Wholesome Fear: Transforming Your Anxiety About Impermanence & Death

169 Pages·2010·0.83 MB·English

by  Lama Zopa Rinpoche

buddhism / death & dying w
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“Awonderfulandwelcomebookforthespiritualwell-beingofallwhoreadit.”
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—GelekRimpoche,authorofGoodLife,GoodDeath
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“Thisbookisapowerfulreminderofthegiftofthetruthofimpermanence.
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Itisaveritabletreasureintheliteratureonbeingwith dying.”
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—RoshiJoanHalifax,abbotofUpaya Zen Center ffeeaarr
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ur anxiety around sickness, old age, and death can be transformed m
intoa“wholesomefear”—afearwithapositivequalitythatultimately
enrichesandnourishesourlives.LamaZopaRinpocheshowsushow e
wecanuseouranxietyasahigh-octanefueltoreallylivewhat’smostimportant;
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while Kathleen McDonald presents meditations that integrate these teachings
aswellasleadustopeace,compassion,andjoyforourselvesandothers.Taking e
up these practices wholeheartedly will help us to live well and, when the time a
comesasitinevitablywill,todiewelltoo.It’snevertooearlytostartmakingthis
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mostimportantofefforts—andfortunatelyitisnevertoolate.
“An essentialguideforconfrontingthechallengesarising
fromimpermanenceandtheprocessesofdeathanddying.” L
—Khenpo MigmarTseten,authorofTreasuresoftheSakyaLineage a
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Transforming Your Anxiety
Z
lama zopa rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the o
p about
PreservationoftheMahayanaTradition(FPMT),aworldwidenetworkofBud- a
Impermanence & Death
dhistcentersandmonasteries,clinics,hospices,andschools.Hisbooksinclude R
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HowtoBeHappy,TransformingProblemsintoHappiness,andUltimateHealing. n
p
o
kathleenmcdonaldwasordainedasaTibetanBuddhistnunin1974.She c
h
istheauthorofWisdom’sbestsellingHowtoMeditateanditssequel,Awakening e
theKindHeart:HowtoMeditateonCompassion.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
author of Transforming Problems into Happiness
Wisdom Publications • Boston ISBN978-086171-630-2 US$14.95 and kathleen mcdonald
www.wisdompubs.org author of How to Meditate
ProducedwithEnvironmentalMindfulness
WISDOM
Wholesome Fear

WHOLESOME
fear
Transforming Your Anxiety
about
Impermanence & Death
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
and kathleen m donald
c
Wisdom Publications • Boston
WisdomPublications
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©2010LamaZopaRinpoche
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Wholesomefear:transformingyouranxietyaboutimpermanence&death/
LamaZopaRinpocheandKathleenMcDonald.
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Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN0-86171-630-2(pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Religiouslife—Buddhism.2. Anxiety—Religiousaspects—Buddhism.3.
Death—Religiousaspects—Buddhism. I.McDonald,Kathleen,1952–II.Title.
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2009044737
1413121110
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Table of Contents
Preface ix
Introduction by Kathleen McDonald 1
Wholesome Fear
Section I:Impermanence and Death
TheTruth of Impermanence 23
The Advantages of Remembering Death 26
Death and Dharma 28
The Disadvantages of Not Remembering Death 31
Meditating on Impermanence 33
Section II:Meditation on Death
TheTruth of Impermanence 39
The Nine-Point Meditation on Death 41
TheTruth that Death Is Definite 43
TheTruth that theTime of Death Is Uncertain 45
TheTruth of the Efficacy of the Dharma 48
Ripples on a Lake 51
The Death of the Buddha 52
Remembering the Deaths ofThoseYou’ve Known 53
A Story of Realizing Impermanence 55
TheTime to Practice Is Now 57
The Five Powers 58
vi wholesome fear
Section III:The Process of Dying
Dissolution of the Elements and Aggregates;
Visions at theTime of Death 65
Ordinary Deaths and the Deaths of GreatYogis 69
What GreatYogis Experience at theTime of Death 70
The Intermediate-State Body 72
Section IV:Meditation and Dedications
Die with Bodhichitta 77
Tonglen—The Practice ofTaking and Giving 79
GivingYour Body Away 83
Dedicating Merit 87
Conclusion 88
More Meditations
Kathleen McDonald
Meditation on Impermanence 91
Meditation on the Inevitability of Death 95
Meditation on the Uncertainty of theTime of Death 99
Meditation onWhat Helps at theTime of Death 103
OM AH HUM Purification Meditation 108
Meditation on the Four Opponent Powers 112
Tonglen Using One’s Own Problem 116
Tonglen for Another Person’s Problem 118
Medicine Buddha Meditation 120
Appendixes:How to Begin Meditating Right Now
Advice for Beginners 127
Posture 131
contents vii
Meditation on the Breath 134
Appreciating Our Human Life 139
Common Problems in Meditation 146
Recommended Reading 153
About the Authors 155

Preface
In our busy lives,we may not give much thought to our deaths and,
indeed,wemaybeuncomfortableeventhinkingaboutdeath.Perhaps
we feel it is too depressing and fear that thinking about death will
makeussad;ormaybewefearthatthinkingaboutdeathwilltakeall
thejoyoutofliving.Yetintruth,whenweactivelythinkaboutdeath
and prepare for our own deaths,the opposite actually happens:we
connectmoretothepeace,fulfillment,andhappinessavailableinour
lives.What’s more,our fear of death starts to disappear.
This book contains Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s essential advice for
thetimeofdeathandforfindingthedeepestfulfillmentinlife.Itpro-
vides a plethora of practical advice to prepare for your own death—
starting now! You will also gain knowledge of the heart practices
useful at the time of death,as well as practices that can help others
who are dying.
For those who would like to go further with this material,the
FoundationforthePreservationoftheMahayanaTradition(FPMT)
publishes an expanded version of this book under the title Heart
Advice for Death and Dying.In addition,a companion volume called
HeartPracticesforDeathandDyingofferstraditionalTibetanBuddhist
practices to benefit the dying and the dead.Both are available from
the FPMT at www.fpmt.org/shop.
A book such as this cannot be created without the help of many
people.We extend our deepest thanks toVenerableTenzin Chogkyi