How to Help Those Who Have Died
On the occasion of a student passing away in 2010, Sogyal Rinpoche gave this simple, yet intimate teaching on how to practice the essential phowa, a practice we can do to help those who have died.
In presenting the practice of the essential phowa in Chapter 13 of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche had this to say :
“I want to emphasize that this is a practice that anyone at all can do. It is simple, but it is also the most essential practice we can do to prepare for our own death, and it is the main practice I teach my students for helping their dying friends and relatives, and their loved ones who have already died.”
This teaching is from Sydney, March 17, 2010.
The Only Thing we Really Have…
“What is our life but this dance of transient forms? Isn’t everything always changing: the leaves on the trees in the park, the light in your room as you read this, the seasons, the weather, the time of day, the people passing you in the street? And what about us? Doesn’t everything we have done in the past seem like a dream now? Read More
In the Summer of 1994…
Steve
Steve Ives, from the United States writes: “In the summer of 1994 I was remodeling a house in the south hills of Eugene, Oregon. Read More
I Stopped Fearing Death
For the 2002 edition of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Geney Jones from New South Wales, Australia, wrote: Twelve years ago my husband died suddenly in a car accident. He was only thirty-five, and I was left with three children to raise. Read More
A Light in the Darkness
Emily Horning from Sweden writes: “In the beginning of 2006, I received the feared diagnosis that I would be loosing what was left of my sight within a very short period of time. Other traumas were pressing down, and I succumbed to depression. Lying on the hardwood floor, surrounded by the thick Scandinavian darkness, especially abundant in Sweden that time of year, I pleaded the question “Haven’t I suffered enough? Please help me!” I didn’t know who, where, or if this request would fall on receptive ears.
Shortly thereafter, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying dropped into my lap. This book is for those who truly wish to wake up. It is hard to refer to it as a book, as it seems more like a mirror reflecting truths we just need to uncover. When I first started to read the text, it felt as if a voice was resonating deep within. These were not facts or information, but a revealing of innate qualities that were hidden. With many a page turn, tears ran, and often it felt like my inner core kept saying “Of course!”. The prose was direct, humorous, and simply poetic. The compilation of stories, poems, and anecdotes crossed cultures and eras, serving to validate these realizations and opening the thought that others had gone before.
I felt clarity, immense gratitude, and a longing to realize the possibilities presented in the book. My heart was singing and devotion welled up in me. Devotion to all the Compassionate teachers, who generously transmitted down to Sogyal Rinpoche, this wisdom so that this humble being might encounter such a precious jewel. It quickly became a dream to one day meet the author, whom I revere as a sacred teacher. This dream came true in Berlin, 2012.”
Sogyal Rinpoche teaching in Berlin, May 2012
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