Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 24-minute closing session of a weekend phowa retreat, Khensur Rinpoche explains precisely how to apply the practice at the moment of death: no longer bringing the drop down but directing consciousness all the way up through the central channel, merging into Amitābha Buddha’s mind, then being born inside a lotus that becomes one’s permanent dwelling. He then pivots to motivation, contrasting the suffering of unguarded future rebirths with the completeness of the causes practitioners already possess — a qualified teacher, like-minded companions, a capable body and mind — and urges them not to delay. He closes by noting the method transfers to any tantric deity, including Vajra Yogini and Yamāntaka, opening it well beyond the Amitābha framework of the weekend.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 04 PW 1994 11 04.mp3
UUID: ea4f6bb0-513c-47bc-bc1f-1b146fc52e63
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Phowa (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1994-11-04
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 24.4 minutes
Words: ~1,021
Quest to happen otherwise. So that’s what happened. So those who take others suffering upon themselves and offer their happiness and help to others all the time, instead of going downward, automatically goes upward. In our case we want to go upward and we do the wrong method of being self centered, so we automatically go downward. So then when applying of the actual transference method at the time about to die, it is exactly same as what one has already been training earlier, there is nothing separate and what one has been already training earlier was visualize hollow body, central channel drop, and then Amitābha on one’s crown, and then light tube comes down, and then hook of light into that tube comes down.
And one thinks one is being lifted upward, during which time one says, hick, and then comes successively the same song. And during this time of about to die, there’s no bringing down of the drop at all instead it is all the way up and up and up. So in this way that is how one apply at that time. And then one’s mind becomes merged into the mind of Amitābha Buddha And then after that, one comes out from Amitābha Buddha’s heart and one gets born inside the lotus. And as explained yesterday afternoon, that lotus inside which one is born, it’s always one’s room.
That’s one’s environment. So inside each one lives, eats and receives the teachings and all that. One in that way continuously receive guidance from Amitābha Buddha and make speedy progress on the path. So for us to attain excellent results, we need to engage into excellent causes, which bring about excellent result. As far as excellent causes go, we have all of them complete with us personally in our situation.
We have perfect teacher who unmistakenly and completely shows all the parts. We have excellent like minded practitioners with whom we can together do the practice of Dharma. And we have the intelligence of the mind, capability of the body, so forth, and all other necessary factors. If that is the case, then now is the time. If we ourselves don’t do, no one else will do for us.
And if we fail, so we do have to do from our side. And if we fail to do from our side then it is a situation where we are incurring loss upon ourselves, we are making ourselves to lose. Not only that, in this way if one fails to be compassionate towards oneself, if one fails to be loving kind to oneself, and in that way fails to do the practices, in next rebirth, let’s say even at the best the rebirth we are likely to get, say if it happens to be a human rebirth, then we can relate how as a human there is so much dissatisfaction, not only of the normal four major sufferings of dissatisfaction, birth, aging, sickness and death, but on top of that how much we don’t get things we need to have. We are unchoicelessly surrounded by things we don’t want to be together with and so forth. So in that way, there is so much dissatisfaction, problems, sufferings we have to be with.
And that would be even at the best, things might be next rebirth. And what follows after that is not certain. What follows after that is uncertainly after that after that after that in that way it will go on for such a long period. Therefore, if for now if we do our practices as we just understood well and went over, then that is a case where we are accomplishing the causes, the sources. And if the sources are there, then the outcome of results is inevitable and they will naturally follow.
For instance, if let it be a flower or crop, if the seed, manure, and all other factors are complete, the germination of the pliancy is natural, it is certain, it would naturally grow. So that is exactly same with any other context of things that the course is being complete, outcome of result is definite. So it’s like Geshe Chekhawa who says to just keep thinking that, oh, may I have it future, may I have it future, it’s probably it may never happen. So quite a fair number of people here have attended the weekend. You from your side have put effort and time into this weekend, for which speaking third person, Rinpoche is extremely happy, and he compliments you wholeheartedly.
And speaking third person, Rinpoche, from his part, has come to the place and on the heels quite often in the past, and therefore is quite used to the place. And therefore it’s a point of enjoying the coming and being part of the retreat. And also as far as the Dharma teaching goes, Rinpoche wholeheartedly, whatever he could explain and found to be the most helpful way accordingly he has explained and it’s been wonderful and Rinpoche enjoyed very much. And hopefully that you after doing the practices well would become source of benefit and help to other many other people in future. And then in the actual context of the practice, there are third section to the text which is after having trained one so very well, one can use the method to help others.
But that is something we leave it for time being. If you do the practices very well, in future, there can be time to go over that part. So sometimes you can gather together and do discussions and then meditate together and then based the practice on the text, read the text thoroughly and in that way if you can improve well it would be very good. Also here presently the practice is related with Amitābha but it can the practice can be applied to just about any deity practice one is doing Yamāntaka, Vajra Yogini, or any other deities of the Tantric path, and even in relation with the Guru Puja practice. So it can be just about applied to any deity practice.