Sharing: Supportive-chanting at end of life

Question:

During the end-of-life supportive-chanting of Amitabha, the deceased's body cannot be moved for eight hours. But in Japan, especially in hospitals, if we perform supportive-chanting when someone has just died, the hospital immediately requires their body to be moved to the mortuary when they die.  What should we do then?

Dharma Master Ding Hong:

…this depends on the merit of the practitioner. If you wish to pass away with ease, have people chant Amitabha for you right after you pass and have no one move your body, then you must cultivate merit right now.

You save this merit to be used at the time of your death. When you cultivate merit, you cannot yet enjoy it. When you enjoy your merits, it is used up. Therefore, you must cultivate strongly, do giving, let go.  At the same time, take suffering as your teacher. Live simply where possible. This way, your merits are preserved. When your end of life comes, you will have no problems.

We encountered the same problem in Hong Kong. Hong Kong law also dictates that once a person dies, the police must be called. If in a hospital, they must be immediately moved to the mortuary.

However, we have also sent off some fellow HK practitioners who had great merit. They notified the police a full 24 hours later.  The police came, took a look, and said, "Okay, let's check the body." After examining the body, it was fine. They did not investigate further.

There was no problem leaving the body there for 24 hours.  They had great merit. At the time of their passing, no karmic creditors came to disturb or interfere with them.

If one passes away in the hospital, it is quite troublesome because the hospital cannot accommodate you, especially if you enter the Intensive Care Unit [ICU]. Once you enter the ICU, your fate is completely handed over to the doctors.  Your family members can't do anything; fellow practitioners can do even less...

I have seen it myself. We once went to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong to do supportive-chanting for a pureland practitioner. Her son didn’t know what to do. His mother had a stroke and he immediately sent her to the hospital.

She was sent to the hospital, fell into a coma and went into the ICU. In the ICU, you mostly go in and only come out when you are dead. They use these machines to prolong your life or extend it for a few days. This is considered fulfilling the medical staff's responsibility of saving life.

How did they prolong her life? They cut open her windpipe and inserted a ventilator tube. Because your nose is no longer working, they insert it directly into the windpipe. They use a machine to help you breathe and they add a pump to the heart.

The entire body is inserted with tubes. There is a tube in the esophagus to pump liquid food into you. Then there are urinary catheters, tubes for feces, and so on. Anyway, you are full of tubes.

Plus, there are the wires and tubes for the monitors. This one is for heartbeats, this one is for breathing. This kind is for blood pressure etc.  Anyway, the person is restrained to the bed. Extremely suffering. Tell me, isn't this being cruel to the patient? This was too terrifying. It was simply hell on earth. You are unable to move a muscle.

When I went in and saw this, my tears just fell. The air conditioning was blowing on her, her clothes were quite bare, she was only covered with a thin blanket. Even normal healthy people would feel... most people would feel freezing cold in this environment.

Anyway, they don't care… as long as the machines are plugged in, it's fine to them. Just a thin layer covering her, her body was freezing cold. You see, it's like this.

Our group went in to chant Amitabha but the hospital wouldn't allow so many people to chant, they only allowed one person. If you came out to go to the toilet, there can't be a second person going in. The visit is considered over. What to do? In the end, everyone sent me in. Before going in, I first went to the restroom…

It was gloomy and eerie inside, as if entering the underworld. In that ICU, it wasn't just her alone; there were other people. Some people, when they woke up, were wailing. It truly sounded like ghosts crying. Going in, I felt my body trembling.

I chanted for her for a long time, but there was no response. I didn't dare to be loud. If it was loud, the medical staff would say, "Don't disturb the others." Because there were several patients together there, I didn't dare to chant loudly. But if I didn't chant loudly, I was afraid she couldn't hear it.

What to do? I thought of a method. I took a piece of paper and rolled it into a tube, placed this at her ear and chanted through it. I chanted softly to avoid getting kicked out. It was truly quite difficult.

Because there were no chairs there, I could only bend over. I couldn't stand too far away… after less than an hour of chanting, my lower back became sore. Finally, I knelt down. Kneeling down, I could at least keep my back straight, then my mouth was exactly level with her ear. So I chanted like this.

In the end, the doctor was touched and brought a stool over for me. Really, that supportive-chanting session was the most grueling in my life…

So it's best if you know it is the end of life to remain at home. You just chant Amitabha right where you are and seek rebirth in Sukhavati. Less suffering, it is okay even if we leave this world a bit earlier…

At home, when you chant Amitabha, your mind is clear. If you chant Amitabha with faith and aspiration to seek rebirth in Sukhavati, Amitabha will definitely come to receive you. If by chance karmic obstacles manifest and you lose consciousness, then faith and aspiration will all be absent.

Of course, that practitioner in Hongkong also lacked sufficient faith and aspiration, which is why she suffered such an outcome. If she had true faith and aspiration, she could have told her children that when her time comes, they must absolutely not send her to the hospital.

Take my mother, for instance… I have her will with me today. Let me read her will to everyone. This is from February 2008…

There are five clauses in total.

“Recalling my entire life, I am grateful to my parents, grateful to my teachers. Grateful to the country and its people, grateful to my siblings and all my friends. I was able to work peacefully until retirement and am able to enjoy a wonderful twilight years. Grateful to all sentient beings. Especially grateful to Venerable Master for teaching us to learn traditional culture and understand Buddhism and Pureland practice. At the time of departing this world, let me affectionately say: Thank you, everyone.”

This is the first clause.

“What makes me satisfied is that my thirty years of effort in raising my son were not in vain. My only child, my son Zhong Maosen, has allowed me to become the mother of a PhD and the mother of a professor. What comforts me even more is that my son has embarked on the path of learning from the past sages and propagating the teachings of the sages. I hope Maosen will diligently study and promote the traditional cultures of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Delve deeply into teachings, continuously teach, and follow the teachings of the sages. Cultivate moral character, manage the family, govern the state, bring peace to the world, benefit society and the people, and seek rebirth in the Pure Land.”

This is an expectation she has for me.

“In my later years, I personally studied the Buddhist Pure Land sutras, and resolved to chant Amitabha to seek rebirth in Sukhavati. I hope my son, Zhong Maosen, will preside over my end-of-life matters and affairs after my passing. I also hope relatives, friends, and fellow practitioners will chant Amitabha for me for twenty-four hours during my final moments, and escort me to be reborn in Sukhavati.

“My body should only be moved twenty-four hours after passing away. This is very important. If, due to old age I suffer an illness, no matter at what time or place, absolutely do not send me to the hospital. Even more so, do not attempt resuscitation or life-support. Please immediately chant Amitabha for me.”

My mother is really smart.

Below it says, “If my lifespan has not yet ended, I will receive the Buddha's blessing and recover. If my lifespan has ended, I can pass away amidst the chanting of Amitabha’s name. Absolutely do not, under any circumstance, send me to the hospital. Chant Amitabha right there. At the juncture of life and death, chanting Amitabha is the number one thing to do."

This is the third clause.

“The family property, including the real estate under my name and all bank deposits, cash, and household items, etc., shall all be inherited and managed by my son, Zhong Maosen. If there are still plenty of deposits, please donate appropriately to make offerings to the Triple Gem, print wholesome books, and engage in social public welfare and charitable works.

“I hope that when relatives, friends, and fellow practitioners learn of my passing, they can all recite the Ksitigarbha Sutra, Amitayus Sutra, Amitabha Sutra and chant Amitabha within 49 days. This will be the best memorial and help for me. Thank you!

“May we meet in Sukhavati again. Namo Amituofo!  Pureland practitioner Zhao Liangyu. Written on February 29, 2008, in Guangzhou.”

This shows my mom had the most wisdom. Being able to completely and clearly hand over all matters after death, one can rest completely at ease. Once people reach old age, they should quickly think about writing a will properly.

Master Yinguang said: "Always hang the word 'Death' on your forehead." If a person frequently thinks of death, they will have Dharma in mind.

Reciting till single-pointed emptiness

On an occasion of sharing by two venerable masters with their disciples.

Elder Master Chanyun: Layman Dong was an old man who stayed in Zhanshan Monastery as a language teacher.  He was reciting Amitabha in a room when they called him to come out for mealtime.  

Elder Master Mengcan:  No, no-one called him.  He recited Amitabha and simply exited the room.  The door was locked. He locked the door from within but he left the room while reciting Amitabha. I was staying there at that time. I was there when this happened.  This happened around 1938-39.  I did not leave the monastery yet.

Elder Master Chanyun: So what happened was that: he entered his room and locked the door from within to prevent anyone else from entering. Then he recited Amitabha until a state of one-pointedness. Without opening the door, he went out of the room.  Later, when he returned to his room, he couldn’t open the door because the door was locked from within. (Audience laughed)

Elder Master Mengcan:  This is the state of “one-pointed undistracted mind”.  It is “Form is emptiness; emptiness is form” (from Heart Sutra).  His body-mind was empty, the external structure of the room was empty.  He recited until all that remained was just that one phrase "Amitabha". Nothing else existed for him.  In this state of union, he could pass through the door and leave the room. 

Either progress or regress, there is no third alternative

Dharma Master Jingjie

When karma matures, firstly, it arises and ceases from moment to moment. Secondly, it directs your behavior. The power of karma will make you repeat the act again and again.

In the view of Yogacara, when you do not repent a negative deed, it means you rejoice in it. There is no third alternative.  Ordinary beings are not able to remain neutral in the middle.

Thus, from the perspective of Yogacara, if you do not repent your behavior, it means you approve of it. If you say, "I didn't repent, but I don’t approve of it either," that is wrong. If you do not repent, then you are complying with it.

In Yogacara, there are only two situations: you either purify and eliminate karmic seed, or you strengthen it. 

This means that no one remains in the original condition without changing. The phrase "staying constant" does not apply to ordinary beings, only to holy beings (who have realisation). Holy beings have realised their mind to be unborn and unceasing, so they can stay constant.

We are not qualified to "stay the same." You are either improving or you are regressing, because your life is a flowing stream of thoughts which arises and ceases, so how is it possible to stay constant?

Therefore, from the perspective of Yogacara, if you do not repent and purify, it means that you are indulging in the behavior. “Not repenting” and “rejoicing” mean the same thing. Therefore, the power of the negative karma is augmented…

At first, you create the karma, but in the end, the karma will be the one compelling you to create further karma. A karmic seed will activate further ripenings. Originally, you were the one who created it, but later it influences you to do that same type of action again…

Therefore, a kind of mutually reinforcing cycle is generated. This seed will not cease until you repent and counteract it.  It slowly snowballs and accumulates strength. This is the first point.

Once the karmic seed has been created, even if the conditions that allow it to surface are absent and it doesn’t continue (to influence your behavior), then it is instead stored latently within your mind (until conditions allow it to arise again.)

Study but do not neglect practice

Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro

Many people are studying the Five Great Treatises, and this is very good.  If you have the time, you should study them as well. But it is important to remember that the Dharma is as vast as the ocean—boundless and inexhaustible. One could spend an entire lifetime and still not learn it all.

Therefore, after reaching a certain level of study, one must understand the importance of practice. If one keeps studying without practicing, one may eventually degenerate into a mere theorist—someone who lacks renunciation, bodhicitta, and faith, and can only talk eloquently about Buddhism without genuinely embodying it.

Much of the content in the Five Great Treatises is not merely theoretical; it has practical significance and can guide us in real life. There is no need to wait until attaining Buddhahood or being reborn in the Sukhavati (for results from Dharma practice). Even in this very life, one can benefit from Dharma.

For example, when we encounter afflictions, old age, sickness, or other hardships, we realize that things we usually value so much—money, fame, philosophy, logic etc—become meaningless, whereas many of the principles taught in Buddhism turn out to be very useful.

However, we should also be careful. Once we reach a certain stage of learning, we may become so absorbed in study that we cannot pull ourselves away. We continue studying endlessly, reluctant to let go, and even find it highly enjoyable. From there, two outcomes are possible.

One possibility is positive. Because we understand many Buddhist teachings, our faith in the Guru and the Three Jewels becomes even stronger. We become deeply aware that the only truth of real value in this world is the Dharma, we lose interest in everything else and wish to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to practice.

The other possibility is negative. As our learning and reflection increase, our actual practice naturally decreases. Instead of applying Buddhist teachings to our own cultivation, we use them for debating, preaching, and scrutinizing others.

Taking Buddhist principles as a measuring stick, we begin judging other people's strengths and shortcomings. At that point, we have started going downhill, and in the end, we may even regress from the path altogether.

If we notice such a tendency in ourselves, we should immediately make adjustments and intensify our practice. We should put great effort into cultivating faith, compassion, and renunciation. By doing so, we can reverse the situation and get back on track.

Remembering impermanence is the mark of a practitioner

Khenpo Sodargye

In Dharma practice, thinking of impermanence is of the highest importance. If we lack the remembrance of impermanence, we are no different from ordinary worldly people. Sometimes, we see certain Khenpos, Geshes, or other figures of high stature whose speech and behavior seem to lack the understanding of impermanence.  Then, their Dharma practice will not be good either. If one lacks the contemplation of impermanence, one clings to permanence, leading to afflictions and negative karma which ultimately brings suffering.

For practitioners, the contemplation of impermanence is of the highest importance among all practices… Just as the teachings of the Kadampa masters show, when the feeling of impermanence arises in our mindstream, we no longer have much interest in worldly matters, realizing that if we do not listen, contemplate, and practice Dharma as soon as possible, this brief human life will pass by in the blink of an eye.

Amitabha's light

Khenpo Yeshe Phuntsok

When you recite Amitabha with utmost sincerity, you are connecting to the mind of Amitabha. Amitabha will immediately bless you and your mind will gradually undergo a transformation.

As Lord Buddha Shakyamuni stated in the Contemplation Sutra, Amitabha Buddha radiates infinite light upon countless universes in the ten directions, blessing and guiding those who recite his name, without leaving out anyone.

Pureland Patriarch Shandao also mentioned in his Pratyutpanna Praise that the Amitabha’s light shines universally upon those who practice Amitabha-recitation. Amitabha’s light possesses boundless, inconceivable functions to benefit beings. When your recitation resonates with Amitabha, you will naturally receive blessings.  The more you recite Amitabha, the greater the joy and bliss that arises in your mind.

Therefore, reciting Amitabha is by no means dry or boring. The peace and joy it brings can only be experienced by those who recite with genuine sincerity. As you continue to recite Amitabha, your mind gradually becomes purified and your faith and feeling for Amitabha will grow and deepen.

When you reach the point where you experience the peace and joy, you will be unwilling to stop reciting even if someone told you to do so. Amitabha’s ocean of aspirational vows has infallible blessings. Amitabha guides and cares for sentient beings through his light; his sacred name is a medium for sentient beings to connect with Amitabha’s power.

As long as you sincerely recite Amitabha, the Buddha's light begin to enter your mind. As your recitation progresses and your communion with Amitabha deepens, the blessings you receive will also become greater and greater.

Hence, reciting Amitabha is akin to bathing in the Buddha's light. The better you recite, the more obvious will be the receipt of blessings. It can bring peace and strength to your body and mind; it can eliminate karmic obstacles. Sometimes you can feel it yourself during the recitation that you are truly bathing and immersed in the Buddha's light, your mind naturally becomes very pure and joyful.

This is because Amitabha’s light is also called the "Blissful Light ". When you receive the blessing of Amitabha’s light, joy naturally wells up in your mind. Furthermore, when you recite Amitabha with a sincere heart, the dust obscuring your mind will gradually be cleared away and your virtuous roots will be activated and manifest effortlessly more and more.

For example, your body and mind feels gentle and workable, your hairs may stand on end, or you may find yourself weeping as you recite; sometimes a heart of great compassion may arise, making you aspire to benefit all sentient beings without end... These are all signs of your virtuous roots being activated. (However, do not become attached to these signs as these are natural processes.)

Normally, when we are not reciting the Amitabha, our body and mind remain in an impure state of afflictions. Yet, when you recite Amitabha well, even for just a short period of time, your body and mind feels as though they have been thoroughly washed clean, becoming extremely pure and joyful, and your entire body-mind feels refreshed and transformed.

From various biographies as well as the personal experiences of the Buddhist friends around us, we know of some blind people who have recovered their sight through Amitabha-recitation. Some have had their tumors disappear, some have become so full of energy that they do not need to sleep much because they receive the blessings of Amitabha’s light all day long and are free from wandering thoughts.  They have already attained recitation-samadhi. There are even patients with terminal illnesses who had been told by hospitals to prepare for their death, but through single-minded recitation of Amitabha were cured of their very severe illnesses.

This is because when people reach that critical stage, they have no other hope and their sole recourse is to single-mindedly take refuge in Amitabha Buddha. Thus, the sincerity of their recitation produces a spiritual response very quickly. These are all results of Amitabha recitation and receiving the blessings.

I have told the story of Venerable Zhaoyue's mother many times. When she was first brought to the monastery by her son, she missed her son every day, and she spoke of nothing but worldly matters. Later, the monk urged his mother to recite Amitabha and refused to discuss any other topics with her, leaving her with no choice but to recite Amitabha.

In the beginning, she was extremely reluctant and only did it because there was nothing else to do, forcing herself to recite half-heartedly. After three years of continuous practice, she became used to it and derived great benefit. She no longer thought about worldly affairs and achieved a rather pure practice of Amitabha recitation.

One day, while reciting Amitabha in front of a Buddhist pagoda (stupa), her mind suddenly opened up and all she could see was a vast boundless light. All ordinary appearances vanished from her consciousness and she directly beheld a golden world (ie, Sukhavati).  From then on, her six sense faculties became serene and still, and whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, she no longer gave rise to any discursive thoughts.

There was also a man named Blacksmith Huang. He was a smith who worked all day beside a high-temperature furnace which was exceptionally grueling labor. Later, he began to recite Amitabha while striking iron. Because his recitation connected to Amitabha’s blessings, he no longer felt tired or miserable at all.  His mind was always restful, joyful and deeply at peace.

The Dharma practice of Amitabha recitation is by no means a shallow or inferior method. As long as one continuously invokes this great name of myriad virtues, when the recitation reaches full maturity, the body and mind will dissolve into emptiness, the duality of subject and object will collapse and one's nature of mind will manifest and be realized. This is what is known as attaining "One-Mindedness in Principle." (See note below)

Of course, reaching One-Mindedness in Actuality or One-Mindedness in Principle belongs to a very high level of attainment, which ordinary people cannot achieve for the time being. However, this does not matter; as long as your faith and aspirations are firm and resolute, you will certainly achieve rebirth in Sukhavati.

After being reborn in Sukhavati and having received the blessings of Amitabha Buddha, you will absolutely attain realisation. Therefore, as long as you recite Amitabha with utmost sincerity, the Buddha's power will produce its function in your mind and you will reap immense benefit.

Our main goal right now is to urge everyone to get on the path; otherwise, if you never take this first step, you will never be able to get on the path. As the proverb goes, "The first step is always the hardest." At the beginning of practicing Amitabha recitation, there will indeed be some difficulties because you have never habituated yourself to it, making the practice feel very foreign and unfamiliar.

But this is not a problem at all. As you recite over time, you will become proficient in it and really obtain the Dharma bliss from your recitation. Right now, we are using the power of group practice to urge everyone forward, helping everyone get accustomed to Amitabha recitation.

People's spiritual acumen vary. Some find it hard to sustain their recitation, this type of person needs to strengthen their faith and vows, or combine it with other methods of practice. On the other hand, some people have very simple, pure minds and can sustain their recitation easily, having no problem reciting all day long. Therefore, since there are many different situations, we must apply different methods to handle them in accordance with each individual's capacity.

(Note: Read past posting in this group on Venerable Yuan's life of practice for an example of attaining realisation of mind-nature through Amitabha practice.)

Useful in Countering Afflictions

Jamyang Rinpoche

For instance, when we hear pleasant sounds, we are happy; when someone says something harsh, we get really upset. If we are still behaving like that, it means that our practice is not really good. If we had a good practice, we would have at least dissolved this sort of fixation. If we can’t dissolve this fixation, then we can say a great deal about the Dharma but it doesn’t do the slightest bit of good for our practice or afflictions. 

Being unable to overcome our afflictions means that our practice has failed.  If the military trains troops for a few years, yet these troops do not know how to fight their enemies on the battlefield, then the military is a failure and all its efforts are useless.  

Afflictions are the enemies for a practitioner. If afflictions win, then the practitioner has failed.  One can check for oneself if your practice has succeeded or failed. There is no need to ask the Guru.

When afflictions arrive, our training in renunciation and bodhichitta are completely lost, needless to mention emptiness —then your Dharma practice has been useless to you.  What is the use of listing out all the amazing practices you have done? Useless! If Dharma is useful when it comes to dealing with your afflictions, then you are truly successful.

~~

Constantly trying to rest your mind in a state free of thoughts and thinking that this is Dharma practice is incorrect. In Tibet, many small animals called marmots hibernate for about 6 months each year. Keeping your mind in such a state is similar to the minds of these hibernating animals.  

It is not necessary to control your mind in this way. What we need to address is the source of afflictions. We need to investigate where afflictions come from.  

There is a certain sect in India that trains in keeping the mind still for hundreds of years. In history, the adherents of this sect have been said to achieve this feat.  Long-life devas can also still their minds for hundreds of years. After all that effort, the only result is that they remain trapped in samsara.  

The cause of samsara is self-grasping.  When we rest our minds in stillness, this self-grasping is not dissolved, instead, on top of that, we add another layer of clinging at stillness.  

In other words, we already have self-grasping, but this type of practice adds another layer of self-grasping on top of our existing self-grasping. In the meditation, a watcher observes the mind for distractions and brings it back to stillness; this watcher becomes another artificially created layer of self-grasping. Therefore, one remains entrapped in samsara instead of moving closer to liberation.

When this type of training is engaged in for a long time, one approaches a kind of state when consciousness seems to be extinguished.  If this habit becomes deeply entrenched, then one takes rebirth as a long-life deva. These devas are still firmly enslaved by self-grasping. 

The true view of Buddhism is to dismantle self-grasping. This is the only way to liberation.  Beginning with self-grasping, discrimination arises, and the various objects of the five senses are judged as pleasant or unpleasant, attachment and aversion arises, one reacts and creates karma and all of samsara unfolds from there on…

Uprooting obstructions for pureland rebirth before death arrives

Dharma Master Jingjie

Pureland practitioners are inclined to emphasize on creating virtues while neglecting to stop existing non-virtuous habits.  When we recite Amitabha, we are cultivating a positive force in our minds to take rebirth in Sukhavati.  However, there remains many forces in our mind that obstruct pureland rebirth —these are our strong habits.  

Compared to these obstructing habits, the positive force to take rebirth in Sukhavati is far weaker.  Therefore, this becomes a hurdle you fail to cross when you are dying. You cannot expect someone to be there to counsel you when you are on the verge of dying.  As a practitioner, you should now constantly examine what kind of thoughts arise in your mind and see where these karmic forces lead to.

When these disturbing thoughts arise, you can’t say, “Ah! Just recite Amitabha and distract myself.”  Even if you succeed in distracting yourself from the disturbing thought, its underlying attachment still functions, therefore the habit is hidden and waiting to ambush you at any time.  

Instead, you need to completely release this attachment through contemplation, analysis and investigation of its nature. You need to convince yourself that this attachment arises from deluded thinking and that it is the nature of suffering, only then can the mind completely relinquish this attachment and no longer give rise to such thoughts.  This obstructing force would thus be removed from the mind.

Therefore, all pureland practitioners should support and encourage each other.  Pureland practice is cultivating the positive force for rebirth in pureland, at the same time, one should also try one’s best to remove all countering forces that are obstacles to pureland rebirth.

Merits and the lack of it

Jamyang Rinpoche

In my hometown there was a poor family. In autumn, they sometimes did not have enough to eat and had to borrow food from neighbours. They had many children.

Once, the price of cordyceps rose suddenly, and this family (who relied on digging cordyceps for a living) had many children to dig up the cordyceps, and they made a small fortune of maybe several tens of thousand yuan. Many locals were envious of their sudden luck, thinking that they have struck a fortune this year. 

But then their eldest son suddenly fell seriously ill, and sought treatment in Ganze.  The medical cost was something like 7 to 8 thousand yuan. Then during some heavy rains, an epidemic spread among the livestock and half of their cattle died, leaving them in more dire straits than before they had struck a fortune. 

Soga Rinpoche (an emanation of Amitabha) commented then, “Look, when there is a lack of merits, no matter how you try, you end up with nothing.” …

Making a mountain of effort is not as useful as creating a small drop of merit.  In Tibet, people have the habit of making offerings and giving charity.  For instance, when they buy groceries for themselves, the first thing they think of is to save 1 dollar from their shopping budget for an offering to the Triple Gems or helping others, maybe releasing lives or offering lamps.

Tibetans would always set aside some portion of their butter for making offerings. My mother would set aside two portions— one for offering to the monastery sangha during pujas, and one for making butter lamps. We had only a few cows then, so it was only enough for one lamp. Later when the number of cows increased, we could offer five or ten lamps. We offered lamps daily in our shrine.  We did not think about our own consumption first when we got the butter, we thought about making offerings to the sangha; next we thought about making butterlamp offerings.

But when they get their income, the first thing many people think of is not the Triple Gems, but on how to spend their money on enjoyments such as vacations, good food, seafood, meat etc.  Therefore, we are meritless and prosperity cannot stay long with us. 

When a person has merit, even a small bowl of tsampa (roasted barley flour) would make them totally satisfied and contented.  If you have no merit, even the most delicious meals feel like the food of hungry spirits (pretas), you do not feel happy or contented.  In Tibet, we have a saying, when a particular region of people has merits, no matter how simply they eat, each meal makes them fully satisfied and happy. They do not feel hungry or needy.

When a person lacks merit, no matter how good the food is, one feels dissatisfied.  No matter how good the food, beverage or clothing is, one feels something is lacking.  This is a lack of merit. 

For instance, you have so many shoes in your cabinets and so many clothes hanging in your closets, if even half of that is used for creating merits like releasing lives, offering lamps, offering to the sangha, that will bring enormous merits and enjoyments for future lives.

Also, I will point out one mistake for all Dharma brothers and sisters.  This year, during our Amitabha Sukhavati puja, some Dharma friends wrote so many names for one dollar of offering.  They wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. But isn’t this just a kind of dishonesty or cheating?

On the other hand, when you bring your friends or clients out for a meal, you are happy to spend extravagantly for a meal of meat and alcohol for the sake of face or reputation. Think for yourself what you are doing to your own merits — are you exhausting your merits or increasing your merits?

Our Sukhavati puja takes place once a year. Some people think, “Oh this puja is free!” so those clever ones give only 10 dollars and write a hundred names.  I think it is better if you learn not to take advantage of others.  This is a kind of habit that will carry on into your future lives, and it will quickly deplete your store of merits. 

Personally, when I accumulate merits, I never consider how much money I have left. When I went to India for learning Dharma, I left Yarchen monastery with only 70 yuan. By the time I reached Lhasa, I was left with about 30+ yuan.

That was my first visit to Lhasa. I went to the Jokhang Temple to offer a lamp.  There were various types of lamps for offering, 15 yuan; 6 yuan etc. I bought the one that cost 15 yuan.  I thought that it was a most precious opportunity to make offerings at this holy temple.  Then there was the gold leaf offering to the Buddha statue, I offered another 15 yuan for that and all my money was finished.   I was left penniless. I did not even consider if I had money for my next meal or lodgings.

That night, I stayed in a place for beggars, in a makeshift tent.  There were many lice but it couldn’t be helped.  I spent the night there.  They made tea and I wondered if I could get some.   They shared tea but not the food. I spent two nights there and for three days, I had nothing to eat.  Finally, I could not stand it and used my last 50 cents for a cup of milk at a tea-place opposite the Jokhang Temple.  On the third day, my hunger was so bad that it affected my eyesight. I couldn’t see far away.  After this cup of milk, I regained some strength and went to circumambulate the Jokhang Temple. 

Suddenly, I ran into a nun from Yarchen monastery.  Her uncle was sick and she came with him for treatment in Lhasa.  The nun invited me for a meal and I was very happy. She offered me a bag of tsampa but I did not take it. Later, I wondered if I had been very stupid to reject this offer. Afterall, she had given it willingly.  What was I to survive on then?  Then I thought of selling the three turquoises on my rosary, I had bought them at Yarchen when I had some money.  They fetched more than 30 yuan and with that I made my way to Shigatse.  That used up all the money. 

That night I spent a night in a horse shed.  The next day, I went to Tashi Lhunpo monastery of the Panchen Lama to beg for alms, saying that I needed it to go to circumambulate Mount Kailash, an old lady gave me 5 yuan and I was elated to receive it…

The point is that when it comes to making offerings, I do not consider much.  When it comes to spending on myself, I will consider more.  But when I look at how people make offerings at the Amitabha puja, they seem to have so many reservations. Maybe you have not enough money for groceries tomorrow, or maybe there is not enough to buy clothing, or not enough to buy an air ticket for travelling…

One should never make offerings stingily.  This is a negative karma. One should rejoice and feel that it is a precious opportunity to accumulate merits.  No matter how much you offer, you should do it this way.  With merits, whatever you do can be accomplished perfectly; your Dharma practice will also be accomplished auspiciously.

When I was in Yarchen monastery, I was the poorest and had not enough to eat.  But I had a method that was easy to use in Yarchen because they were all fellow-disciples.  I used to look at whose chimney was smoking and went to that house to get a meal.  They all knew that if I came to their home, it was to get a meal. They knew that I was poor so no one turned me down.

There was this old practitioner who later got ordained. He liked to scold others.  He often called me the poor Tulku of Tsopu monastery who was like a wandering beggar.  Although he scolded me, I did not mind as what he was saying was true.  I did not get angry or feel defensive.  It was true that I was poor and begging for food. 

But his words somehow got known by Lama Achuk Rinpoche.   One day, Lama Achuk Rinpoche said publicly during his teaching, “Today, you think of this Tulku as a poor beggar. But he is not poor. You are the poor one since countless lives in samsara.  And in future lives, you will still be poor.  But not this Tulku! There will come a day when this Tulku receives so much offerings that he will not know where to keep them and he will even reject these offerings.  Such a time will come.”

Everyone thought this was the Guru’s words of encouragement to me.  Everyone did not take it seriously because I was the poorest in the monastery. In the past, my cousin told me not to just keep begging and to try instead to achieve something in life.  

I told my cousin, “If I wanted to achieve something, I will definitely succeed. But I am not interested in it, because everything is like an illusory dream in this samsara, there is nothing worth pursuing.  It is all so laughable.”  My monastery also wanted me to be a big achiever with something to show, but I did not want to choose this path. 

Later, when I became abbot of Tsopu monastery, one had to sooth the egos of government authorities and meet the wishes of those who depend on you.  It is a high throne and a high position but it comes with much sufferings. I made the aspiration that in all my lives I will never become an abbot of a monastery again. 

Nagarjuna also wished never to become a monastery manager in all his lives and I think he was right. When I was young, I could practice as I wish; now I have to keep all these peoples’ expectations and wishes in mind, taking care not to offend them. It is indeed a heavy suffering.

 

Reciting Amitabha is not a simple practice

Venerable Elder Guangqing

Reciting Amitabha is not a simple practice. You need to thoroughly let go and cast aside all internal and external distractions, single-mindedly chanting Amitabha —only then can you gain attainments.

Recite Amitabha’s powerful name clearly and hear your recitation clearly without having a single thread of doubt. Distracting thoughts dissolve and you will definitely enter a state of one-pointed concentration.

If you believe my words, recite Amitabha genuinely. Whether walking, stationery, sitting or reclining, do not be apart from this thought of Amitabha. Even in your dreams, you can sustain the (mental) recitation of Amitabha and not be distracted by the sense perceptions.

Once you reach this stage, your mind will drop all attachments and be unconfused. When your practice reaches maturity, Sukhavati will naturally manifest before you. You must not be careless about this!

If the mind is sincere, wondrous fragrances and bright lights will appear when reciting Amitabha. Even if you are dwelling in the mountains, with only three blades of grass as an incense, an extraordinary fragrance will emit from the incense. Buddhas and Bodhisattva pervade all of space, they are not only present in the monastery. If the mind is sincere, you connect to Amitabha.

All Dharma practices come down to this mind. Our daily practice is essentially to cultivate this mind. If this mind possesses meditative stability, it will be like pure and still water. Such water reflects all images without exception. Therefore, when our minds are very pure, we naturally perceive the true nature of all things.

Our practice of reciting Amitabha is meant to cultivate this mind until it is as pure and tranquil as water. If the mind is scattered and impure, it is like muddy water. There are many non-virtuous thoughts, the mind judges what is good and bad, what is tasty or not, what is fragrant or foul-smelling; it becoming attached to "forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations and mental objects."

When the recitation of Amitabha reaches a point where this mind is clear, bright and free from impurities, one will naturally cease to cling to the "five aggregates." In this way, the six sense organs will no longer be affected by the six sense objects; afflictions will be severed, and the five aggregates will be realized as empty.

You will naturally transcend all suffering and difficulty, manifest the luminous wisdom of your self-nature, and penetrate the profound and subtle Dharma.

The emphasis in Amitabha recitation is on “mental focus" and "pure dedication". One sustains the recitation day and night without interruption or distraction. Reciting with the mouth, listening with the ears and being mindful with the mind is the way to make the effort.

Gradually and naturally, you will reach the state where there is no distinction between day and night, one recites single-mindedly without distractions. Through reciting Amitabha, one attains concentration; from concentration, wisdom opens and one is certain to accomplish results.

Knowing time of death beforehand

Venerable Elder Guangqing

If there are many thoughts when chanting Amitabha, the method is to ignore these thoughts.  Just recite Amitabha. If you try to get rid of distracting thoughts, that is adding one more thought or affliction on top of what you already have. Once you have recited Amitabha sufficiently, thoughts will be reduced on their own.  Also, your worldly desires will decrease and it will be easier to reach single-minded focus…

When reciting Amitabha, every thought is never apart from Amitabha.  You recite clearly and hear each recitation clearly. Every syllable is clearly recited.  Your mind is placed on the sound of Amitabha that you hear through your ears while your mouth is reciting. In this way, the Amitabha chant engages your mind fully. You let go of everything else and suspend your attention on this sound, this is how you reach a single-pointed mind…

There are many methods of chanting Amitabha.  When you have not reached a certain level, you often waver between methods.  Sometimes you feel this method makes you concentrate better, later you feel another method is better.  This is because our mind lacks stability. Sometimes we think “this is good, or is that better?”

This comparison of better or worse is from our discriminating mind. Before reaching a certain stage, one has such fluctuations and mind cannot settle down.  Actually, every method is good. They are only an expression of our self-nature.  If you let go, that is your self-nature.  If you use a certain method, that is also your self-nature.  Therefore, it is not necessary to generate such attachments when you practice…

When you are dying, do not hope for or try to see visions of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas.  Whatever you seek is false or unreliable.  Without any expectation of seeing anything, simply recite Amitabha with a pure mind; whatever arises from your mind naturally is then true.  

Don’t speak of gaining anything, if there is something to gain, one has not yet reached.  When reciting Amitabha, recite until there is only this one thought of Amitabha left in your mind without any other distracting thoughts.  Then you will know your time of death beforehand.  If there are other thoughts, they will obscure you and you will not know the time of death beforehand.

No control in the bardo (Story)

An account by the Terton Jatson Nyingpo about his mother

At the same time I heard that my mother was dying, so I went to her; she died with her head pillowed in my lap. I performed the ejection of consciousness (phowa) and recited dedications and aspirations. I placed a liberation-through-wearing yantra on her body and placed samaya substances in her mouth. I cremated her myself. For seven weeks I dedicated virtue to her. 

During those weeks I repeatedly met her in dreams; I would say to her, "Meditate on Chenrezig. Repeat the Mani mantra. Let your mind rest naturally, without alteration."  During the first week she replied, "That is not easy; I don't trust myself. My awareness is vague and indistinct; it has no stability. I have seen no happiness in this world, only suffering. My son, do whatever you can to help me!"

During the second week I dreamed that she was as real as when alive. I taught her Dharma to clarify the bardo state as before, and she replied, "Oh father! Oh mother! I had no idea the bardo was going to be like this! All the people who don't practice Dharma during their lives are foolish, foolish! Guru! Three jewels! When I look up I see penetrating light rays and hear empty sound. When I look down I am terrified and hear wails of agony. I have no control over what I do now. Please keep trying to help me!"

I offered a lot of butter lamps, enlisted the help of the Three Jewels, and made burnt offerings including samaya substances; my mother was reborn as an animal.

Having witnessed what she had gone through I realized how much good I was doing myself by practicing Dharma. I wrote many songs then out of sadness. I repeatedly sponsored tea service for all those staying at softwater spring; distributed grain, salt, and butter, and gave them whatever ragged clothing I had to give; gave barley meal and other food to starving villagers; protected the area from blights and hail; caused rainfall; prevented sickness and epidemics; protected the area from predators; gave medicine to the sick; gave yantras for eating and wearing to those who mistook their own thoughts to be demons; gave authorizations and blessings; and banished obstructors. With the best intentions, I really did whatever I could to help everyone in the area.

(Note: Jatson Nyingpo was a famous treasure revealer who revealed the Konchok Chidu cycle.  He did confined retreat for 17 years and was the Guru to the 10th Karmapa amongst other great masters.)

Be careful about criticizing others

HH Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche

If we created the karma of abandoning Dharma, there will be no chance for liberation.  This is something we have to be very careful about.  What does the karma of abandoning Dharma include?  It includes slandering or criticizing Bodhisattvas.  We do not know at all where the Bodhisattvas are, therefore we should behave carefully towards anyone. There are Bodhisattvas amongst the monastics and laypeople.  We will not know if even an animal is a Bodhisattva.

(Note: According to the sutras, the karma of abandoning Dharma prevents one from taking birth in Sukhavati. One must quickly confess and purify it if one has committed such karmas.)

Going to Sukhavati despite heavy killing karma

Kathok Rigzin Chenpo Rinpoche

There was an old man in Gansu named Langde. He was a war hero of his tribe, stayed in Mula village, his descendants are still around today. 

In his youth, during the Mongol wars and tribal conflicts, he killed many people and created heavy negative karma. In his later years, he constantly repented. He recited an enormous number of Amitabha mantra and name over a long period of time and also recited Dampa Deshek’s phowa prayer.

In the 1950s, he was imprisoned for many years. After being released, he passed away in the Luqi County in Gansu. He said to the person who received him upon his release from prison, “I won’t be able to return to my home but I have done a great deal of Amitabha practice. My negative karma has been purified and I am about to go to Sukhavati.” Joyfully, he sat on the roadside reciting Dampa Deshek’s phowa prayer and passed away with total freedom and peace.

The same thing happened to my maternal grandfather. During chaotic times, he also killed many people and created very heavy karma. Later, he too recited Amitabha’s mantra and practiced phowa, attaining rebirth in Sukhavati.

In short, this Dharma method has immense blessings and power. Many ordinary people have practiced it and attained rebirth in Sukhavati. Although they do not have any attainment in the generation or completion stages, they possess sincere faith and a mind of repentance, through which even very grave karma can be purified.

When doing this practice, think often of Amitabha’s qualities and powers. In this world, people most easily resonate with practices related to the Lotus Family among the Five Buddha Families — such as Avalokiteshvara, Amitabha, and Guru Rinpoche. For beings with strong desire, the deities of the Lotus Family are especially effective. The requirements for practice is also easy—as long as you have faith in Amitabha, you can practice.

Of course, unwavering, stable faith, loving-kindness and compassion are in themselves not easy qualities to have. Perseverance is not easy either. The two people mentioned above did not attain their accomplishment in an easy manner. I once asked others about how they practiced.

Although they had created very heavy killing karma, they were also loyal, courageous and trustworthy people. Later on, for more than ten years, they diligently repented and did the practice of Amitabha. Langde did a walking pilgrimage from Gansu to Lhasa. For three years he avoided idle talk and devoted himself solely to Amitabha practice. My grandfather was the same. For over a decade he practiced continuously. Every day, he recited Amitabha’s mantra and practiced the phowa prayer without talking unnecessarily.

Thus, their accomplishment of Sukhavati did not come easily without substantial causes. The main point is to have determination and make a firm resolve. With this determined mindset, there is no problem, you too can definitely accomplish it.

~~

Dampa Desheg's Phowa Prayer 

DE WA CHEN DU JANG SEM LO DRO’I NYING

Bodhisattva of Sukhavati, Lodro Nying

KHA WA CHEN DU CHO JE KA THOG PA

Lord of Dharma in the snowy land of Tibet, the one from Kathog

MA JON DE SHEG TSHE PAG MED PA ZHE

Who will manifest as Protector Sugata Amitayus in future

DRAG PAY TSA GYUD LA MAR SOL WA DEB

I pray to the renowned Root and Lineage Gurus 

DE WA CHAN DU KYE WAR THUG JE ZUNG

Hold us with your compassion so that we may take rebirth in Sukhavati

(Note: Dampa Deshek is the founder of the Nyingma Kathok lineage and said to be an emanation of Amitabha himself.)

Entering the Wrong Door

An interesting story by Chan Master Nan Huaijin

When I was studying Buddhism in China, I had a friend who was meditating one day and something extraordinary happened…

In Chengdu, there was a monastery that we, the students from the Central Military Academy, knew well. The academy was located at Chengdu’s North Parade Ground and Manjushri Monastery, a large monastic complex, was just nearby.

(Note: Master Nan served in the military when he was young.)

After classes, the students would sometimes sneak out. Even as officers, we occasionally slipped out to relax. I lived at Mt Wudan near the North Parade Ground, it was only a short distance to the monastery—just a turn and you’d be there. The monastery was huge, with hundreds of monks, and I was very familiar with every one of them. Whenever I went, they would call out, “Come over here!” I could visit any monk’s room.

So our group of Buddhists often gathered there. It was really a matter of merit—how else could one have such a conducive environment for learning Dharma? I went to the monastery frequently. When the bugle sounded, I could run back to the academy in time without any problem, therefore I never neglected my duties.

Behind the monastery was a vast garden with towering nanmu trees. They were incredibly tall—if you tilted your head up while wearing a cap, the cap might fall off! The trees were beautifully arranged, and their leaves seemed to embody kindness and humility. Each leaf grew in such a way that when it approached another leaf, it naturally gave way, leaving a small gap between them. It was indescribably wonderful—a genuine practice place of Bodhisattvas, no way else to describe it!

There was also a pig enclosure behind the monastery. People might think that the monks were raising pigs to eat, but that wasn’t the case. These were “liberation pigs” (animals released to be spared from slaughter). A monk in charge of growing vegetables—whom we regarded as a living Arhat—took care of them. He worked tirelessly, filthy all day from labor.  Two monks grew food to offer to hundreds of monks. This monk carried manure and did all the dirty work—truly an Arhat or Bodhisattva!

He fed leftover food from the kitchen to a pair of pigs, one male and one female. Under the protection of two monks, they reproduced continuously, and soon there were many piglets. We would joke with him, “Gardener monk! How about giving a couple to our military academy?”

He would reply, “No! You soldiers would just kill and eat them!” And he kept the gate tightly shut, not even letting us look at the pigs. We said that we just wanted to play with them and not eat them.  The monk only relaxed after we left. He was afraid we would kill the pigs and eat them.

So, as I was saying, one of our friends practiced Chan meditation. One day, while sitting in meditation, he suddenly felt himself slip into a state of unconsciousness for a while. In this state, he saw a familiar elderly woman appear before him, saying, “Come, come, I’ll treat you to tea.”

In Sichuan, people love tea. After drinking the tea, she led him to a place of incredible beauty—clear mountains, flowing water, birds singing, flowers fragrant—everything was perfect. The old woman said, “There’s an even better place. Follow me!”

She led him somewhere that felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Eventually, they arrived at a grand mansion which was high-class and magnificent, with large red gates and bronze rings that clanged when struck.  (In Chengdu there were such old mansions that belonged to extremely wealthy families of high position and great power.)

She said, “Come in.” He hesitated: “This is someone’s home. I don’t even know them—why are you bringing me in?” “It doesn’t matter,” she said.

Inside, it was splendid with corridors and gardens like something out of the novel “Dream of the Red Chamber”. Then she led him to a private chamber and told him, “Go in and take a look.”

He protested, “This is someone’s bedroom! How can I just go in?” She replied, “If you want to go, go. If not, I can’t force you.”  He felt annoyed—why was she so improper, bringing him here? But as he turned to leave, curiosity got the better of him. He opened the window and peeked inside. Inside, a woman was giving birth.

He was startled and disgusted: “What bad luck! Why did you bring me here to see this?” He immediately turned and ran away.  At that moment, he woke up from meditation, covered in cold sweat.

He thought, “I’ve never fallen asleep during meditation before. This shouldn’t have happened. Even if it wasn’t an out-of-body experience, it was still a kind of demonic state, like a dream.  It was a state of unclarity and ignorance. Something’s wrong.”

He went to Manjushri Monastery and wandered to the back garden where the vegetable-growing monk was. The monk said, “Ah! Our old sow has just given birth!”

“How many?” 

“Six. One was stillborn.”

“Where?”

“Over there—go take a look.”

When he went to look, he saw a red paper sign posted at the pigpen’s entrance. It was exactly the same sign he had seen in his “dream” with the same handwriting by the monk. It said, “Do not enter—sow is giving birth.”

Except, in his dream, he saw “Do not enter—mother is giving birth.”

He was shocked. “My goodness! If I had gone in, I would have become one of those piglets!”

Out of the six piglets, one had been born dead. He believed that was because his “bardo body” had not entered it. This brief lapse into sleep had almost led him there.

Just think it as me babbling a fairytale! (Audience laughed.)

This story shows that when beings are reborn in the animal realm, they don’t feel like they’ve become animals. They still feel like they are humans. In the desire realm, craving and desire are extremely strong. This force of desire is irresistible—stronger than magnetism. Once it pulls you, you are drawn in instantly. Space and time pose no difficulty or obstruction.

That is how frightening attachment and desire truly are.