Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen teaches the three foundational death meditations of the Lam Rim in this 46-minute session, walking students through contemplations designed to uproot procrastination and motivate spiritual practice. He explores why death is certain—no wealth or status exempts us—then the radical uncertainty of timing, shown through younger people dying before older ones and countless conditions, both internal and external, that shorten life unpredictably. He traces how each breath brings us closer to death, then pivots to the third point: only Dharma truly helps at death, as friends, relatives, and possessions cannot follow. He emphasizes the practical shift this realization should trigger and closes with a vivid story from Sera Monastery about a teacher and student forever deferring practice. For practitioners beginning the Lam Rim path.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 LR no date.mp3
UUID: bcb09e5b-4414-4796-ab94-0193a05efd8e
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Lam Rim (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1983 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.8 minutes
Words: ~5,330
Do follow meditations on three points. First, we must do meditation on the fact that death what’s called? We must do meditation on that is certain. Right? Second, meditation on the the time of death is uncertain.
Third, accept teaching there is no helpful other sources at the point of death. So this point, these three points must be contemplated thoroughly in order to energize oneself. While you are contemplating on those point, make sure you are doing contemplation from your depth of heart. Don’t do the or what’s called don’t go through superficial levels of those points. If you do so in that way, you won’t get any benefit of spending your time.
So how you have to do the meditation on those? Suppose if you’re doing on the first one, which is the time or the the death is certain. Okay? So here, you have to think from various reasons why death is certain. Okay?
So if you take the past people, many people have deceased in the past. Right? So we can take those peoples those deceased people as an example. Right? So we find our ancestors and forebears have gone, have no more with us.
Right? So many, many sentient beings and many people have disease already. And at present, there are many who are under the process of death and who are, what’s called, dying. Right? So in the future, every human has to die.
Right? Has to die. There’s no escape from that. Right? So contemplating thoroughly on those points, one should think the time of death oh, sorry.
The death is certain. Right? So sooner or later, we have to face it. We have to go through the same process as the past deceased persons have gone. So by taking those as an example, one should contemplate them from your depths of heart.
It’s not time to we shall not able to point out the time of death. So I know on this and this particular time, he will die or I will die or that if he will die because there’s no specific time of the death. So untimely or what’s called death of time is totally uncertain from those point. From the point of view of country where you are now, there’s no difference at all even. You can’t say, if I stay in this particular country, I won’t face the death.
If I will stay in that particular country, I have to face. But if whereas if I stay here, I won’t. There is no difference even the countries where you are. So from all those viewpoints, there’s no, what’s called, there’s no such unsurety that one will not die. Rather, that is certain in any time, in any places.
Furthermore, if you just take from this viewpoint from, what’s called, basis or in other, what’s called, worldly talk from the viewpoint of sex. We have all have to die without exception. We can’t say the man will die and the women will not. The women will die, the men will not. There’s no such discrimination at all in terms of death.
So therefore, there’s no difference at all where which sex you are and where you are born. No matter where you live, what age you are, what sex you are, what time you are, Regardless, all those discriminations, you have to finally die. Therefore, that is certain to all point, but also from the point of means, right? From point of method. It is very hard to what’s called bribe.
Suppose some case in external, some case we can bribe by power. By using other skillful means. And by other other methods. But in terms of death, we will not able to bribe the death by our power, by our material wealth, or by our prestige, and so forth. So therefore, there’s no escape from that at all.
Even you are very wealthy, you know, you are very, very powerful, but at the time of death, your power and your wealth will not able to ask what’s go the death. So therefore, right, death will suddenly occur at a time. And at that time, we shall have no such power to escape from death by using other methods as a source of what’s called escaping. Correct. Maybe it’s a bit easier for us to understand that we have to die.
Right? So we may probably knowing that, anyway, we have to die, but we are not sure about the time of death. We have very strong feeling or concept that at the moment or today, I won’t die. We really have this kind of feeling very, very strong that today, I won’t die. But that is the most deceptive conception which we have.
So, actually, this feeling which which we think that today I won’t die is a deceptive conception. So above here, we have finished explanation on the death is certain. Okay? Now we shall do the time of death is uncertain. So here, as I told you, that feeling which you have normally arises that I won’t die today is most deceptive because the time of death is uncertain.
Right? Therefore, we shall not take granted that we shall not die today even. Yeah. Roughly, if we try to calculate as our conception, then it is me who go who who should go at first because I’m the oldest amongst of all. Right?
So therefore, as our rough conception, we have the feeling that old age people will go first and then, likewise, small. But if really, if you try to con what’s good, try to look very closely, we do find many small babies and many younger what’s called young people are dying before us. Right? So it indicate that there is no specific time to die, and it also shows that death the time of death is totally uncertain. The time of death is uncertain because we shall not able to prolong our lifespan, but there are many other circumstances that shortens our lifespan.
For example, due to our previous lifetime, there is some determination of the lifespan of us at present. So beyond that lifespan, we will not able to even prolong even a short period. Right? So therefore, there’s no such circumstances that prolongs our lifespan, which has been determined by our previous lifetimes. Okay?
But there are many other circumstances that shortens our lifespan. There are fewer conditions that results our lifespan to exist, and there are more circumstances and more more conditions that shortens our lifespan. Such as, we can’t able to add something onto our lifespan due to some conditions. Right? If the time comes and if our lifespan exhaust, we definitely face death.
Therefore, we can’t extend our lifespan. But there are many condition that shortens our lifespan, such as sometimes people do face death because of their time and because of their exhaust what’s called? Exhausting of the lifespan. But apart from those, there are many conditions which brings people to death through meeting with other conditions. Right?
So those people who have deceased by a certain accident before their time, have gone before us due to meeting with other ex what’s called, other conditions that brings our life to the end. Let us start to count this condition that shortens our lifespan. So in general, there are two conditions, the elements and the non elements. Elements such as due to sometimes people face death due to fire, due to water, due to other threatening sufferings, and so forth. So those people who have deceased, because of those, have taken their life due to the elements.
Okay? And non elements, for example, some people might what’s called some people face death because of beaten by the other, what’s called, lions or other wild animals or other poisonous, what’s called, things, insects, and so forth, or having done something wrong which shouldn’t be done. Right? And many millions of people are, what’s called spontaneously killed only by using small atomic bomb or other weapons. Okay?
So those are the conditions which brings our life to the end. From the external condition point of view, we have no such guarantee that we may not face death at any time. It is possible that we may face death even short term because we know the external conditions are more, let’s go, stronger than what we think. Right? For example, due to slightest, what’s go, mistake, we may face even death.
For example, if you are driving a car. Right? If you’re driving a car and due to slight mistake due to slight mistake, it can it can it can, I don’t know, it can possible to, what’s called, lose a life due to accident? Right? So those are the just external condition that we can see very clearly, and we can understand them well.
Due to those external manifold conditions, we face death, and their the condition is shortens our lifespan in these viewpoints. Only view external point of view, but also internal we have also internal con conditions that shortens our lifespan. For example, we have various sorts of diseases. Right? All those diseases are what’s called the conditions that brings our life to the end.
We will not able to say this kind of disease I will face when I will I will be at this age, or I won’t able to I will not face this kind of disease because we are not sure at all. So because there are many kind of diseases, we may face at any time when those diseases become more dominant, and when we have not able to keep our diets accordingly. There are many other conditions which we normally think good for our physical form which we cared for. They may also sometimes become the cause of our death. Some such as, normally, we use use what we we do eat for our health.
We do wear for our health. Right? And those normally, we are eating for good health and not for the bad. But sometimes, the food which we eat becomes the what’s called cause of all the disturbances. But so therefore, that food, particular food which we have which we have thought was beneficial has served the condition of shorting our lifespan.
So therefore, there’s no such what’s called? There’s no such thing that will, okay, that will keep our health and lifespan in a extent what’s going on? I don’t know. In a extent state because due to those many manifold conditions which brings our life to end. Normally, we do have full confidence what we eat and about our health because we think, oh, this food I’m eating is quite beneficial for my health.
I’m I’m quite healthy. Therefore, I won’t die. But if you look very closely, they may serve as the cause of our death. So therefore, it is this this kind of feeling is most deceptive one. But those, what’s it called, medicines, okay, those medicines which is intentionally, what’s called, which is intentionally made for the recovery of certain diseases.
But even sometimes very skillful doctors, very school will pay what’s called physicians. They prescribe this certain drugs for the recovery of the disease, but those prescription doesn’t become the cause of this what is called? Cause of recovery, but become sometimes cause of death. So therefore therefore, there is many there are many circumstances internally or externally, which brings our life in to the end. Also, we can take our this fragile body physical body as a experimental object.
Okay? For example, normally, people regard the iron things are hard, in other way, are the hardest substance that one can have. So we can find many iron wires and many iron things, and especially the cars are almost built up out of the other hard substances. Okay? But when when those small iron wires start disconnecting and start failing down, then they stop functioning.
Right? They stop functioning and they stop doing what they normally does. Right? Because due to disconnecting or due to, first of all, not properly functioning. Any kind of portion or any kinds of joints.
Similarly, all this fragile, what’s called, fragile body is very feeble. Right? The composition of this body is are also very fables. So we have we have in the blood circulate. We have bloods, and we have twenty one thousand nervous system in nadi, And we have inner wind, which passes through those nadis or the oh, okay.
Nadi. Alright. Which passes through those nadis. And we have also other things which normally functions according to its own, what’s called, function. But sometimes, the blood doesn’t circulate in those in one of those important nerdies, and it stops functioning in our body.
And sometimes people get what’s called faint, and sometimes people immediately get, what’s called this, death. So those happened because not properly functioning. Any one of the part or any one of the portions of our body that function properly. Okay? So if you look very thoroughly the formation of your body, how they are.
So all those parts and portions of our body are not iron, are not very hard substance. Right? So they are very, very tiny things. They are very, very fragile, and very feeble. So therefore, if you look from those point, it’s not very hard.
It is very, very fragile, flexible, and therefore, it may face at any time when something is not working properly, when some part is not functioning properly. So from this viewpoint, one can understand that how we are surviving. Right? And what are the things that needed to be functioning properly? That’s Fragile body, we are not sure when one will become sick and when one will die.
So those sickness and death are uncertain. We will never expect, and still they come and we have to face. Right? So therefore, the time of death is uncertain from various points. Right?
Of this feeble body, the time of death is also uncertain. We have thoroughly understood that death is certain, and the time of death is uncertain. So having understood these two points, then one should contemplate them thoroughly so as to generate certain understanding of those points. So let us say, here, we have very few group of people at the moment. Right?
But we will not able to point out who will go first because time of death is uncertain to all, not to specific person. Okay? So if you stay by thinking, oh, I won’t die, or he or she will die first, then you will stay in that what’s the conception, which is built up totally from your own projection. But if you try to, what’s go, closely, it’s hard to look at it, then probably we shall what’s go? We shall unable to say that who will die first among this small group of people Because time of death is uncertain to all people, not to a particular person.
Okay? So you just think through all those points very thoroughly and closely. Yeah. Definitely. Are stepping closer to our time of death.
Right? For example, if there are a flock of buffaloes are taking towards the slaughtering house. Okay? So if those buffaloes took one step ahead, they become closer to the slaughtering house, and they will become closer to their death. Because one step is closer and another one is, of course, closer.
Right? So therefore, taking one step becomes closer to their death. But similarly, similarly, if we utilize one day, but we we we we are stepping closer to our time of death. Right? So even taking one breath in and out, we have been exhausted or, you know, what’s called breath out of what is it called?
We have exhausted our breath from our lifespan. So therefore, taking one step ahead and taking one breath in and out means take going closer to the that process. Okay? So therefore, all the activities we have done or all that we are doing now, right, is going backwards, and we are proceeding ahead towards the what’s the word? Towards the death.
Right? So therefore, each by each, are stepping closer and closer and closer to the death. So thinking those point, keeping those point in view, only in mind, then one should contemplate on the time of death is uncertain. So this covers the explanation on the point called the time of death is uncertain. Doing the meditative concentration on those point it is much worthwhile and better to do the meditation alternately.
First, you do the that that is certain. Okay? You do the meditation on the that is certain. You do it thoroughly. And then have you understood that you think, oh, death is certain.
Therefore, I will have to die. But before death, I must take advantage of this human rebirth by engaging into the virtuous actions and so forth. In this way, you start generating the very virtuous thought wishing to take advantage of this human rebirth. And again, go to the, what’s called, main heading, which is called the time of death is uncertain. You do a contemplation on it very thoroughly by all the reasonings.
And at end of that, you also generate same thought. Oh, time of death is uncertain. It may befall on me very soon. So if I die before taking advantage, it is really awful. It’s really bad.
So therefore, before falling the death, I must do something so as to get good rebirth or so as to accumulate good virtuous merit and so forth. So in this way, you again start contemplating on the meaningfulness of the human rebirth and its value. So having done that, again, you can do the other meditation. So in this way, you have to do alternatively one main point, and then you go back to the meaningfulness of the human rebirth. Right?
You wish to take rebirth I’m sorry. thinking to take advantage out of your human rebirth. So in this way, you have to do these meditations very often and alternatively. When you are doing contemplation and meditation on those point, it’s very inspiring and it’s very good instructions to remember the statement given by the Kadampa Geshe. Kadampa Geshe.
Alright? And they have mentioned in this way. Initially, right, initially, you must have what’s called scale of your home. You must afraid of the death. Right?
Initially, you must afraid of the death, and at the end, you mustn’t have regret of the death. Right? So this is very powerful instructions given by those realized person. It means, initially, you must have oh, you must afraid of death. Means, by contemplating and by doing meditation on those points, such as that is certain and then the time that is uncertain, you must have some, what’s called, you must have some afraid of the yeah?
Afraid of death. sinking, oh, if I die today, what I will be what happened to me? Right? So if you have this kind of scary mind, if you have this kind of scary mind, then you’ll start using this perfect human rebirth more purposefully. Then you will think, if you have this scary mind, then you’ll think, oh, I don’t have to die.
I don’t have to affair because at the moment, I have this very good human rebirth, this perfect human rebirth. So now I can by utilizing it, I can stop what’s called this getting afraid off, and I will using I will use it more purposefully so as to obtain certain types of attainment and so on and so. So in this way, you will start it will help you to engage in the virtuous activities. So at the end, when you die, you should die without having regret. Thinking I have done in my lifetime, so I have no regret even to leave the world.
You must contemplate on the heading goal that is certain, and the time of that is uncertain. Having done the contemplations of these two, then you should start. What’s called? You should start thinking in this way. Except Dharma or the teaching, nothing is helpful.
Nothing is beneficial after death. Right? So then you should start thinking or contemplating on this headache, which is the third. Yeah. That’s right.
Except Dharma or teaching, nothing is beneficial or helpful after the death. Although, you may have many friends, you may have many relatives, and so forth. But since suppose but suppose if you are suffered from a fatal disease which determines your death, then at that time, all your friends, all your relatives will have no power to protect from those fatal disease. At that time, what they can do is they can surround you, and they can have some tears. They can have some mournful talks, and that’s all.
Apart from those, what can they do for you? Nothing. Right? And you yourself is such as predictable situation, not able to or what’s called not able to perform your all function that you are functioning when you were healthy and so forth. So at that time at that time, nothing is beneficial.
Even your friends, your relatives have no power to grant you and to offer you any kinds of assistance to cure from that fatal disease. Therefore, at the time of death or at the point of death or after death, except dharma, there’s nothing beneficial for you. Friends and relatives, your material possessions, your material wealth will not help you to recover from those fatal disease. You may be very wealthy, and you may be very rich. You may have many material possessions, but when you die, you have to leave all those possessions right behind, and you have to go alone by yourself.
You have no such what’s called intention or you have no such power to carry even a portion of your possession. Right? So therefore, all your accumulated material wealth have to leave behind. All accumulated material wealth have no such power to recover from your disease, and you have to leave them behind. Not only those, your physical body, which you have looked after very well.
Right? And you which you have treated it very dearly have to leave behind. Right? So when you die when you die, your consciousness will apart from this body. Okay?
So that your body, at that time, becomes something which is object of terminology by others. So others will call your physical body the crops. Right? They will call your they will call your body a corpse, and they will not even like to have a look. Right?
So this is the case when we die. So therefore, nothing is beneficial. All have to leave behind, and your consciousness has to follow right according to your accumulation of white or black actions. So what is left behind after death is only the dry name. Right?
People will call that he was then they will use the word was. He was very famous. He was very intelligent. He was a president or prime minister of certain certain period. He gained certain certain knowledge on certain certain place.
He served in society. He served society certain certain time. Therefore, he’s great and he’s famous and so forth. So all those adjectives which they have used is just draw a name which is left behind after you. Okay?
So those dry names will not have you to reduce your what’s called to reduce a mental egg or whatever. So therefore, they are just helpless. Right? So so it is equal to all humans or equal to all sentient beings without exception. We all have to go through those process, and we all have to face.
Right? So by what is called achieving those points as instrument of exploring those understandings once you do the contemplative meditations on those points. You should you should contemplate on the death is certain. The time of death is uncertain. Except Dharma or the teaching.
Nothing is helpful or beneficial at the time of death. By understanding those very thoroughly, you should make strong determination right now to do something positive, which may help you in what’s called during those times. So you should not Procast. Yeah. Yeah.
You shouldn’t procrastinate. Oh. This is going to out of my mind. You should not procrastinate thinking, oh, I will do sudden sudden when I was then that. It will definitely deceive you.
Right? So therefore, right now, you have to make strong determination to do some virtuous actions, which may have you in certain levels. Things. On improper practice, after having finished all my activities, right, you might have this kind of thinking very strongly. If you do have that is totally wrong conception or totally wrong, what’s called, idea, if we look from the point which is called the time off that is uncertain.
Right? Because when you think, oh, I’ll do pure practice after I finish all my activities. Then because since there’s no end of activities. Right? Since there’s no end of activities, then we will not get chance to practice any.
Right? So thus, one should not have this kind of feeling. If you do have, try to think that the time of death is uncertain, which will have you to do practice right now onwards. Okay. There is a early illustrative examples which was happening in Tibet, particularly in Sera Monastery.
So in Sera Monastery, a teacher had a student. Right? And once teacher said to his student that one day we should go for a picnic. Right? After having done my work.
Right? And the student got very excited about hearing the word picnic. And he was always asking to his teacher, when shall we go? And teacher used to say, today, I have this work to be done. Today, I have this to be done.
Today, I have to I have this work to be done. So he said, we shall go when I finish my activities or when I when we finish all these works. So the student wasn’t so happy about this reply. So one day, Sarah was riding the hill on a hill, and we can see Raza City just by this. So one day, a member of this noble family of Tibet has been deceased, so they are taking his crops to the, what’s called, place where everything’s going on, funeral services.
So then teacher asked to a student, because there are many people just mourning and they were taking the was still many people. So teacher asked to his student, what is going on there? Right? And so he was so the student was so witty, and he remembered the teacher’s reply right immediately after that time. And he replied, they are going for picnic after having done the work.
Right? So teacher, they were so embarrassed. So so if we don’t practice right now, it may happen same case like happened in Lhasa and in Tibet. So since our activities or the works are endless, so therefore, we shouldn’t wait until finish, until the, until we finish the work. Right?
So to be able to energize our mind or to be able to reinforce our thought, we should contemplate on the death is certain. The time of death is uncertain. Except Dharma or the teaching, there’s nothing beneficial after death. So having done those con having done contemplation on those point, then one may have some very strong feeling to do something right now onward. Right?
Because we know that all have to die, right, sooner or later. So when we die, our death is not like those plants. So when the plants, after having spent length of time, they become dry. That’s the end. But this present, are our this rebirth is not the last rebirth of us.
We will take rebirth according to our accumulation of negativity or the positive actions. So sometimes, in some occasion, we are taking human rebirth and good rebirth. In any way, good rebirth. Because we have done in the previous some good actions, and we have accumulated some goods. And sometimes, instead of accumulating good, we are creating the bad.
Therefore, as a consequence of that, we shall take reward in one of the lower ends. So it is totally due to our own accumulation of the actions which determines our rebirth. Since we shall not disappear after death, we have to take rebirth according to our accumulation of white or black actions. Right? So as I mentioned before, in some occasions, we do take rebirth in higher limbs, in higher rebirth because of accumulation of good or the right action, and in some occasion, reverse of that.
So in any case, it is totally dependent on the accumulation of the actions. So good or bad reward in the future is solely dependent on the present activities, present accumulation of actions. So if you review one’s own activities right now, what one have done in the past, one will clearly able to recollect which is more powerful or which is more dominating actions or which is less dominating. Suppose if when you’re having done the analysis on those, if you find that you have done more negative in the past and less positive, then the first step to be taken is to try very hard from your core of the heart to purify all those negativities that you have accumulated in the past through the application of four antidotes. Right?
And having done the purification thoroughly, on the other hand, you have to try very hard to accumulate positive actions or virtuous actions so as to obtain good rebirth in failure. So these two, the purification and accumulation of virtuous action are the two important, what’s called, seizures that one must take at the beginning step or beginning step. Right? Right? So if you just try to reflect your mind in your past deed, probably we shall find most of the time or many of us have done something more negative than the positive.
So therefore, having understood them individually or collectively, one has to purify them. So as to what’s good, so as not to get result of that. And if you have if you have found you have accumulated less version of action, then strive more diligently to accumulate virtuous actions so as to receive good rebirth in next time. So this is the first important step to be taken after having taken the rebirth. So this is our first important to be studied.
So having taken the human rebirth, first is you have to do these two at the beginning of the practice. From accumulating negative beliefs and non-virtuous actions, whereas it’s the lower rebirth. So therefore, it is absolutely necessary to purify those negativities. So how to do the purification is through applying the four antidotes. Right?
So in terms of obtaining the higher levels of the path and higher realization, it is also necessary to purify first all the negativities. Right? And also in terms of stopping taking stop what’s go? In terms of what’s go? And also in terms of stopping the rebirth of the lower realms, it is also necessary to do the purification of negativities.
So in any cases, the purification is very, very important, and that has to be done to applying the four antidotes. First, the power of object. Second, the power of definitely eradicating, which is actual. You can also write actual. Power of definitely eradicating.
Did you get the one? And third. Mhmm. The power of regret. What’s the third one?
Power of regret. Oh, yeah. Right. Fourth one, power of promising not to deal or not to engage in the past date.