living is dying

241 Pages·2017·3.99 MB·English

LIVING
IS
DYING
How to Prepare for
Dying, Death and Beyond
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
Living Is Dying
How to Prepare for Dying,
Death and Beyond
Cover Illustration:
Hungry Ghosts Scroll, Kyoto National Museum, Japan
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It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not
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For full details, see the Creative Commons license.
Contents

Will I Die? 5
Preparation for Death and Beyond 25
Simple Practices to Prepare for Death 45
How Buddhists Prepare for Death 51
Aspiration Practice 59
The Painful Bardo of Dying 73
Questions About Death 97
How to Be with the Dying 105
What to Say to a Dying Person 117
The Bardo Instructions 127
Questions About Caring for the Dying and the Dead 145
What to Do After Death 161
Questions About Practices for the Dead 173
Questions About Other Aspects of Death 177
For Tantrikas 189
Prayers and Practices 195
How to Practice Tonglen 195
Chutor: Water Ofering 199
Increasing Life and Prosperity: A Method for Freeing Lives 203
Tagdrol: ‘Liberation Through Wearing’ 215
How to Make Tsatsas 221
Preface
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Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.
Haruki Murakami
The insTrucTions given to Buddhists during the process of
dying, at the moment of death and after death are the same
whether a person dies peacefully in their sleep at a ripe old age
or unexpectedly because the causes and conditions that lead to
sudden death have matured.
The information about dying, death and beyond that appears
in this book is a very simple presentation of one specifc and ancient
tradition of Buddhist teachings. Although many other authentic
Buddhist traditions ofer essentially the same advice, as each has
developed its own terminology and language, some details may
appear to be diferent. Please don’t misinterpret these variations
as contradictions.
These teachings about death and the bardos have been passed
down through a long lineage of brilliant Buddhist thinkers, each
of whom went to great lengths in order to examine the process in
minute detail and from every angle. Their advice may be especially
useful for Buddhists or those attracted to the Buddha’s teachings,
but it is equally relevant for anyone who will eventually die. So
even if you are not a Buddhist, if you are open-minded, curious
or contemplating your own death or that of a loved one, you may
well fnd something in these pages that will help.
Everything that happens to us in life and death depends
entirely on the causes and conditions that we have accumulated.
Each person will therefore experience physical death and the
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L I V I N G I S D Y I N G
dissolution of the body’s elements quite diferently. Each of our
ueor jn y s t u h g o r h t eh ab o sdr w i l l a l s o b e eu .u qn i S o a yn a dn
a l l n stoe d p i s c r i fo y d i n g , edt a h a dn t eh ab o sd r c a n n yol e re v b e
re a gn e l i z n s t a o .i Nere v t e e l s h s , newh t eh ocr e p s s fo y d i n g be g i n s ,
hv a i n g e ne v a u go r h e d ai t ua b o w h ta i s pn eh p ia n g t o n n yol g o e s a
n go l ywa w a o t d r s a l yl a i n g u o r r s to w ef a r s , t u b t i w i l l a l s o pel h u s
f a c e e dt a h c a l m yl a d n tw i h u e a q . n i t m i y
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o T es o t h f o u o y o h w t a ek ce t i o n f o hc u s t ae ,id sl I du l o h s y as a
d r o w t u o b a et h t n e t s i s n c o n i eu s f o S tak sn i r lgelni p s da n c sti i r c d a i
ni t hsi k. o o b , ua s y l l U n e h w S tak sn i r e a psr p a ni a m n oR sr e a h c c t a r
instead of the Devanāgarī script, diacritics are used to help the
redea r ce u n o n o r p ds r o w . yct e l r r c o es T h ,ys d a a s eth ydt us f o
S tak sn i r si yle v t i a l e r ,ear r re e w f da n re e w f f o us ea r e l b a o t dea r
c sti i r c d a i ,d a n r o f ,e m o s et h e r e m t gih s f o a ll es o t h egus i g l q s da n
ts o d ds d a te y r e t h o a n le e v l f o .n o n f i u c o s Dc sti i r c a i e v ah e r o f e r e t h
t o n n ee b de li p p a o t et h S tak sn i r smr e t tt a h e a pr p a ni et h a m ni y d o b
f o et h ext t r o ot et h esa n m f o es t i i e d da n t d t o a h b s i a,v s , c. t e t u b
e m o s e v ah nee b det ae ni r ni de t o u q ext . st S , y ilmi a l r e r e h w de t o u q
e x tst e v a h de d u l c n i et s t- a e l b y n i T lgsel n i p s f o S tak sn i r – r o f e l pe x a m
hung inset a d fo hum – tos eh p es l l i n g s ehv a b e ne e rt a e i d n .
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I ,cn i o r a l y l a u t g o l h h t e h s e d y a s I a m a yw la s s o , u bs y ta e ha r t
I a m uu us n a l yl .la z y r y i n gT ot u g j g el t e h s e t ow e x e t m e sr i s etu q i
a c h a l n e g e ,l wh c hi i s ywh I ed dne pu w t r i i n g cu h m fo t h i s kbo
n o a soc i a l et n k r o i w n g . p pa I f y m E n g l i s h i s ta e l a s t er a ed l a b t i i s
t h a n k s ot a J n ei n Suchl z , Sa ra h K . C . i W l k ,i nn s o C h éi m k ,oe t M
m e a P y M aa a d n Sa ra h A . i W l k i .nn s o
T eh f r a kre o m w fo t h i s kbo w a s ecre t da i n en r s p eos ot a l i s t
fo e na yl r en o u d e n r h d re v y go o d eu n s stq o i t ua b o e d t a h t h ta ere w
g t e a r de h yb va u o sr i d f n e sr i fo m ei .n I u dowl ap r t c u i l a yl r l i k e ot
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P R E F A C E
thank my Chinese friends Jennifer Qi, Jane W. and Dolly V. T.;
Philip Philippou and the Spiritual Care team at Sukhavati in
Bad Saarow, Germany; Chris Whiteside and the Spiritual Care
team at Dzogchen Beara; Miriam Pokora from the Bodhicharya
Hospice in Berlin; and all those who attended the teaching at
Schloss Langenburg.
I would also like to thank Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche, Pema
Chödrön, Khenpo Sonam Tashi, Khenpo Sonam Phuntsok,
Thangtong Tulku and Yann Devorsine for contributing their
expertise; Adam Pearcey, Erik Pema Kunsang, John Canti and
Larry Mermelstein for generously sharing their translations; Jane
W., Chou Su-ching and Vera Ho, Florence Koh, Kris Yao, Paravi
Wongchirachai, Seiko Sakuragi, Rui Faro Saraiva for their help
and advice; Cecile Hohenlohe and her family, Veer Singh and
everyone at Vana for their kind and generous hospitality; Andreas
Schulz for designing and typesetting Living is Dying; and the
artists Arjun Kaicker and Tara di Gesu for contributing their
beautiful pictures.
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