Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 42-minute teaching, Lama Zopa Rinpoche grounds his meditation on death in vivid cross-cultural anecdotes: paid mourners hired by families in Taiwan, a Sikh cremation ceremony in Delhi where he led prayers, a young man’s final moments in California where he blamed the world for his own delusions. Through these stories, he reveals one central truth: all worldly accumulation becomes utterly meaningless at death, offering nothing to benefit the deceased. He emphasizes that death arrives without warning—a woman walking and suddenly collapsing, a heart attack in the night—and describes the physical signs of dissolution. Years of busy attachment, relationships, and possessions mean nothing. Yet we live under the delusion of permanence, acting as though we will live forever. His practical response: accept the nature of saṃsāra itself. In cyclic existence, everything is impermanent—high becomes low, meetings end in separation, everything shifts. The only rational response is to practice dharma now, not wait for crisis to awaken you.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 14 2005 04 19 8 Ver Th Trans.mp3
UUID: 37f7d15a-33b6-407a-8697-360c024dec9d
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: z Malaysia (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2005-04-19
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 42.0 minutes
Words: ~4,541
Then then the called causative phenomena, like what to do. But here, this is a they’re talking about the natural impermanence. So what to do can be dropped anytime. Uncertainties, it can be dropped any minute, any second. So these causative phenomena can be dropped anytime.
For some of this life, the human life can be stopped anytime. Anytime, suddenly heart attack happens. There was one lady, one girl in the United States, well, I think might be a student. So she’s nothing wrong. She’s okay.
But she was walking. You know, she’s walking. And then suddenly suddenly suddenly she fell down. Suddenly she fell down, died. Okay.
She’s walking. She’s walking. Suddenly, she fell down dead. So like that, you see, we can never tell. We can never tell one until so the course of this life can stop anytime.
You know? Or car accidents or or tonight, go to bed. And then next day, you see, the person is not getting up. You know? You see?
Families family see the patient not getting up. The usual usual time getting up, but the the person not getting up. So then then if you want a room to see, then and then you see. Tonight, see see, night before, you know, when they get and then, you know, then the next morning, the is it then the patient come out of the room, then time we go to check, then see, die. And then the body the body the body which was not called corpse, not not called corpse, not the day before, that is today, this morning, the body is called corpse.
You know? So it’s and then you see with the name you see? With the name, the night night before night before after night before, didn’t have didn’t have name dead. You know, this you know, Wang or some whatever it’s called, you know, say, say, Peter or whatever you see, the the dead is not joined before until, you know, up to up to last night, he left. But then this morning, he said that the name is joined with the word dead.
So so that so that so that can so that can happen to us. So that can happen to us anytime anytime. Any day, it can happen to us. So our name joined with the word dead. What’s her name?
The body become corpse. Call it corpse. You see, the other people, even the family members, are scared, scared or sick to touch. You know? Even normally, it’s normally, you have no fear of touch, but but but when this when the death happened, then, you see, scared to touch to the body.
So this can happen anything. It can happen to this can happen to one’s or any any day. And that and the family visit the the family member, you know, who who passed away already, you know, what is gone, everything. So there are the materials left, shoes and the clothings and how many shoes are there, how many hats are there, and, you know, clothings left, or the summer clothing, winter clothing, autumn clothing, spring clothing, you know, outside dress, inside dress, morning dress, nighttime dress. So notice then, let’s say, bags left, you see.
Patient’s gone. So I say and the room is empty. You see? Only left empty empty empty name, you know, with the word with the word dead joint. So as that so as that, exactly this can happen to me, which can happen to one’s on any day.
Any day can happen. Or suddenly, you have heart attack or some some, I say, some heavy something. And call call ambulance what’s it called? Album. Ambulance.
Ambulance. Not album. Album is the book. The port with the portraits. Yeah.
So yes. Ambulance. So suddenly paralyzed and suddenly fainted, paralyzed. What do you see? What about heart attack or something?
Then I call ambulance. And then before reaching the before reaching emergency hospital, passed away on the way. Breath stopped. So like we like we hear, we see others happening. So that can happen can happen to oneself any day.
So and then once the body is laying down there, then then families family members surrounded and crying, weeping. You see, like that, feeling so sad, missing, feeling so sad, but nothing but it how much so sad, nothing nothing you can do, nothing to bring back. How much one is being how much one miss? You see, nothing can nothing can be done. So so that that, say, nose nose.
So the, you know, that gradual death, you see, not suddenly Those become as we describe in teaching, as we often see like that, you know, all the signs of death on the physically, they happen. Near the near the the long distance sign far far, there’s a long distance sign of death, which are the dreams and the the many things explained to you the text. Then there’s signs of death, which is gonna die after two days or on the same day. So near near sign of death. So all these things happened on the it’s on the body.
So so body body become like a wood laying down, so cold and hard when you lift up like wood. You like lifting wood, you know? So like that like that. So it can happen so things can happen any day to ourselves. And the person during the time of passing about to pass away, then the twenty-five dissolutions happening.
What element? Earth element happen absorbed. The full body’s the person feeling the body is sinking in the ground. Then they they move moving their legs. You see, with feeling being drawn, you see, sinking in the earth.
So moving legs, want to hold on things, you see, and and things like that. Then the tongue becomes shortened and blue and dry, no water, element of water. So person wanted to speak, but want to talk, but can’t express. Not clear or can’t express. Can’t talk.
Can’t, you know, can’t communicate verbally. I think it’s that. So so can happen in it. Like that can happen. Those signs of it can native signs of it can happen.
But like that, like that is can happen any day. Body body body is kept in the bodies made it up and kept in the coffin. Then family members come to see the face. So like that, which which is just the body. And then that can happen to oneself any day.
And and then the Then the coffin taken to the cemetery and put it in the in the ground. And then the priest coming out, white priest or whatever. The people are praying or whatever. Doing parties or in Taiwan in Taiwan, there’s I don’t know maybe it still exists. Taiwan, one one time one time, the center was one location.
So every time when we have lunch, during the time of lunch, every almost every day, there’s cars passing which is cars carrying dead bodies. And then, you know, and you mean, all these music is then you you hear the lady, the hired lady, the hired lady, you know, paid money, hired to cry. Yeah. They let the lady to cry on behalf of the family, you see, who’s paid, you know, to cry to you. All the in a big in a big noise.
So you can hear that one, that lady’s noise, you see, who’s crying. They’re paid to cry. You see? Paid to cry for the family. On behalf of the family.
On behalf of the family. So I heard I wanted to go I wanted to go to see the to go to the cemetery. So what I heard this so this this lady is hired, you see, to pay the money, and she crawls she crawls around the coffin or the person’s body is burned or buried with coffin. She said, so around, you know, when the dust like that, she she she crawl. Yeah.
She crawls around. She crawls around and then cry. Oh. You know, cry during the during the what what is the one hour time or two? So it make big noise cry.
For this for the family, you see, cry for the on behalf on behalf of the family. And the family, are drinking. Let her to do the job clown. Very inter a very interesting culture. Then in then in India, in the in Delhi, one one student one student of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Center, He he used to come every day for many years of meditation.
He’s sick sick, you know, Sikh. Not sickness, Sikh, but Sikh. They call it in the Indian. Sikh. So sick.
Yeah. Not not sickness. So so they so I’ve got students. So it happened to me to be there. His wife died.
So it happened it happened to me. I was there in Delhi. So so they want to do Buddhist way. They finish the they finish with the Hindu. Yeah.
His wife died. So his wife died, and and they were on the on the sitting room on the on the floor. So they finished the ceremony with Hindus. But then So in the one they cannot accept the the other one. So he he was there.
So I invited them from long distance where the Tibetans live. So to pray there. So I think, yeah, we did we did powa. I don’t know. I don’t know what happened, whether powa worked or not.
I’m sure. So we did it. Tried to lead the powa. I tried to lead. Anyway, then Then then the body is taking what what is taking so so while the body was there, the culture the culture is that the culture is that, you see, all the family come, all the relatives come that time.
Then there’s one related the relative is one very rich. Oberoi. Op there’s Oberoi hotel in there, you see, other countries. So there’s one lady, Operio. She’s a student of the lamas.
Also, it’s gonna come up. So she was she was this man’s this student’s family. So they all dressed white. So she was sitting there, but they were supposed to cry. The culture is the culture, they’re supposed to cry, but she could not cry.
So she keep her head down. She keep her head down. You know, like this. But she supposed to cry, but she, you know, I say, had to kind of show. So so she I think she’s not crying because she kept her head down.
The husband and then husband sit next to the wife, and then the body, you see. And then, of course, he’s not crying, but he’s but time to time, he’s like, like this. He just like, oh, like that. And then he kisses on our head. Just walk I think maybe just one time or so.
So what is, like, gone in the bus to go to cemetery? So I I went to him inside the room after that. And I said, worry there. But he then he told me. And then he told me, Lama.
She said, Lama, what’s what’s worried? Everything’s gone. Finished. So, actually, he was not crying, you know, but he had to act. It’s that for the, you know, all those religious people you see.
It doesn’t make sense. You know? Hawking doesn’t make sense. So, anyway, then we went to the cemetery where the body’s burned. To chant to chant man to prayer.
To prayer. Then then after that, I joined they are sick. So sick, you know, they have to pray in the sick temple. Sick temple. So I went.
That’s my first time. So you have to cover you know, when you go to sick temple, you have to cover your head. You can’t go just with a bare head, you see. So outside at the door, there’s a container with all the what’s this piece of cloth? What’s it called?
No. No. The piece of cloth. They made a piece of cloth there. Actually, so so I didn’t know that.
So I was trying to go inside the temple without anything, you know. So thought then there was all the cloth in the drawer. You can put but I I think I put my Zen, you know, like this. But I don’t want to just I didn’t want to put some cold. Okay?
Some seems pretty dirty. I didn’t watch. So go when inside, there’s a man’s side, there’s a woman’s side. So the the student, Oberoi, was — a lot of students will know. So I tell her about that side, then then actually the then she she let bring to what the men’s side.
So they did prayers in the Gurdwara, you know, the the music. But one delicious thing but there’s but there’s one advantage advantage, one delicious thing. It’s a to give something like sort of blessing. It’s a it’s a it’s a flour from grain, then lot of butter in this in the I think sugar or something, but very tasty. This one gives some small one and then it’s very tasty.
So I did want to experience going to Sikh temple to pray, you know, to, you know, join with him. So yeah. So anyway, So many years ago, I went to I think, went a few times. Day in Delhi I don’t know old Delhi or new Delhi, but cemetery where they bring the bodies down. While I was while I was standing watching, the rich people’s body come.
And so many people come by car or some by motorbikes, so many. Then the the the I think it’s the one wife of the time, I think, family. So laying down, then everybody put down, you know, in front of her face, think, everybody put down like this. And then the husband so I think I think very well very rich I think the person is one walking around, kind of very confused, walking around very confused about life. So and I felt that’s the best moment to talk about dharma because there’s awareness of the reality of life.
What happened? Do you see that? Dead. See what happened in the family. So that you whom you live whom you live for many many years, gone.
So, see, so reality of life. Normally, you don’t you don’t think that. Reality of life that you don’t think, you don’t, you know, think you put off. That’s stop thinking. So so the person is very confused, you know, and lost.
But, you see, there’s no understanding dharma about mind, about reincarnation. So very confused, you know, doesn’t know what’s what’s happening. You see that? And then he asked me he asked me what you do. He asked me what you’re doing here.
He said, he asked me, are you doing research? I don’t remember what I replied. So, you know, feels that because that time, of course, also, you know, it’s something that, you know, one know. Is there something that you can see want to know about life? But, you see, there’s nobody nobody explaining.
You see, what’s hap what’s what’s happening. You see? So so then what what I felt is now here. You see? That, you know, that worldly life.
I mean, so many people around. So I see so what I saw is that, you know, such unbelievable busy life, so busy life. So now here, what I see is that time, Now all now all that activity so busy, have been so busy, they like parties and this and this and that, you know, here and there and this, this, this. Now here, now here, all this empty. Nothing.
No connection to the dead. That beneficial to the dead, your end of life, nothing. Not one single thing. Totally meaningless. This is little there’s no nothing that’s connected to death.
All that all that thing what is done. All that busy, so busy. But he’s not busy he’s not busy walking through. He’s not busy benefiting something things. He’s not busy cutting down.
Not that busy. Not that type of busy. You see, just busy walking yourself, you know, with the attachment. You see, sometimes it could be anger, then, you know, talk, you know, ignorance. Whole life is that.
So I don’t didn’t see any connection to the death, from the benefit to the death. All that’s totally all that life, meaningless. You see? So if there’s a Dharma, some virtuous action done, practiced, then there’s a there’s connection with that. Help the dead.
You know? Better see. How’s it? Happiness at the time of death. Oh, happiness after death.
You know, good rebirth, all that. So this is how you see by watching the at the cemetery. So poor people, the very poor people, only twenty people, they bring the you know, there’s only twenty people. They they bring the body and put them and the wood they get is the old wood, old big wood, and that takes long time to burn. The rich people slice the wood, you see.
The very nice slice of wood they get and they burn fast. It was very, you know, like that. Then there’s mother. I think the husband died for some time. She then she misses so much.
And the bodies, they’re all in the fire. And she almost don’t want to go in the fire, you know. And then other it’s I don’t know. Her family other little friend was entitled to hold their mother. I couldn’t understand if mother is I didn’t talk about good things about the person.
She’s hitting here and there, dropping onto the fire, you know, screaming. I think it’s the mother made her husband died. So like that. This is how it’s solved. So here, what I would like to say is very, important.
Of course, for me, shooting not only you, for myself too. You see? Like tsunami that happened, you see, recent time. And that reminded that that reminded the nature of that reminded very clearly the the reality of life. You see, about death.
You after birth, there’s a death. If you took if you took saṃsāra rebirth, if you took if you if you took suffering rebirth, death rebirth cause of delusion karma, then there’s a death at the end. So that nature of saṃsāra. You see, after you collect after you collect the world, that ends. After collecting, the end is finishing.
That’s the nature of saṃsāra. See? After you collect, you know, well, at the end, finishing. And, see, after meeting after meeting, then it’s natural saṃsāra. After meeting, we have family.
Whatever. After meeting, two separate. At the end, have to separate. So that’s the it is being the saṃsāra. That’s.
And they said, after being hired, king or president or whatever. After being high, you know, then then one become low again. Let’s say, servant or even, you know, lord. Even the lord lord realm, you see. Not on lord, he mean being like servant or something.
Doing doing where, say, their lord job after being king or or something like that. So there, I said, even the lower realm. Next slide. So everything so whole thing just nothing is definite. Something like holding changes.
You see? Okay. That after high being low, then low. So at the end being low, see like that. Of of the rebirth is death.
So like this. So what I was going to so it’s good. It is psychologically. It’s good. This nature of saṃsāra is good to be known.
It’s good to expect rather rather than rejecting, not accepting. Because if you if you if you do not if you do not accept if you do not expect, you do not accept the reality, then that’s what become when you don’t accept, then that’s what become so much pain, so much sorrow. So reality reality nature of saṃsāra, you see, These changes happened. So what’s the point to worry? What’s the point to worry?
So, you know, so until you are free from saṃsāra, this is what you have to go through. So what’s the point to worry, you see? So better to know better to know to be known the nature of saṃsāra. What you see, as long as you are saṃsāra, this is what will happen. One has to go through this.
Then you accept. That’s very that makes life so simple. You know, being so being so upset and, you know, angry. See, can’t help. That that doesn’t help you, doesn’t help others.
Doesn’t help the family members. So one Japanese man died in California, young Japanese man. So what I heard is when he died, when he died, you see, he got angry because he thought I think he’s I think he’s quite intelligent person. I think he’s quite intelligent person. You see, as I was saying, he got angry because he thought the world cheated him.
Because he thought the world cheated him. Actually, world did not cheat him. He’s, you know, he cheated himself. His mind by following by following wrong concept, hallucination. You know, concept of permanence.
Oh, I’m everyday. Everyday, I’m gonna live for oh, I’m gonna live for many years. Because in everything of death, I’m gonna live for many years. Every day, you know, every day. So thinking of living on this concept of permanent was not true, which is totally false.
Not true is the everyday thing that I’m gonna live. Even the even the five minutes before even the five minutes before car accidents car accidents, all that you contact. You see, this concept of permanence continues even the the next morning when you get up and even minute before the car stands. This concept of happiness, I’m going to permanent in in that time. So you can see that’s totally not true and that really cheats.
It really cheats you. So he is quite intelligent. He thinks of so I think world world cheated world cheated me because I think, you know, I think probably may probably, maybe, I’m not sure. My guess is because everything family member, you know, house, object, everything appear true recently. Everything is real, you see.
Existing from the side, it appear like that. Suddenly, has suddenly, then he has suddenly, he has to separate from all these things. So so I think maybe my maybe like that. Everything looks very real. It look permanent.
You know? Everything is permanent. Gonna live gonna last for long. I mean, forever or something like that. See?
Forever, it’s gonna do like this. See? Whenever you look at when you look at pictures, photos, you see, photos of people, you see, and it looks like, you know, permanent. Like, it’s it’s been always there. You know?
It’s been, like, always there. You see? Kind of like appears like that. Always there. You know?
Permanent. See? Not all and then That’s and it’s also permanent appearance of permanence. So anyway so I think because of this this hallucination but he does know this hallucination. So he trusts he trusts he believed all this, you know, true what appeared.
So I think you see maybe that’s why I think maybe he blamed the world. You know? I mean, the whole whole world and all this is illusion. It’s a hallucination. There’s no such things as truly existent, really permanent.
A house, permanent family, permanent, all that, permanent car and all that. It’s the first one. So that way, I’m saying maybe he’s quite intelligent. But, however, he’s he’s I said, he’s caught in a concept of permanence. He’s a wrong concept, a hallucinating mind.
Concept of permanence and concept of true existence. So those things is cheated him by following them, then they cheated him. So that’s right. That’s what I heard. You see, this young Japanese guy.
Yeah. He got angry, and he thinks the world cheated him. So remember that. So, anyway, so what I was gonna tell is, like tsunami, see, something happened. Suddenly, you see, you see, they reminded reminded death.
But some, you see, who didn’t have who didn’t die, but there didn’t die. But now so that time, you see, that time oh, that time, do you remember? Oh, I should have practiced Dharma. You see? Oh, no.
I should have done I shouldn’t have done those things. I should have I should have practiced Dharma and really, you know, intensively. You see, should have done should have done lots of retreat and then say, but but should I practice purification, you know, and do all the things. You know, I should have done. See?
I should have done all this. You see? So you regret, you know, life’s been in distraction. You know, here in the office, It’s not practiced in Dharma. You know, life span in distraction.
You know, sightseeing, vacation sightseeing, vacation, distraction, sightseeing. So you see, So you see? So when the condition and such condition, you see, like that. Oh, heart attack is something that reminded you very strongly death. Yeah.
Very strongly death. So again, oh, now I might I might die. I think she okay. That you see. Oh, that thing that thing is that moment and think, oh, I should’ve done this and that.
I should must I should have disciplined my life. You know? Should should to live in morality should should live in the whether there’s a vows and the the, you know, five lay precepts, you know, morality. So that time, there’s so much so much regret, you know, that, oh, I should have done this this, you know, all these distractions, you know, laziness and all the distraction. But but you can’t fix that.
You can’t go back, you know. You can’t go back to childhood. You know, from from this life from this life, you go back to childhood time, you know. Then you start all over again, you know, because you made a mistake, so you go back, you become a child. I don’t mean next life child, but this life is you go back.
Oh, I made a mistake, so I go back, I do, yeah, you know, practice Dharma, you see, starts. So go back to this. You become a child, You You become a child, then start to become with that. Right? So so that’s all gone.
The life finished. So that so that I’m very strong. All now, I’m gonna find dharma. I’m going to retreat. I’m gonna listen that.
You see? Now but then you see but then but then you see you but then you see after a few days, forget. You know, then I again, become normal. I can become the same. I can become the same thing.
The old mind and old that’s a old story. You know? When you did it before, then I became the same. So here. But this time, actually, he didn’t die.