, and how those things can happen, not possible. And one simple basic point of Dharma, this miracle changes whole world into peace. If being are capable of learning this and accepting this, and more than that the performance of the miracle, you know, how the past great yogis -- have been done, those things are also freedom. For example, they are having the freedom of the life dream. Same as we can have the freedom of the sleeping dream quite easily.   In your dream you see a fire. You know you are dreaming. You know you are in your little room - there is no fire. You see your hands in your dream but your hand is dreaming hands; not really physical hands. You put your dream hand on your dream fire for 5 hours, it will not burn your finger. It will not burn your hand but this is not magic! This is miracle. The miracle of the great master of the past are performed that way. They have the freedom because they have realized the ultimate. Because of that, nothing makes any different for them. That is the way how the miracle is performed.  Miracles are not limited. All the time it is limitless - and then, since one have the freedom of the life dream, then that is the beginning of the freedom of the samsara dream. The total development of the freedom and the awakening of the samsara dream are known as realization of the Buddhahood. And this is the principle of the Bardo of dream.

Briefly about H.E. Tai Situpa and Karma Kagyu Lineage

H.E.12^th Tai Situ Rinpoche (born on 15^th Feburualy1954) founded the Palpung – Sherabling Monastery in Northern India in the Himalayan Regions. He is the Root Guru of the present 17^th Gyalwa Karmapa.

The 11^th Tai Situ Rinpoche was the Root Guru of 16^th Gyalwa  Karmapa and the 16^th Gyalwa Karmapa was the Root Guru of 12^th Tai Situpa. By tracing back to the past, the two of them took turn to be Guru in one life and became the disciple in the next life. This is the way how the lineage is kept unbroken from Guru to disciple in the Karma Kagyu 

This lineage was founded by Vajra Dhara (Dorje Chang), sambhogakaya form of Buddha Sakyamuni, who taught Tilopa , an Indian Mahasidha. And this lineage from India continued to Tibet unbroken until the present 12^th Tai Situ Rinpoche who is the only holder of the Special Oral Transmission Lineage of the Karma Kagyu Tibetan Buddhism. When a person receives this Special Oral Transmission, he or she will get immediate good experience in his or her meditation practice. According to Rinpoche, to receive this Special Oral Transmission Blessings, the devotee’s Karma must be ripe at that time. This blessing is powerful because it comes from the whole Karma Kagyu Lineage.