Disciple's question:
My health is very poor. I had almost died from heart attacks on several occasions. One time, when this happened, I prayed to Guru strongly. I took refuge in the Triple Gems
and vowed to benefit sentient beings to repay the kindness of the Buddha. After
praying repeatedly this way, I saw refuge field of the Guru, that is, you
yourself appearing above my head. You were smiling. This appearance
was much clearer than my usual visualization of the refuge field. My question
is: had I died at that moment, would I have attained liberation?
Phurpa Tashi Rinpoche:
If one can truly do what was said here,
you will attain liberation for sure. What is the reason? Although the
Guru appears as human, you consider the Guru as a Guru and not as a friend. If
you consider the Guru your friend, and think of this friend while you are dying,
then this is a fault.
But if you remember the Guru at
that point, and since the Guru is considered to be a Buddha, isn't it?
What you think of is the Guru, only that the appearance is a human being or the
teacher who guided you. Then, in your mind, you consider this person a
Guru or a Buddha. If you are able to do this when you are dying,
attaining liberation is considered a done deal. You can rest assured of this a
thousand or million times over.
I often tell this story. When we
were at the meditation center, there was an old monk. His health had been
quite poor for some time. One night, this monk's health took a turn for the
worse. I couldn't enter the room as there were many other monks gathered around
the doorway of his room, including some monks from his hometown. I heard that
the monk could barely speak at that point. There was an experienced Tibetan
doctor there. The doctor also confirmed that his situation was quite grave.
It was quite late then. But I
thought it would be good to inform Guru (Lama Achuk Rinpoche) of this monk's
situation. I rushed there and Guru was about to retire for the
night. I told Guru that the monk was seriously ill and the doctor said that
he would probably not make it to the next morning. Lama Rinpoche did a
divination and passed me some Tibetan medicine. Guru said that this medicine
might save the old monk. Guru also instructed me to tell those monks to recite
particular prayers.
Guru also emphasized to me
repeatedly to remind this old monk by his ear that whether he should live or
die, his purpose for coming to Yarchen Monastery was to attain liberation and
the only criterion for attaining liberation is to pray to the Guru. Therefore,
he must not forget the Guru for even a moment, whether he lives or dies. Guru
told me to make sure to remind the old monk this, by his ear, again and again,
even if the monk cannot speak.
I went back and passed the
medicine to the monk's brother. The old monk did not even have any
strength to open his mouth. His younger brother took in the medicine with
his own mouth and mouth-fed it to the old monk. The old monk was very
weak as he had not taken food for three days. I said by his ear, "I just
went to Guru and informed him of your situation. Guru said that whether
you live or die, the main purpose of coming to Yarchen and following the Guru is to attain liberation. The only criterion for attaining liberation is to pray
to the Guru. So, no matter what happens, whether it is good or bad, never
forget the Guru for even a moment!"
The old monk gazed at me as if he
wanted to say something. I placed my ear by his mouth as I couldn't hear him at
all. He told me that since his illness worsened Guru had already personally
appeared to his inner state. This appearance of Guru was even clearer
than the usual appearance of Guru. From the first moment since his illness
worsened, this old monk had not felt the slightest fear, but instead felt
immense joy.
The moment I heard this, I felt incredibly touched. He looked like an ordinary old monk, but when facing death, he had achieved this. He was truly a Buddha/Bodhisattva while he was alive; even when facing death, he was a Buddha/Bodhisattva. Apart from this, what other kinds
of Buddha/Bodhisattva should we look for?
