笑看风云？(Laughing while seeing the flittering moments?)

In early October 2013, there was news of a well-known, a Tibetan Buddhist Lama from Britain, passed away suddenly with the other two people accompanying him while at Chengdu, China for his charitable works:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10368123/Choje-Akong-Rinpoche.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-24497759 (accessed, 18/10/2013)

Within the week of the news, I had read the English news at WWW, mandarin news and 'miniwave' (微博), website of the related organizations, FB etc.... - in my heart i had much doubts of the news as there were different 'versions' being reported at different days on the 4W (who, what, when, why, except 'where') ... Even the conclusion from the 'investigation of the authority and its related news lately seems 'simplistic' to people who think, not just merely believing! I was like trying to listen to the 'silence voice' in the winds - be calm, reflecting on the Law of Karma, watch your own mind,...etc.etc. Well, what else could the related people to the death do restricted by laws made by human beings? Further, what else could those concerned 'viewers' do except doing religious prayers and dedicate the merits to the deceased, or even to write 'RIP' in social network sites, or words of condolences? Sometimes, if i happened to read tragic news of untimely death, i wonder 'what if this person is my loved one?' - despite the spiritual practicing for years, i think i would be very sad...

Seeing people around and across through many lenses directly and indirectly, many times these happenings made me sad: can we escape impermanence and 'death'? - May be we could only trying to do good and avoid wrong doings (evils) and let it be? It is difficult to cultivate the 'Right Understanding' / 'Right Views' when our conditional existence have 'formed' us in life developments?

so what? our physical body still dissolves... or even stop functioning suddenly without prior announcement...

May our wisdom and compassion growth with cultivation of our mind...

Impure Perceptions (2) - so far yet so near

In these nearly four years involving in the Dharma works of my Buddhist Master, Kunde Rinpoche la, my observations on what had been happening to people, may also reflects my own insecurity in similar ways (if...).
We think we 'should' or expected to live such and such years of age before our physical body 'declared death' by a conventional medical practitioner, including 'coma' state of existence. The teachings of the Buddha on "All conditioned things are impermanent",  rarely struck us unless some kind of 'trauma' or 'unexpected things' had happened, may be. Some people even viewed it as 'negative' in worldly sense, even though it is an unchanging truth. In a few chats with Kunde Rinpoche la about 'life and death' especially when i found the description of Part III of his published book in 2011* inconceivable to our rational mind - the chats had flashes some light to my insecurity: the 'Intermediate State' (according to Tibetan Buddhism, the gap of the consciousness of the deceased body and the next rebirth into any of the Six Realms of existence ever happened) is the 'timing' for Liberation! - if we could recognize the radiance and the imagery energies?!

But the whole of our life has been programmed from birth, aging, sickness and death (even though, sometime and many times, it may not happened in that linear cycle!). From child, teenage, adult, senior to old age. Upon growing up, get schooling, work etc: we spend time feeding our physical needs, psychological needs, trying to maintain our health etc. Even spiritual practice could be 'once a year' event..., or when our normal life  cycle 'rocked' by the unexpected? - are we prepared to die? that was my doubt in my mind when i heard of untimely deaths of people in many ways. Last two years, when i walked with my interview participants of  their experiences handling physical disease called ' diagnosed cancer', i could felt their pain deeply though as a researcher at that time, i was supposed to be 'neutral' and 'alienated', at least not emotionally involved - they had taught me the most precious lessons on life, though only a handful had courageously consented to my study. In this technology and medically advanced age, i see the stages had reversed: birth, sickness; and death may arrive without aging (old age)!

Before i penned off this taboo topic in my mind, i would like to share this beautiful prose** from Kunde Rinpoche for personal reflection:
"Not knowing the time of death, your life force continues to exhaust,
When you wander alone in the intermediate state,
You will see self-manifested and multifarious reflections of emptiness.

Not knowing that they are the peaceful and wrathful deities,
You will be terrified and awed, and thereby get stuck in the swamp of samsara.
Hence, if you do not immediately put effort into the sublime Dharma,
When these appearances arise in the intermediate state,
Whom are you going to count on?
......"**
May All Beings be Happy, May All Beings Realized the Truth and be Peaceful.

*A  Garland of Flowers: Questions and Answers on the Highly Secret Clear Light Great Perfection / Kunde Rinpoche; translated by Geshe Lhakdor and Dr. Chok Tenzin Monlam. (ISBN: 978-967-10552-0-5).pp.72-106.
**ibid - pp.107, par.1-2

与善知识对话(3):生与死之迷 [Dialogue with my Spiritual Friend (3):Myth of Life & Death]

posted by sonam yeshi

与善知识对话 (3)： 生与死之迷

(贡德仁波切上师言教)

因缘：2013年2月1日. 将近华人农历新年， 有一位佛友的一位兄长往生。此佛友曾为亲友对佛法僧行佈施，接下佛缘。有人说：‘华人新年就到来，许多人避忌白事而缺席…‘.

弟子问上师：不知上师对此习俗有何教导？

贡德仁波切：在藏传佛教里，一个人往生是‘吉祥事情', 因为此时（中阴界）是解脱六道轮回之时（因缘具足），亲友都会前来参与超度仪轨。反之，参加喜宴是尽量避忌，因为此后是轮回的再轮转！

弟子：谢谢上师三日来为佛友之兄诵经文及观持頗瓦作超度仪轨， 并于火化葬礼里及翌日以佛教仪轨为往者及亲人结佛缘，给予佛友及至亲们心灵开导，以及佛法之甘露解开一些生与死之迷， 阿弥陀佛！

注: ()之文字纯属笔者个人注入以求了义更清晰。

 【translation】

Dialogue with my Spiritual Friend (3):Myth of Life & Death

(Oral Teachings from Kunde Rinpoche)

Preamble: on 1^st Feb. 2013, the day closing to the Lunar New Year, a Buddhist friend’s brother passed away. This friend had been making connections for her closed relatives with the Guru and the Three Jewels by generously supported the dharma works. Someone said that ‘the Chinese New Year is around the corner, thus many people avoid this nature of taboo event…’

Thus this student requested to her Buddhist Master:

Student: Kunde Rinpoche la, this is the cultural belief on death during festive season, may you enlighten us?

Kunde Rinpoche: In Tibetan Buddhism, a person passed away was regarded as ‘blessed’, because the Bardo Teaching considered this state (Intermediate) is possible to liberate from the Six Realms of Samsara Existence (with auspicious connected conditions),relatives & friends would attend the special liberation prayer ceremony. Contrary, attending wedding gathering is more hesitated for them, it is because the event reflects the beginning of Samsara existence!

Student: Thank You to Master having performed the Buddhist prayers & Phowa for the deceased during these three days, thus making connection for the departed & his relatives, giving this friend & relatives peace of mind teachings & the Dharma dews that answered the myths of Life & Death, Amitabha!

p.s.: wordings in () are meant to clarify the meaning of the spoken words.

Thus have i heard...

(any errors or mistakes herein are not intentional by the translator and its transliteration, please notify the writer)

Email from a friend - A reflection (2)

Posted on 25 February 2012


As i was reflecting on this earlier post which i had just amended for clarity, also i recall sometime ago, another friend email me:
"... I went to library this morning after having a discussion with xxx [o] regarding my thesis. After going through the book of A Garland of Flowers: Questions &Answers on the Highly Secret Clear Light Great Perfection, answers of Question 8 really captured my attention*:


Q: How should one mediate on death and impermanence?
A: When you die, you have no choice but to wander all alone on the great path of your future life without a single companion.
........
Regards
xxx


Note:
 o= [omission]. Though this email content is published with permission (email communication 25 Nov 2011) from the friend, the omission is done with good intention.
*p.22 - Book Title: A Garland of Flowers: Questions &Answers on the Highly Secret Clear Light Great Perfection / H.E. Kunde Rinpoche; Translated by Geshe Lhakdor and Dr. Chok Tenzin Monlam [ISBN: 978-967-10552-0-5], 2011.

I am thankful to this friend, though he said himself not knowing much of Buddha's teachings, his refelctive manner in reading has reminded me 'Wisdom arises through reflecting on the Buddha's teachings' 思慧.  I have much to learn from him - Thanks a lot, my Friend.

Tashi Delek 吉祥如意