A sharing by an accomplished master
During Lama Rinpoche's teaching today, an elderly monk passed away. He was someone who had taken ordination later in life. He stayed here for six years, having left home due to conflicts with his family. He didn’t know how to meditate—whenever he tried, he would just fall asleep. He never spoke ill of any vajra brothers or sisters. He had faith and pure perception toward his Guru and fellow practitioners. Due to the power of this quality, he was unable to speak negatively about anyone. His samaya was exceptionally pure.
He often visited me and would talk about his hometown, but whenever he spoke of that, he never mentioned anyone’s faults. He only spoke of their virtues.
Today, while Lama Rinpoche was expounding on the Manjushri scripture, he passed away. He wasn’t sick at all, nor was he in any pain. He simply sat there peacefully and left. His head tilted slightly forward, and no one realized he had passed until after the teaching ended, when everyone stood up and he remained still.
His passing was so effortless! He entered samadhi and remained in that state for seven days. When he was cremated, incredible signs appeared in the sky—rainbow clouds, shapes of victory banners, and many other wondrous manifestations. Though he had taken ordination late in life, due to the immense power of the Vajrayana and his pure observance of samaya, he became a practitioner of the highest capacity. All his obscurations were completely purified.
During those seven days in samadhi, when the door to his room was opened, an extraordinary fragrance filled the air—a scent far surpassing any worldly fragrance. Everyone remarked on how wonderful it smelled. Even the most renowned Khenpos and Tulkus would find it difficult to manifest such signs during death. This is not to say anything bad about other lamas, really not. It’s just that this old monk had very few opinions or disturbing thoughts. He did not have doubts on others, always thinking, “Everyone is so amazing, so wonderful!” He never spoke ill of anyone and was extremely careful in his conduct.
In the context of Vajrayana, maintaining such purity guarantees Buddhahood—one will surely attain Thugdam (post-death meditative equipoise. Please explain this to the other students clearly. This old monk’s peaceful passing was primarily due to his pure samaya. With pure samaya, one is certain to receive the Guru’s blessings! This is not limited to any lineage, tradition or school, whether one is a Khenpo or a Tulku makes no difference. Many people display auspicious signs at death, but this old man—though nothing remarkable could be said about his life—manifested such rare and extraordinary signs!
