Hospice Handouts on the Tibetan Buddhist Teaching of Death & Dying
Rebirth & the Six Realms of Existence
Amongst the other key teachings that inform the Buddhist perspective is that
of rebirth. The Buddha taught that we are born and reborn many times and that
there are six realms of existence into which we can be reborn. These are the
hell worlds, the realm of 'hungry ghosts', the animal realm, the human realm,
the realm of jealous gods and the god realms. None of these worlds are satisfactory,
though some are worse than others. All of these realms may be viewed as psychological
mindsets or states of experience based on afflicitve emotions. Pride manifests
as the god realm; jealousy as the demi-god realm; ignorance as the animal realm;
attachment or desire as the human realm; greed as the hungry ghost realm; anger
or aversion as the hell realms.
The world of hell-beings, hungry ghosts and animals are worlds where suffering
and ignorance are the most acute. There are 18 hells, some of them hot, some
cold, others “crushing” or otherwise torturous. In the world of
the jealous gods there is power but no peace. Even the world of gods - though
pleasurable and long-lasting - will bring no ultimate satisfaction because
it, too, ends in a long and lonely death.
According to Buddhism, the best rebirth is that of a human being as it offers the best opportunity for gaining enlightenment. In the heavenly world [god realm], the gods are too absorbed in pleasure to make the necessary effort for spiritual realization. The other realms offer few opportunities for good actions and spiritual advancement. The human realm, however, has a certain degree of dissatisfaction coupled with opportunities for good action and spiritual practice.
Unlike the perspective of the Indian religious tradition of his time, the Buddha did not espouse the idea that a permanent self or soul transmigrates from birth to birth. The Buddhist perspective is that the self is an insubstantial, impermanent collection of interacting factors rather than something fixed and stable. One analogy that is used is to describe the move from life to life as a flame that is transferred from candle to candle. Though there is continuity from one flame to the next, the flame is constantly changing. Most Vajrayana Buddhists today believe in some form of rebirth. A teacher who consciously chooses rebirth in order to return to help others is called a “tulku.” The Dalai Lama would be an example of a tulku.
The realm into which we are born depends on our actions. Good actions lead to happy states; bad actions lead to unhappy ones. For example, a generous heart is said to lead to wealth and prosperity. A life that is lived well will result in a good death and a good rebirth, probably human. A life of cruelty and/or hatred will result in a rebirth in one of the lower realms.
This 'wandering' from birth to birth within these six realms is known as samsara. The ultimate goal is to escape from this cycle of birth and death to Nirvana, a state of ultimate bliss, rather than a heavenly realm which, as described before, offers no lasting satisfaction. The moment of death offers an intense opportunity to wake up, especially if one has trained for it during through meditation and other practices.
THE SIX BARDOS
Because of the popularity of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, people usually associate the word bardo with death. It is true that "bardo" is used in everyday speech among Tibetans for the intermediate state between death and rebirth, but it has a much wider and deeper meaning.
We can divide the whole of our existence into four realities: life, dying
and death, after-death, and rebirth. These are the Four Bardos:
• the "natural" bardo of this life
• the "painful" bardo of dying
• the "luminous" bardo of dharmata
• the "karmic bardo of becoming
1. The natural bardo of this life spans the entire period between birth and death. In our present state of knowledge, this may seen more than just a bardo, a transition. But if we think about it, it will become clear that, compared to the enormous length and duration of our karmic history, the time we spend in this life is I face relatively short. The teachings tell us emphatically that the bardo of this life is the only, and therefore the best, time to prepare for death by coming familiar with the teachings and stabilizing the practice.
2. The painful bardo of dying lasts from the beginning of the process of dying right up until the end of what is known a the “inner respiration”; this, in turn, culminates in the dawning of the nature of mind, what we call the “Ground Luminosity” at the moment of death.
3. The luminous bardo of dharmata encompasses the after-death experience of the radiance of the nature of mind, the luminosity or “Clear Light, which manifests as sound, color and light.
4. The karmic bardo of becoming is what we generally call the Bardo or intermediate state, which lasts right up until the moment we take rebirth.
What distinguishes and defines each of the bardos is that they are all gaps
or periods in which the possibility of awakening is particularly present. Opportunities
for liberation are occurring continuously and uninterruptedly throughout life
and death, and the bardo teachings are the key or tool that enables us to discover
ad recognize them, and to make the fullest possible use of them.
…
5. & 6.Two other bardos are included within the natural bardo of this life:
the bardo of sleep and dream, and the bardo of meditation. These two are added
to the Four Bardos to make a series of Six Bardos.
from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, HarperCollins 1994
The Process of Dying: excerpts from The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche
The outer dissolution is when the senses and elements dissolve. How exactly
will we experience this when we die?
The first thing we may be aware of is how our senses cease to function. If
people around our bed a talking, there will come a point where we can hear
the sound of the voices but we cannot make out the words. This mean that the
ear consciousness has ceased to function. We look at an object in front of
us, and we only see the outline, not its details. This means that the eye consciousness
has failed. And the same happens with our faculties of smell, taste, and touch.
When the senses are no longer fully experienced, it marks the first phase of
the dissolution process.
The next four phases follow the dissolution of the elements:
Earth
Our body begins to lose all its strength. We are drained of any energy. We
cannot get up, stay upright, or hold anything. . . .As the aggregate of form
is dissolving, we become weak and frail. Our mind is agitated and delirious,
but then sinks into drowsiness. . . . .These are signs that the earth element
is withdrawing into the water element. . . . The “secret sign” that
appears in the mind is a vision of a shimmering mirage.
Water
We begin to lose control of our bodily fluids. . . Our mind becomes hazy, frustrated,
irritable and nervous. . . . The water element is dissolving into fire, which
is taking over in its ability to support consciousness. So the “secret
sign” is a vision of a haze with swirling wisps of smoke.
Fire
Our mouth and nose dry up completely. All the warmth of our body begin to seep
away, usually from the feet and hands toward the heart. We can no longer eat
or digest anything. . . .We can no longer recognize the people around us. .
. .The fire element is dissolving into air, and becoming less able to function
as a base for consciousness, while the ability of the air element to do so
is more apparent. So the secret sign is of shimmering red sparks dancing above
an open fire, like fireflies.
Air
It becomes hard and harder to breathe. The air seems to be escaping though
our throat. We begin to rasp and pant. . . We begin to hallucinate and have
visions. If there has been a lot of negativity in our lives, we may see terrifying
forms. Haunting and dreadful moment of our lives are replayed, and we may even
try to cry out in terror. If we’ve led lives of kindness and compassion,
we may experience blissful, heavenly vision, and “meet” loving
friends or enlightened beings. For those who have led good lives, there is
peace in death instead of fear.
The internal experience for the dying individual is of a great wind sweeping
away the whole world, including the dying person, an incredible maelstrom of
wind, consuming the entire universe. What is happening is that the air element
is dissolving into consciousness.
Our inbreaths continue to be more and more shallow, and our outbreaths longer.
At this point blood gathers and enters the “channel of life” in
the center of our hearts. Three drops of blood collect, one after the other,
causing three long, final outbreaths. Then, suddenly, our breathing ceases.
Just a slight warmth remains in our heart. All vial signs are gone, and this
is the point where in a modern clinical situation we would be certified as “dead.” But
Tibetan masters talk of an internal process that still continues.
The Inner Dissolution: where the gross and subtle thought state and emotions
dissolve, four increasingly subtle levels of consciousness are to be encountered.
. . . .
This is followed by the death of the afflictive emotions collected over a lifetime & entry
into “Clear Light” or ground of being. Trained practitioners are
able to stay in this state and find liberation. With others it goes by without
being recognized.
Dissolution of Elements at the Moment of Death
Robert Thurman from “The Art of Dying” Conference 2000 Tibet House,
NYC
http://www.pbs.org/witheyesopen/afterlife_counsel_thurman.html
Gives meditation exercisesfor the process of dissolution during death from Tibetan Buddhism. It is thought that such preparation for death gives the dying person the greatest opportunity to maximize the potential for enlightenment while dying and to attain a positive rebirth so that one may continue to work towards enlightenment in future lives. The meditation is to be done during regular meditation sessions, and it can also be applied to the processes of falling asleep and wakening.
Robert Thurman's Recommended Reading:
Levine, Steven and Levine, Ondrea. "Who
Dies?: An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying."
Anchor,
1989.
Steven Levine is the longest term veteran of work with the dying. His
meditations are sophisticated and his approach is not dogmatic.
Longaker, Christine. "Facing Death and Finding Hope: A Guide to the Emotional
and Spiritual Care of the Dying."
Doubleday, 1998
This is a practical
and useful book.
Rinpoche, Sogyal. "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying."
Harper
San Francisco, 1994.
This is an accessible digest of healthy Tibetan attitudes
about death that is filled with anecdotes and colorful teachings.
Singh, Kathleen Dowling. "The Grace in Dying."
Harper San Francisco,
2000.
Kathleen Singh has genuine experience with the dying and she considers
the importance of the individual's spiritual life and image of the afterlife
in the process of dying.
Thurman, Robert and Wise, Tad. "Circling the Sacred Mountain: A Spiritual
Adventure Through the Himalayas."
Bantam Doubleday Dell, 2000.
This
book gives an overview of the Tibetan vision of life, human evolution over
numerous lifetimes, and the value of controlled transitions from one state
of consciousness to the next.
Thurman, Robert. "The Tibetan Book of the Dead."
Bantam, 1994.
This
is an excellent source of information about the Tibetan view of death and beyond.