In the world, life and death are the most important.
But the world does not cherish it when it is born, it is profligate, selfish, tyrannical, and greedy; when it faces death, it covets the world and fears death.
Death is terrible, but death is the beginning of another chapter of life.
At the age of 7, the author witnessed the death of a loved one. "Santen's death shook me."
Practice can accept death, and suffering can deeply purify the mind. Practitioners can treat death like palms of their hands and guide the dying person precisely.
Cultivation has become the author's lifelong study. He devoted his life to practice and transmission. Practice in life, and life embodies the great wisdom of the bits and pieces after practicing enlightenment.
A trickle of water merges into the sea, and a little starlight lights up the Milky Way
Thus came the Book of Tibetan Life and Death. The book is 310,000 words long and has been printed 32 times since its publication in 2011.
The wisdom of the Dharma is profound, vast, bright, and powerful. This book has influenced and saved countless people. It has become an indispensable nourishment for the human spirit.
You may be a little unfamiliar with "reincarnation." Here I will explain it in a small way. Buddhism: After a person dies, the soul is reincarnated into a person.
The author of this book, Sogya Rinpoche, was born in Tibet in 1948. He is the reincarnation of Toton Sog, the teacher of the 13th Dalai Lama.
The author is deeply influenced by the true transmission of Guru Jiang Yang Khyentse, Tun Chu Rinpoche. I have an unshakable faith in the Dharma and an unparalleled loyalty to my guru.
In 1971, he went to the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom to study, and began to teach the Fa in 1974.
Life is impermanent. In Tibet, there are masters who, when they go to bed at night, will put the cup upside down, and the cup will be placed on the side of the bed with the mouth facing down.
They were never sure if they would still be able to use the cup the next day. They even put out the fire at night so that the embers would not burn the next day.
They thought all the time that they might die. Always ready to meet the unexpected arrival of the god of death.
Those who are born will die, those who gather will scatter, those who accumulate will be exhausted, those who stand will fall, and those who are high will fall. It's all laws of nature, uncontrollable, but beyond.
Mental nature is the ability to transcend impermanence and death. Everyone's heart is the same, but there are differences.
The mortal heart is the heart that loves to think, to plan, to desire, to manipulate, and to love rage. The Buddha's mind is the mind of tranquility, of no desire, of no desire, of compassion, of infinite love, of enlightenment.
The book uses a very vivid metaphor: "Our Buddha's mind, surrounded by ordinary minds in a vase, when enlightened, it is like."
The vase is broken, and the inside and the outside are combined into one"
It is difficult for the world to understand the mind because modern civilization confuses people into pursuit. We are almost taught to tell us that everything is unreal except in the world of facial perception, and that the mind is almost completely denied.
The rich are respected and the poor are bullied. Powerful and powerful, high salary has become the ultimate goal of life' pursuit.
The author uses many detailed examples and teachings from the guru. It is a mistake to tell the world that it is not to understand the mind, and the consequences of not examining the mind are very serious.
Bring your heart home. The journey home was arduous, full of countless hardships, temptations and traps. If you don't pay attention, you may regret it for the rest of your life.
Most of the people in the world are ordinary people, and it is difficult to cultivate a pair of fire-eyed golden eyes.
There is a leader who leads you in front, takes you through the ditches and bumps, takes you out of the shadows, walks into the light, and finally gets the heart that is lost.
Gurus such as Jiang Yang Khyentse Rinpoche, Tundrup Rinpoche, Dingguo Khyentse Rinpoche, and so on are all famous monks and great masters in Tibet. He is the teacher of the author's life.
The author compares himself to a tree, with Jiang Yang Khyentse Rinpoche being the sower, Tundrup Rinpoche being the fertilizer, and Dingguo Khyentse Rinpoche being the sharer who allows the fruit to be shared with the world.
"Look inward, don't ask outside." This is the essence of the practice. When there is often introspection and reflection, it is the beginning of understanding the truth of life. Remember a classic sentence said by Confucius: "Three provinces every day, my body, for others and not loyal?" Friends and not convinced? Pass it on without getting used to it? "Since ancient times, the sages have practiced in this way.
In modern society, many ailments and various incurable diseases suddenly emerge, which are actually a kind of warning to remind us of the deep needs of the body and the needs of the spirit.
The heart makes a demand, but we ignore it.
Ask everywhere, ask for help from all kinds of immortals, ask for help from this A A hospital, ask for help from that A A hospital, rush to the hospital, take this medicine and get that injection in a mess, and finally life still goes with countless attachments, countless helplessness, pain and loneliness. The most terrible thing is that you don't know where your heart belongs until you die.
And those patients who are calm, peaceful, joyful, relaxed, are mostly practitioners. Looking inward is their norm. "The saints ask from within, and the world asks from outside." The seekers within are happy to have their sex, and the seekers are happy to have their desires. ”
They practice "meditation" continuously with a focused mind, which is not a bitter pursuit, but a natural integration. They hang their hearts in the void and have nothing to do. Attain a state of no-self, no desire, no-other.
The heart becomes softer and happier. This is the path to enlightenment.
Practice as daily food, and don't think of it as an occasional medicine or treatment.
In real life, it is full of countless sufferings, life and death, love and hate, sorrow and joy.
Occasionally under the influence of a little chicken soup for the soul, you may sigh about life, and then it will not be over.
Many people, many things just after this can't be done, they disappear and fall into the dust.
In Tibet, people use practice as daily food. They know that "the mind has continuity," and they believe in "reincarnation."
The Buddha said, "The present you are made by the past you; the future you are made by the present you."
Padmasambhava further said, "If you want to know your past lives, look at your present situation; if you want to know your future lives, look at your present behavior."
In 2015, I had the opportunity to go to Tibet, and along the way I could see the Tibetans dragging their families and mouths, creeping forward, prostrating their heads step by step, and praying to Lhasa religiously... In their hearts, Lhasa was a holy place where the Buddha lived. It is a place of light, happiness.
To practice oneself every day is to approach one's future self.
Always live in the moment, always face it sincerely.
Only sincere and selfless treatment of all gains and losses. Believe in cause and effect, believe in the law of cause and effect. Only the mind or consciousness can have good changes.
All things in the universe are changing, they are all gathered by causes and conditions, and they are scattered by causes. And the "cause" that drives it is actually "karma."
The Buddha said: Don't ignore the little evils and think that they are useless; even small droplets of water can end up filling the big vessels."
Karma, unlike external objects, withers or fails at any time. It does not disappear due to changes in time, space and distance.
It is like a shadow, and its power will never disappear until it matures. We often say the phrase "It's not that we don't report it, the time is coming." ”
Good luck is the result of good karma; bad luck is the result of bad karma. So at the moment, being a loving, good, and sentient person can turn bad things into good things; on the contrary, good things become bad things
If you sacrifice all the last lives for this life, it is like spending all your savings on a big drink and ignoring the consequences of the next life.
But if we can observe the laws of karma, arouse compassionate kindness in our hearts, purify our minds, awaken mental wisdom, and finally attain enlightenment.
The author says "We don't need temples, we don't need philosophy. Our own mind, our own heart is the temple, and kindness is our philosophy. ”
Death is the path that everyone must take, whether you accept it or not, it will come sooner or later.
Death is the moment of truth, the moment of facing oneself.
As a practitioner in the present moment, in the face of death, you will not be afraid or afraid.
In Tibet, there is a sutra called "Zhongyin Wen Zhi Dedu", which is a travel guide to the realm of death.
The so-called "bardo" refers to the intermediate state between death and regeneration. In this state, it is divided into: the "natural" bardo of this life; the bardo of "suffering" at the end of life; the bardo of dharma "bright light"; and the bardo of "karma" of birth.
The bardo stage is said to be a constant, discouraging state of oscillation between clarity and confusion, confusion and wisdom, certainty and uncertainty, wisdom and madness.
The author devotes many chapters to discussing how to transition and how to liberate this stage.
Finally, it is concluded that if you practice in this lifetime, you will go deeper and deeper into the mind.
The bardo teachings say that "the highest preparation is to attain enlightenment in this lifetime one by one at this time."
At the time of death, all the components of the body and mind will be dispersed, the senses and subtle elements will decompose, followed by the death of the mortal mind, and all the troubles of greed, anger, and delusion will also die. In the end, there is nothing left to obscure the true nature. This true nature is a ball of light, called the light of the heart.
Hospice care is very important. Helping the dying is like reaching out to lift up someone who is about to fall. For your presence brings him light, peace and deep compassion, awakening the power in the dying person's own heart.
Love and compassion have great power.
Open the door of the heart, let love flow from the heart, and extend love to all sentient beings. Great love, great compassion, great compassion is boundless.
Cultivation is a matter of human life. Although the author is a reincarnated practitioner with a high and deep knowledge of the Dharma and has been afraid of death, he has learned the secret of death day by day in his practice.
On August 28, 2019, the author, Sogyal Rinpoche, passed away. The flesh is dead, but the spirit is immortal. This book is a reflection of his soul.
Samsara is your mind, nirvana is your mind; all bitterness and all confusion exist only in your mind.
Purifying confusion and driving away darkness, the brilliant radiance of the sun continues to arise.
Heart, a piece of light.
When we are still alive, we should be responsible for life; when we are still alive, practice well and be a practitioner; when we are still alive, love everyone around you; and when we are still alive, spread kindness to heaven and earth.
Dear, life is still moving forward, grasp the moment, all gains and losses are your opportunities to grow.
Let the light of the heart spread to every corner and shine on everyone. Make you a really useful person.