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 3)

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

 3. Bardo of Meditation.

And this explained into 3 basic principles - the body meditation, the speech meditation, the mind meditation.

Here when we say the body samten. In Tibetan we say samten means "Ting". This is proper way of sitting, proper way of situating the body. Naturally develops the "tingism" the samten, the meditative state. Example, when we go to a temple, the surrounding of temple is peaceful. Inside of the temple is clean. The Buddha's image is beautiful.  Kind of simplicity, kind of natural calmness, naturally develops - and this is the body, the physical aspect of "tingism".

The other opposite of that when we go to a disco, full of crazy music and all this funny thing, light etc. etc. everybody is jumping like monkeys. They make you also shaky and that is the reason you shake your own and that is the way how the body "tingism" is necessary. The right way of sitting, like cross-legged, straight body etc, it isn't just an eastern culture, it isn't only a kind of - I think here you all know, but in the West, America and Europe when Buddha-dharma came there first about 15 years ago, people don't really understand that because they only sit on the chair. Their legs are quite stiff and when they sit cross-leg you know there must be one feet between their knee and ground – and it hurts them. Then they say that this is eastern kind of culture. It doesn't suit with western kind of habit. We say 'No, no, it isn't. It is based on the human coordination of body, speech and mind. For the mind to be in peace, in calmness, in the "tingism" in the samten, body has to be situated properly. Then we can make it simple, we have so many simple examples that, when you eat you must sit straight and eat.  If you lie on bed and eat it will throw you up. This is the way. When you sleep you must lie down. If you stand and sleep, you fall down, may break your leg you know. Anyway that is the body "tingism".

And speech is saying right word. All the prayers, all the chanting, all the mantras they have many levels. Some are just basic words. Some are more kind of key word but anyway all of them are words, the speech "ting ism". It situates the body in a most profound posture and speech in a most profound word. And that is the right way of saying. Naturally you know, if we say to somebody "I respect you", the person feels good, naturally. If you say "I hate you", the person feels bad, naturally. It is the word power. A person sings good song with good voice.  It makes you feel good and calm down, yes? A person sing with bad voice; usually these days it is the fashion, sing with bad voice - like vomiting - like coughing - like crying, you know, and that this makes people feel unbalanced and crazy and feel bad, naturally. That is the way the effect of the sound that saying the right word is the speech "tingism".

And now the third, the mind tingism. This is thinking right. Mind rest in the peace.  Mind rest in the nature, thinking compassion, loving kindness towards the others.  Thinking devotion, faith, trust towards the ultimate truth and which is related with that Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the right thing, the right path, the right guidance. This is the way of body, speech, mind “tingism”, the meditation, the samten. To be able to do this properly, not only when you sit down and meditate, even when you walk, when you work, when you eat, when you cook, when you talk, when you sleep - all the time. Always there is better, way to do it and doing it in a better way, having mindfulness and awareness.  That is the Samten Bardo, the Bardo of Meditation.

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.

2. How to obtain a good life - Luck?

Everybody wants to have a good life. However, until today, how many of us have really achieved this? For those who are already past their sixties, ask frankly to yourself, have you lived the way you wanted?

Many of us may not have lived the way we wanted. Why is this so? There are of course many reasons to this. My many years of searching for the answers has led to me the conclusion that many people believe that they would be able to live the way they wanted if they had better "luck" in their early days.

“LUCK” is what many people believe in. They believe that luck plays an important role in life. They believe that besides being hardworking, honest, the academic qualifications and etc., “luck” is still necessary to make things happened. They quote examples after examples. Some even quoted to me the famous film show “My Fair Lady” in which the song, titled “With a little bit of luck" to justify their claims!

What do you think? Is there such a thing as “luck”? Do you believe in luck?
Here I would like to share with you some of my findings from my travels to many places during these last 10 years of my life. I met people from different parts of the world and from different walks of life. I realize that most people are not sure of what they mean when they say by "being lucky”. Some believe that "luck" just happen by chance. I find that Japanese can interpret the word" luck" with clearer expression.

The Japanese word for “luck” is ”運”(pronounce as “wun”). ”運” can be good or bad. But ”運” is customary followed by another word ”気” (pronounced as “qi”) which means energy. Let me quote here what a Japanese had said to me,"When “運気” goes up, you can attract good luck or fortune. When the “運気” comes down, you'll attract bad luck." This is similar to the Chinese belief that when one’s essence of positive energy “福” becomes strong, life is good. Things go smoothly. Everything is fine. Most Japanese think this way too. Hence, we need to create the causes and conditions for “福” or "運気" to take place in one’s life.

Buddhists believe that we have sown the seeds of both good and bad Karma in our countless past lives. If the seeds of good Karma manifest in this life in abundance, we will have a good life, no doubt about this. But if we lack the “福” in this life, we shall have obstacles. However, we can remove these obstacles. We do this by prayers and merit accumulations.
Buddha has taught many ways to increase our “福” (merit accumulations). Thailand is a Buddhist country. They take the advice of Buddha very seriously. They go to “taan bun” (merit accumulations) whenever and wherever they can.

On 21st Feb. was an important day for the Thais. The day was known as "Makha Bucha" Day. It was the 15th of 1st Lunar Month, a full moon day. It is an auspicious day for both Thais and Chinese. Traditionally, it is the last day to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

The Makha Bucha Day is for merit accumulations. On that day, the Thai Buddhists circled around temples or holy stupas with candles in the evening. (Enclosed here are some of the pictures taken in Wat Phra Sri, Bangkok. Wat Phra Sri is only 20 minutes of walking distance from where I live.) The Makha Bucha Day is a public holiday in Thailand. Millions of Buddhists all over Thailand go to monasteries in the evening to do "wian tian" (candle circling), which is one of the important events in Thai Buddhism.

When we do merit accumulations in this life, it may help to kindle the seeds of merits sown in our past lives. We don't know exactly which kind of good deeds we have done in this life that would help to kindle the seeds of good Karma done in the past lives. Therefore, try to do as many different types of good deeds and as much as possible. There is no such thing as we have done enough good deeds in this life already. If you have such a thought, it boils down to the same thing by saying that "I have enough money already!". I have never heard people saying that they had enough money already. But I always heard people saying, "I have done enough merit accumulations already!"

This is the mistake many people made. Like money, Hock （福）is being used up moment to moment in our life. We transform our Hock （福）in life energy in order to carry on living and dying and living daily, moment to moment in our life. Hock （福） is being destroyed at the moment our defilement (e.g. pride, jealousy, greed, etc... ) appear in our mind. Hock （福）can be decreased and increased moment to moment in our life. So, it's very important to keep on increasing our Hock（福）. Spending some money or efforts to do good deeds are similar to investing in blue chip stocks. There will definitely be good returns in the future.

Merits （福）are accumulated from generosity practices with right motivation (i.e. compassion and loving kindness) . The merits--Hock（福）-- gathered in this way would definitely help to kindle further seeds of merit planted in the past. When abundant seeds of merits ripen in this life, we would definitely have our wishes come true.
For certain, a good and wonderful life is attainable. Some people may think this is just "lucky".

In conclusion, "luck" does not happen by chance or at random. "Luck" is dependent on its own causes and conditions to bloom. We can plant the seeds of these causes and conditions for it to blossom through accumulation of merits--Hock （福）.