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9781590303856

Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth A Tibetan Buddhist Guidebook

by
  • ISBN13:

    9781590303856

  • ISBN10:

    1590303857

  • Format: Paperback
  • Copyright: 2006-12-12
  • Publisher: Shambhala
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Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

Summary

Listen to an audio excerpt online in MP3 formatclick here. Buddhist teachings on facing death with openness and insight, from the author of The Healing Power of Mindnow in paperback with a CD of guided instructions by the author. Buddhism teaches that death can be a springboard to enlightenmentyet for all but the most advanced meditators, it will be the gateway to countless future lives of suffering in samsara. Tulku Thondup wrote this guide to help us heal our fear and confusion about death and strengthen our practice in anticipation of this transition, and to help us realize the enlightened goal of ultimate peace and joynot only for death and rebirth, but for this very lifetime. In simple language, he distills a vast range of sources, including scriptures, classic commentaries, oral teachings, and firsthand accounts. The book includes: A CD of guided meditations An overview of the dying process, the after-death bardo states, and teachings on why, where, and how we take rebirth Accounts by Tibetan "near-death experiencers" (delogs), who returned from death with amazing reports of their visions Ways to train our minds during life, so that at death, all the phenomena before us will arise as a world of peace, joy, and enlightenment Simple meditations, prayers, and rituals to benefit the dead and dying Advice for caregivers, helpers, and survivors of the dying The paperback edition includes an audio CD providing guided instructions by the author on how to visualize Amitabha Buddha in the Pure Realm; how to receive his blessings; how to visualize transforming your body into light and sound at the time of death; how to share the blessings with compassion for all sentient beings; and how to rest in oneness. By becoming intimate with this practice while we're alive, we can alleviate our fear of death, improve our appreciation of this life, and prepare for death in a very practical way, while planting the seeds for rebirth in the Pure Land.

Author Biography

Tulku Thondup Rinpoche, an esteemed author and teacher, was born in East Tibet and studied at the famed Dodrupchen Monastery. In 1958 he settled in India, where he taught at Indian universities for many years. He came to the United States in 1980 as a visiting scholar at Harvard University. For the past two decades he has lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, engaging in translation and writing on Tibetan Buddhism, particularly the Nyingma teachings, under the auspices of the Buddhayana Foundation. Among his books are The Healing Power of Mind, which has been published in seventeen languages, and Boundless Healing, in twelve languages.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xv
About This Book xvii
INTRODUCTION: DEATH IS NOT THE END 1(225)
What Happens at Death?
2(1)
Karma, the Natural Law of Causality
3(2)
The Cycle of Life, Death, and Afterdeath
5(1)
Glimpses of the Bardo
6(2)
Taking Rebirth
8(1)
Transforming Our Future
9(3)
Ceremonies for the Dead and Dying
12(2)
The Death of a Great Teacher
14(3)
1. HUMAN LIFE: OUR PRECIOUS DAYS
17(28)
What Is Our Real Nature?
18(3)
Why Meditate?
19(2)
Precious Human Life Is Rare
21(3)
Life Is Impermanent
24(4)
Using Impermanence to Dissolve Negative Emotions
25(3)
Life Is Created by Karmic Causality
28(8)
The Root of Karma Is Grasping at "Self"
30(1)
How Does Karma Form?
30(4)
Going Beyond Karmic Causality
34(1)
Is Life an Illusion?
34(1)
The Importance of Understanding Karma
35(1)
Life Is Full of Miseries
36(5)
Suffering: The First Noble Truth
37(4)
The Great Potential of Life
41(4)
2. DYING: THE CRUCIAL HOUR OF LIFE
45(24)
The Process of Dying
46(7)
The Elements and Energies of the Human Body
46(1)
The Dissolution of the Elements
47(2)
Three Inner Dissolutions
49(2)
What Should We Do When Dying?
51(2)
Delog Accounts of the Experience of Dying
53(14)
Dissolving Energies: The Experience of Karma Wangdzin
54(1)
Make Merits for Me: The Experience of Lingza Chokyi
55(1)
Have the Lords of Death Come to Fetch Me?: The Experience of Denma Sangye Seng-ge
56(2)
Cloudless Sky–Like Luminosity: The Experience of Dagpo Trashi Namgyal
58(1)
Perceptions of Dying: The Experience of Samten Chotso
59(1)
Unique Among Delogs: The Experience of Dawa Drolma
59(2)
Mind Traveling without Hindrance: The Experience of Gyalwa Yungtrung
61(1)
Intrinsic Awareness: The Experience of Tsophu Dorlo
62(1)
Her Wisdom-Mind Became Clear: The Experience of Shugseb Jetsun Lochen
63(1)
The Dark Demon Departs: The Experience of Tagla Konchog Gyaltsen
63(2)
Don't Panic!: The Experience of Changchub Seng-ge
65(2)
Don't Be Afraid—Be Prepared
67(2)
3. THE ULTIMATE NATURE: GLIMPSES OF THE LUMINOSITY
69(16)
The Ultimate Nature Experienced at Death
69(9)
Delog Accounts of the Passage of Ultimate Nature
78(6)
Spontaneously Present Light: The Experience of Lingza Chokyi
78(1)
A Bodiless Body of Light: The Experience of Dagpo Trashi Namgyal
79(1)
Visions of Ultimate Nature: The Experience of Tsophu Dorlo
79(1)
In the Womb of a Body of Light: The Experience of Samten Chotso
80(1)
Instructions to Helpers: The Experience of Changchub Seng-ge
81(1)
A Supremely Blissful State: The Experience of Dawa Drolma
82(1)
A Feeling of Sadness: The Experience of Karma Wangdzin
83(1)
Our Sublime Potential
84(1)
4. THE BARDO: THE MOMENTOUS TRANSITIONAL PASSAGE
85(11)
Experiences of the Bardo
86(2)
The Court of Judgment and Verdict
88(2)
Hints of the Rebirth Awaiting Us
90(1)
What Should We Do in the Bardo?
91(3)
Our Future Journey
94(2)
5. TALES OF THE BARDO: AFTERDEATH EXPERIENCES OF TIBETAN DELOGS
96(72)
Let Her Remember All That She Sees: The Experience of Lingza Chokyi
97(14)
What Judgments Await Me?: The Experience of Karma Wangdzin
111(57)
No Fear of the Foes: The Experience of Denma Sangye Seng-ge
128(5)
Visits to the Eighteen Hell Realms: The Experience of Tagla Konchog Gyaltsen
133(4)
Distracted into Delusion: The Experience of Dagpo Trashi Namgyal
137(2)
Crossing the Field of the Dead: The Experience of Gyalwa Yungtrung
139(4)
Purified by Streams of Nectar: The Experience of Samten Chotso
143(2)
Don't Be Discouraged: The Experience of Changchub Seng-ge
145(2)
Hell Is the Unexcelled Pure Land: The Experience of Tsophu Dorlo
147(4)
Form Inseparable from Wisdom: The Experience of Dawa Drolma
151(4)
Let Everyone Be Liberated: The Experience of Shugseb Jetsun Lochen
155(8)
Nothing to Accept or Reject: The Experience of Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje
163(5)
6. REBIRTH: THE INELUCTABLE KARMIC CYCLE
168(16)
Liberation or Rebirth?
170(1)
The Causes of Rebirth
171(3)
The Six Realms of Worldly Existence
174(1)
Six Emotions: The Seeds of Rebirth in the Six Realms
175(3)
Choosing Your Next Rebirth Could Be in Your Hands
178(6)
Blocking the Wrong Birthplaces
178(3)
Choosing the Right Birthplace
181(3)
7. THE BUDDHA OF INFINITE LIGHT AND HIS BLISSFUL PURE LAND
184(12)
Sources of the Pure Land Tradition
185(1)
The Three Aspects of the Pure Land
185(1)
The Power of the Buddha's Vows
186(2)
The Power of the Buddha's Name
188(1)
What Is the Pure Land Like?
189(2)
The Buddha of Infinite Light and His Disciples
191(3)
Rebirth in the Blissful Pure Land
194(2)
8. HOW TO HELP THE DYING AND THE DEAD
196(15)
Maintaining Positive Thoughts and Behavior
196(2)
Performing Prayers and Rituals
198(1)
Making Merits
198(2)
Buddhist Rituals for Non-Buddhists
200(1)
Universal Meditation for All
201(1)
Instructions for Buddhists and Those Open to Buddhism
202(2)
Meditations for Buddhists and Other Meditators
204(3)
Meditation for Highly Trained Helpers
205(1)
Instruction for Helpers of Dying Meditators
206(1)
In Helping Others, We Help Ourselves
207(1)
Some Important Observances
207(4)
9. RITUAL SERVICES FOR THE DYING AND THE DEAD
211(15)
The Tradition of Death Rituals
212(1)
Religious Services for the Dying
212(5)
Purification
213(2)
Merit Making
215(1)
Empowerments
215(1)
Dedication and Aspiration Prayers
216(1)
Religious Services at the Time of Death
217(3)
Instructions for Ordinary People
217(2)
Instructions and Death Services for Accomplished Meditators
219(1)
Religious Services after Death
220(9)
A Summary of the Thirteen-Step Death Ritual
221(3)
Other Ceremonies
224(2)
10. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS 226(55)
APPENDIXES: SOME SIMPLE BUDDHIST DEATH RITUALS
229(2)
APPENDIX A. MEDITATIONS ON THE FOUR CAUSES OF TAKING REBIRTH IN THE BLISSFUL PURE LAND
231(17)
Preliminary Practices
235(1)
Going for Refuge
235(1)
Developing Enlightened Attitude (Bodhichitta)
236(1)
The Four Causes of Taking Rebirth in the Blissful Pure Land
236(6)
The First Cause: Remembering the Pure Land
236(2)
The Second Cause: Accumulation of Merits
238(1)
The Third Cause: Developing Enlightened Attitude
239(1)
The Fourth Cause: Dedication and Aspiration
239(1)
The Liturgies of the Four Causes
240(2)
The Mantra and the Name-Prayers
242(2)
The Mantra of the Buddha of Infinite Light
242(1)
Name-Prayers to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas
243(1)
Concluding Practice: Dedication and Aspiration Prayer
244(4)
APPENDIX B. EIGHT ESOTERIC BUDDHIST RITUALS FOR THE DYING AND THE DEAD
248(33)
Introduction to the Eight Rituals
248(3)
The Performance of the Eight Rituals
251(1)
Preliminary Practices
252(1)
Going for Refuge
252(1)
Developing Enlightened Attitude (Bodhichitta)
252(1)
Visualization and Contemplation of Oneself as the Buddha of Compassion
253(4)
The Mantra of the Buddha of Compassion
255(1)
Making Offerings to the Buddha of Compassion
255(1)
Offering of Praise to the Buddha of Compassion
256(1)
Aspiration Prayer
256(1)
Summoning the Consciousness of the Deceased and Giving Teachings
257(2)
The Sur Offering to the Deceased
259(4)
Dharma Instructions to the Deceased
263(2)
The Meditation and Prayers of Phowa: Transference of Consciousness to the Blissful Pure Land
265(2)
Meditation
267(3)
Prayers
270(2)
Chanting the Name-Prayers to the Buddha and Bodhisattva
272(1)
The Main Meditation of Phowa
273(2)
Prayer and Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life
275(1)
Cremation of the Effigy
276(2)
Dedication and Aspiration Prayer
278(3)
Notes 281(10)
Glossary 291(12)
References: Sources Cited and Key to Abbreviations 303(8)
Index 311

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