Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 102-minute session, Ven Jampa Gendun opens with a distinction between “doing mode” and “learning mode” before leading a guided nine-round death meditation built on three roots: death is certain, its timing is not, and only mind development accompanies us beyond it. He then reviews Tsongkhapa’s first principal aspect — the determination to be free — covering the Buddhist account of the dying process: the dissolution of the four elements, the collapse of gross into subtle consciousness, and the subtlest mind-energy combination that carries karmic imprints into rebirth. He walks through five practical forces for preparing for death, including settling worldly affairs, cultivating aversion to afflictive emotions, and rehearsing a giving-and-taking practice synchronized with the breath as dying begins. A Q&A closes the session on the logic of beginninglessness and the difficulty of proving rebirth to a contemporary audience.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 29 3PA 2007 10 22.mp3
UUID: ec24d448-153a-427b-8bbb-e0a554d44661
Teacher: Ven Jampa Gendun
Collection: Three Principle Aspects of the Path 2006-2007 (Ven Jampa Gendun)
Date: 2007-10-22
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 101.9 minutes
Words: ~8,793
How is how is everybody? Are you well? Yes, I’m very well. Okay. Good.
It’s nice to listen to the rain, isn’t it? Unusual sound. So again and again and again we have to adjust our motivation. Maybe everything becomes easier upon being accustomed to it. So hopefully it’s becoming easier as we familiarize ourselves with just inner motivation developing as positive a motivation as we can for what we do.
Then we can be assured it’s worthwhile. There’s going to be some immediate but as well some long term, some long range benefit is going to arise. It’s not simply going to be a matter of gathering more information. It’s going to be I think maybe we make our minds susceptible to we put it in a learning mode. It seems as if there’s two modes to our being and one way of looking at it.
There’s a doing mode and learning mode. I think most of the time we’re in doing mode, you know, which is quite necessary to meet the practical necessities of our everyday life. I think in learning mode we become receptive. We create this kind of inner space for what is being said, what we’re doing to somehow affect us in ways that it normally doesn’t rather than perhaps more defensive, you know, externalized orientation. We’re more concerned with how what is being said or what we’re reading or doing is influencing our how we feel.
Maybe it’s a feeling mode. Maybe we get in touch with other places inside of ourselves. We get a chance to come to know areas of ourselves which, for the most part, we’re very distracted from or know only slightly or don’t know much about at all. So that plays those qualities with inside of ourselves that we’re trying to work with and learn about and develop and cultivate. And the Buddha is your mind and the way goes nowhere.
Don’t look for anything but this. If you want to go north but you point your cart south, how will you ever arrive? So you know what it is we’re trying to become and the values that we’re trying to realize in our everyday life a successful story that we could tell ourselves about ourselves and what we could do and be in our life. And we can give that the name Buddha, a happy, healthy, loving, sane human being. So, you know, we can orientate ourselves toward that, you know, kind of point our cart toward that and see what kinds of strategies, what, how we can, you know, various practices, how we can begin to implement the means to achieve that.
You know, we get out of touch, don’t we, with what feels right to ourselves, what brings meaning to our lives, gives us a sense of purpose, you know, over and above all the daily pleasures that we we get caught up in, that we pursue, that constitute most of our, absorb most of our energies and time and thought. And there are other aspects to ourselves and our being that, more than that, are neglected in our everyday pursuits. So, you know, we stop acting, stop speeding, and perhaps try to, as best we can, to get in touch with those more deeply held values. You know, the, the, what we would like to see our life, what represents our life, what would be a worthwhile way to spend our life and be in our life. And if we could wave a magic wand of some sort and just be the person that we have dreamed to be in one way or another.
We can call that a Buddha. I guess worthwhile reminding ourselves of our dreams, isn’t it? These castles that we’ve all built in the air at some time in our life, of the of the way of and the person that we’d always hoped to be. But that’s quite a necessary part of the process. But we have to put some foundations beneath those castles built in the air.
We actually have to do something. So we’re resurrecting the story of the sacred in our lives and beginning to find how we can implement the strategies to begin to live out that story, that Buddhist story. So the Dharma, I guess the truth of things in a way. We’re quite fortunate. We a tradition of education that we can avail ourselves of, that we can make use of, that we can implement in our thinking, in our ways of relating as best we can.
The trainings, the techniques, the meditations, the teachings, there’s quite a lot that we have to work with, some tools, life tools, so we aren’t thrown onto our own devices just to make do with what we have known before. Who we are now is we’ve learned to be, and we can relearn ourselves. We can reinvent ourselves. And we have some means and tools. And I think we’re quite fortunate in that way.
We can educate ourselves to other possibilities, other options and alternatives. And we’re quite fortunate that we have each other in the Sangha, the spiritual community, that we can see other people who we can identify with, who aren’t far removed from who we feel we are, but we see them as living out in various small ways what we would like to be ourselves. And that serves as a real inspiration that, oh, I can do that. I can be that. I can try that.
You know? We can share our feelings and our ideas and our aspirations and but also our understandings, our wisdom, material resources and creating this kind of rich earth where we can nourish ourselves. These fragile shoots of this person that we want to be can find nourishment and grow. I think we’re quite fortunate people. And I think we have we can live quite a good life, a successful life.
You know, you have your work and your either inside the home or outside the home, and then your interests, your studies, all your creative pursuits. But you also have the dharma. You have some way, some context to put it all in so you can find meaning in all of it, so that you don’t lose your way, so that you’re always growing. I think we can lead a balanced life. I think that’s a good approach, a realistic approach, and no extremes.
Something good will come out of that. And we can, you know, here on Monday night, the twenty second of October, and then we come together here. And we can, you know, we can make this time together, this listening together, simply an activity. Or it can be something which transcends our usual busyness. And that, I think, is very much dependent upon the motivation, the intention.
And the way that I feel is most relevant to ourselves is if we can just think of one other person. You know, it’s not connecting up in a genuine way, in a sincere way with in the present moment here about seven thirty on Monday night, that person that that you care about and thinking, okay, I’m trying my best, you know, working with these ideas and these methods. I think something good is happening. I think I’m bringing about some changes. But I would like to bring about those changes just not myself, not for my own piece of chocolate cake, my own pleasures and my own well-being.
That’s been my habit all my life up to now. And that hasn’t really significant way, to be there a little more patient, little more caring, little more understanding. To help them in their difficulties, to bring a smile to their face, make them little bit happier, make their life a little richer, a little bit better, and, you know, to share what we’re doing here with them and for them. Then I think then we’re connecting up with the present present moment. We’re connecting up with something in our heart.
We’re connecting up in some small way with that Buddha, which resides within our own hearts. And I think then I think in this journey toward becoming that person, I think we’re really making some substantial substantial steps. You know, we’ve pointed our cart north where we want to go. And we’re really making you know, the word path in Pali word, in the Pali language is patipada. And patipada simply means putting one foot in front of the next.
And I think that’s a real step you know just thinking of that one other person. I mean I think it’s a genuine step, a meaningful step, you know, that our time together is really useful. It serves a real purpose for helping us to solve our problems and finding the happiness that we all want. I think we can be assured of that. I would like to invite you to do that.
So thinking of that one other person and checking up within your own mind, that what I’m doing, I’m not doing just for myself, but also for them. I’m making some kind of commitment to be a better person for them, to implement the methods of the Dharma for them, to go for refuge to my fellow spiritual practitioners for them, maybe even for an ever widening circle of others. And accustom our mind to that notion, that style, that way of thinking, that way of being again and again. Then something changes, something, some good will come out of that. I go for refuge until I’m awakened to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha through my practice of generosity and the other perfections.
May I become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I am awakened to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha through my practice generosity and the other perfections, may I become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I am awakened to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Through my practice of generosity and the other perfections, perfections, may I become a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. May all sentient beings of happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May all sentient beings be inseparable from the joy that is without sorrow. May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment for some and aversion toward others. Reverently, I prostrate with my body, speech, mind. I present clouds of every type of offering those actually arranged and imagined.
I disclose all my negative actions accumulated during beginningless time and rejoice in all the virtues of superiors and ordinary beings. Please remain at the end of cyclic existence and turn the wheel of Dharma for migrating beings. I dedicate all virtue, my own and that of others, to the great awakening. So we’re going to begin by with a process of relaxing the body, the part the meditation session, then the the six part breath exercise, mindfulness of breath. And then I thought we’d meditate on death.
Know, death is meditating on death is the way that we it helps us to get in touch with what is most important to ourselves. We get lost, don’t we, in the busyness of our lives. It helps us to clarify our priorities for ourselves. That we only have so much time in this this wild, precious life of ours. And what are you going to do with it?
What is most important for yourself? So it it cuts through a lot of banality and emptiness, inauthenticity, It comes and it gets down to what is important to ourselves. So we’ve talked about the nine-round death meditation. There are three roots: the inevitability of death, that death is definite, that the time of our death is indefinite, and the third root is that at the time of our death, you know, what is only the development of our mind and the imprints that we’ve placed upon our mind are going to serve us is the only thing that we can take with us. And with regard to this first root, there are three reasons which support that.
So we’re trying to come to a firm conviction, a determination that in fact that we’re going to die, that we’re going to try to use our life wisely and meaningfully while we still have it to live. So each of these roots has three reasons supporting it: that everyone must die, that the, that there’s, our life is continually decreasing without any extension forthcoming, and that whatever is of a composite, whatever is brought together by causes and conditions, is necessarily going to disperse someday, is necessarily going to come to an end. What’s so special about me? So we’ll we’ll we’ll go through each of those three reasons supporting the that death is inevitable. So, okay, taking a comfortable, firm posture.
First beginning by relaxing the body. So bringing your awareness to these various areas and feeling the tension diminish, the tightness loosen. Starting at the crown of your head, the scalp, the forehead, feeling feeling the wrinkles in your brow beginning to smooth out. The pressure in and around your eyes muscles of the face relaxing, the jaws relaxed. Moving to the muscles of the back of the neck, perhaps gently turn your head to each side a few times, gently loosening, stretching the muscles of the back of the neck.
And relaxing the muscles of the throat And the upper back and shoulders perhaps rotating your shoulders a few times, lifting them and letting them drop comfortably to the sides. Feeling this burden, this weight that we carry around on our backs moving down through your body into the ground like some weight, some burden that you’ve been carrying around all day has finally been lifted off your back. And coming all the way down to your hands, your hands are loose and soft. Relaxing your lower arms, Your upper arms. The chest is ease.
Relaxing throughout the heart area. In the lungs, in the central portion of the back, the stomach, Reducing the tension that we hold in our stomach muscles, allowing your belly to go soft. Relaxing throughout the abdominal cavity. The lower back muscles. Buttocks, and throughout the upper legs and the lower legs.
And your feet. And bringing your awareness to your body in general, noticing any tightnesses, any tensions within the body, any areas of discomfort. Discomfort and focusing upon those areas feeling the tightness loosen, the tension diminish. Tightness loosen, the tension diminish. Breathing into those areas of discomfort, accepting, dissolving.
The body becoming comfortable, at ease. A feeling of physical well-being pervading your entire body. It feels good to be in your body. Just be with your body. Just be with your body.
And then bring your then we’ll practice the six part breath exercise breathing in normally comfortably breathing out extending exhalation completely emptying the lungs again breathing in normally comfortably again exhaling completely emptying the lungs and doing this six times individually. When you’ve completed the breath exercise, bring your mind to the breath. Just the easy gentle and outflow of the natural breath. If it’s helpful use the techniques of counting and noting the breaths. If your mind wanders as distracted gently and patiently bring your mind back to the breath.
So now we’re going to meditate on death beginning with the inevitability of death. The death is definite. And we’re going to reflect upon three reasons which establish this fact. The first is that everyone must die. And we can just think of all the various types of people, presidents and kings and philosophers and writers and criminals and saints and soldiers.
All the people who have lived on this earth, all the creatures since its very beginning, all the billions and billions of lives, they’ve all died. What’s so special about me? I too am going to die. Everyone must die, including myself. All the billions and billions of people just like myself.
Now they’re gone. And then the second reason, our lifespan is continually decreasing and there’s no extension forthcoming. And even as we sit here seconds become minutes, minutes become hours. Eventually hours become days and days, months, months, years, decades. Almost half the evenings over already.
Then we’ll go home, wake up tomorrow that much closer. And like we’re on a journey, a train trip. We’re always moving toward our destination. And then when we get to the station, we have to get off. The train doesn’t go any further.
So our life is passing even as we sit here. And then the third reason, supporting the inevitability of death. This body of ours is simply a composite of constantly changing causes and conditions. Cells multiplying, all the various chemical processes occurring within the body, all the exchanges of oxygen, carbon dioxide, all these various chemical reactions constantly changing. All that binds it together will eventually disperse.
The force which maintains this process will weaken and eventually come to an end, and the body simply dissolves. All that’s organized tends toward disorganization, dispersal, decay. That’s the nature of things, including our own bodies. So see if you can come to some kind of conclusion, some kind of determination in your mind. I’m definitely going to die.
This one wild precious life of mine is going to come to an end. And while I have it, I want to make the most of it, Determined to use it wisely with finding what it is that you value most and trying to live that as best you can. Really make it meaningful. Make it your life. And then bring your mind back to the breath.
And get in touch with your body. Perhaps the pressure of your feet on your floor or your buttocks on the cushion or and in an easy and relaxed manner just slowly become aware of your surroundings. So we’re doing a review of Tsongkhapa’s presentation of the first principal aspect of the path, the determination to be free. Last week we talked about freedoms and richnesses are hard to find and beginning with and life does not last long. The fact that this human life that we have, it’s expressed as a, it’s termed a precious human life, a life with freedoms and richnesses, is like a window of opportunity.
But this window is going to close. This opportunity that we can make use of isn’t going to last forever. It’s definite that we’re going to die. So we’ve, you know, we just meditated on death, didn’t we? You know, the significance of meditating on death is to help us to appreciate our life while we still have it.
So we, you we stopped postponing what we really want to do with our life, what is that, until things are better, until we get to more favorable conditions, to ensure that we don’t live one of those cowards who die many times before their death. And then the the death of an existential death. Many people die before they the physical body goes, in a way, I guess you might say. Maybe that’s a bit harsh to say that. I don’t living death of banality or emptiness or hypocrisy or inauthenticity or pettiness in a life of not much meaning, not much purpose, and just running after bigger, better, more, and the various pleasures and avoiding pain as best they can, of a series of hollow events which pass as a poor invitation for life.
So trying to live a quality of life, however long we’re going to live it, whatever quantity we have. So the purpose of mindful mindfulness of death or remembering death is so we don’t allow the opportunity that this life presents ourselves with to slip away through laziness, procrastination, so that we keep our priorities straight. What is really most important to ourselves? So we don’t lose our lives to the eight worldly concerns, our preoccupations with the pursuit of pleasure, the avoidance of pain, the pursuit of gain, the avoidance of loss, so forth. Fame and notoriety and praise and ridicule and so forth.
That’s that’s not our life. So we don’t you know, you know, we we we it more than not, it’s only when we lose something do we do we do we appreciate it, its value, what it was for ourselves, you know, the things we take for granted. Sometimes the people in our life, sometimes it’s just the tree outside your door that gets cut down or something that you never really it’s only when it’s gone do you really realize how how much pleasure it gave you or what how much you, in fact, appreciated appreciated it and so forth. That would be a shame in the case of our life, wouldn’t that we take, you know, we don’t appreciate it because we take it so much for granted. So in this process of helping us to appreciate our life and that we don’t allow it to be taken for granted, that we make best use of it, Buddhism makes use of, you know, as we just described in our meditation, a nine round, nine part death meditation where there are three roots.
So the roots are death is inevitable. The second root is that the time of death is unpredictable. And the third root is that the fact that at the time of death only the development of our own mind and the positive imprints that we’ve placed upon our own mind will be of any use to us. So in turn, each of those three roots is supported by three reasons. You know, to help us to gain appreciation for what is trying to be gotten at here.
The fact that we’re definitely going to die. It said this isn’t too difficult. The difficulty, you know, in coming to accept that. The difficulty is being mindful of it, to remember death. We forget that we’re definitely going to die.
We forget these understandings that we had once. So the three reasons: everyone must die, your lifespan is continually decreasing, and in the case of our body, the body is simply a composite of continually constantly changing causes and conditions and aggregation and whatever comes together necessarily will disperse. Then with regard to the uncertainty, the unpredictable time of our death, we don’t know when we’re going to die. You know, we have a sense it’s going to be in some vague and distant future time. But that’s really not particularly realistic.
There’s no reason to support that. We don’t know. human life expectancy expectancy is uncertain. People die at any and every age, whether they die in the womb or they die as children or they die as young adults or they die middle age. We don’t know.
They die at every age. There are many causes of death. It doesn’t take so much to die. And then this human body of ours is really quite fragile in the human body. And then, you know, if we begin to appreciate the uncertainty of the time of death or we simply don’t know, then we’re going to you There’s a certain not only a sense that we’re going to die, but there’s a certain urgency to make best use of our lives, to begin to live out our priorities so we don’t keep putting them off because we really don’t know how much time we have left.
So we don’t wait for some more favorable circumstances or, you know, for the right time to come when the children are grown up or we have enough whatever whatever the reason. We find some reason, but death will find you before you find as you find these reasons to keep putting off your life. And then finally, the third, the fact that at the time of our death, only the development of our mind is going to be of any use to ourselves and the positive imprints that we’ve placed upon our mind. And as you know, at the time of our death, we’re stripped down to the nakedness of what we came into this life, even our body, that we’ve taken such good care of. We’ve given the best of food and clothing, washed it, nourished it.
At the time of our death, it becomes no different from a piece of meat in a butcher’s shop. It’s of no use to ourselves. And even those people, you know, even our loved ones, those people who want to help us, who really care about ourselves. There’s nothing they can do. You know, they even if they dig their fingers and their their nails into you while trying to hold you back from dying, the mind slips away from the body.
There’s no there’s no way that they can hold your death back or they can’t accompany you no matter how much they might be willing to. And even at the time of our death, all the possessions that we’ve gathered together, that we’ve expended, all of our time, energy, accumulating, we’re going to have to leave it all behind. We can’t even take one DVD with us, whatever it might be. It’s all going to be left behind. And the only thing that we can take, the only thing that is going to accompany this is development of our own mind and the positive imprints that we placed upon our own mind.
So, you know, trying to come to some kind of a conclusion to to, keep in the light of the reality of death and the uncertainty at the time of death and that what it is that is going to benefit ourselves at the time of our death, you know, keeping some priorities straight and kind of keeping some perspective on trying to integrate even the material things, enjoyments, even the people, and even how we treat our own body around the central focus of developing our minds, making that a high priority and sticking with that. Then we talked about the the dying process. We went into quite a lot of detail in how this body is a composition of, from the point of view of the Buddhist explanation of the four elements of earth, water, wind energy, and fire. And these, as the mind begins to, you know, the bond between body and mind begins to weaken, finally break. And there’s a serial collapse or loss of ability of each of these various elements.
First, the earth element loses its ability to support consciousness, and then the water element, and then the fire element, and finally, the wind energy element. So there’s this gradual diminishment of the ability of the body to support consciousness. And, you know, this we call this the elements dissolving one into the next. Those are the gross elements which support gross consciousness. But we talked about the fact that there’s a more subtle body, which is made up of wind energy and the various channels and drops in the body.
And these constitute the subtle body. You know, they’re said to be, for example, the the various seventy two thousand channels in the body where where these these subtle wind energies ride. And then we talked about how the subtle body supports a a corresponding level of consciousness, a subtle level of consciousness. And then as the as the body begins to the bond between body and mind begins to weaken, even this this subtle body begins to lose its ability in stages to act as a support for consciousness. And then we’re left with simply the subtle most consciousness in combination with the subtlest mind.
This is, you know, the the building block of this is the essence of life. Upon that, the subtlest most combination of subtlest energy and subtlest mind, we label the being. And it’s particularly us because it’s carrying all our karmic history, karmic encoded in combination. You know, what we have uniquely done and what we will uniquely become, what we evolve out of that in terms of the terms of the fruition of these past karmic actions. This is what goes on to take rebirth.
This subtle most energy in combination with subtlest mind, which is a carrier of our, this karmic information, the seeds of our past actions. This by the you know, we’ve talked about when we talked about the twelve links that depend on origination, by the force of craving and grasping, it activates the karma and, like, a leaf being blown in the wind, this combination of mind and energy will enter into a fertilized ovum, and a new life begins. So this is the way that we can begin to have some sense of what it is that what we mean by taking a rebirth. This body of flesh and blood is finished. It will decay.
But there is an aspect of ourselves in which we label I and which is the carrier of our of the imprints of all our past actions. So it’s very unique to ourselves. It’s very different. Each of our each of each of these combinations is very different from one to another. So it’s individual.
It’s unique. It has a particular evolutionary history encoded in it, and this will go on to take rebirth. And then we talked about the way in which we can begin to prepare ourselves for the time of our death. And then we talked about the five powers. It’s something that, you know, a way that we can, in a, I guess, a very practical way, we can begin to help ourselves at the time of our death so that our death isn’t simply out of our control.
Isn’t haphazard. We can begin to direct the process in some way. So we talked about the five forces, the force of the positive seed. When we get some intimations that we’re going to die, this isn’t in the case of if you become sick, ill, have a heart attack, cancer, whatever, that there’s some period of time to prepare yourself for even as even now, because we don’t know when we’re going to die, we can begin to prepare ourselves. But when you feel death is near, you can begin to, you know, set all your life in order, you know, make out your will, you know, begin to give away whatever you want to charity, make provisions for your family, you know, letting go so so that at the time of your actual death, there’s nothing that your mind will grasp to that you that you you won’t so that you won’t develop a longing for something that you’re going to hold on to.
You know, there’s a train we have to catch, and there might be a feeling like there’s some unfinished business left undone. So kindly settling all your affairs, the matters. So your mind has a sense, I can move on at the time of a death, the force of positive seed, and the force of aspiring prayer. You know, as death approaches, you know, we’re going to become confused. We might panic.
We’re going to become bewildered. So preparing for that possibility and developing some kind of clarity about what it is that you want for yourself. You know? May I, again and again, make heartfelt prayers of aspiration to the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha. And those things you believe in most deeply that may throughout this entire process may may not be separated from the compassion of the awakened heart and the wisdom of the awakened mind.
And may I always be in a situation where I can carry on my spiritual practice. And from life after life after life, may I always be in a situation where I have I meet with qualified spiritual teachers. And and again and again, dedicating your merit and your your positive energy in making these kinds of prayers. So your mind’s you’re giving some so your mind isn’t simply completely overwhelmed. It’s not it has you’re giving some kind of directionality, some orientation to your mind, some kind of focus.
You know, this is where I want to go. This is where I want my mind to to evolve to. The force of aspiring prayer. And then the force of repudiation, making it basically clear to yourself what it is that you don’t want. You know, basically, we don’t want to suffer.
Right? But what is the what is the cause of our suffering? Whereas, you know, nobody wants to suffer. Even animals don’t want to suffer, but that doesn’t help them all that much. You know, what is the origin of our suffering?
Most basically is the afflictive emotions. Ignorance, but, you know, attachment, hatred, jealousy, spite, miserliness. So, you know, we develop a sense. I don’t I don’t want, you know, kind of what we say repudiation means you develop almost like a like a a reasoned aversion. I don’t want anything to do with that.
You know? Some kind of almost like some kind of disgust with these types of emotions. I don’t I don’t I don’t want anything to do with hatred. And so so that because you if you develop that kind of almost like an aversion or a disgust or repugnance toward these afflictive emotions, there’s less chance that they will rise at the time of your death. You know, there’s less chance, and therefore, there’s less chance of activating a negative projecting karma at the time of your death.
So having this sense of repugnance or repudiation, I don’t I don’t want anything to do with hatred. I you know, if you can begin to actually, you know, contemplate the disadvantages of of of a lot of these afflictive emotions. That in itself helps in preventing them from arising so readily, habitually, unthinkingly, unawares. And if you kinda get disgusted with with being angry, with hatred, you see its destructive nature, that in itself will serve to prevent the arising of anger and hatred and so forth without being aware of it. You know, before you over before you know what you’re doing, you’re kind of over you you’ve lost your temper.
You’ve been overwhelmed by your hatred or your anger and so forth. And this was this is true in general, but especially at the time of death. And then the fourth force, the force of determination. And as as our death draws near, you know, developing an extremely strong intention to try to maintain a positive state of mind, you know, resolving, you know, may I maintain the compassion of the awakened heart throughout this, you know, it’s like this death is like a journey, and all we can do is kind of set our intentions with the direction that we want to make in this journey. You know, we’re being like we’re being swept down this stream.
So, you know, may I may I be able to hold on to my compassion throughout this process? Some kind of wisdom, understanding that all that is appearing to me is merely an illusion. It’s not real. It’s merely appearances to my mind. And I guess, you know, it would require some accustoming one oneself with this understanding and bringing that understanding to bear at the time of our death.
Trying to hold on to the thought, you know, may my life be worthwhile. May I be able to use my life in a way that will be of benefit to others. And whatever I see, may I be able to be a benefit to others. Whatever I see, may it be I see it not as real, as if see it as an illusion, not independent independent of my mind. And then finally, the force of familiarity.
In order to avoid the kind of, you know, panic at the time of our death, we have to familiarize ourselves with some kind of game plan that we’re going to implement at the time of our death. That, you know, for example, physically, it’s you can you could practice lying down in one one traditional physical posture which is said to be extremely advantageous to die in is simply to lie on your right side and blocking your right nostril with your ring finger and then your left hand along your left side. And this was the this is said to be the that the Buddha passed away in when he died. And that to trying to if we could you know, as as the mind is dying, as as the mind is this bond between body and mind is weakening, and there’s still some awareness, some control of consciousness, we can practice the the practice of giving and taking, which we’re going to talk about when we come to the second principal aspect of the path, and meditating on taking taking on the sufferings of others and giving away our own happiness to them. And as as the breath comes in, taking on the suffering of others.
As the breath goes out, giving away our own happiness. You know, as, you know, some we can implement that. If if you were to die in such a state, it would be a tremendously positive state. And you could be assured that whatever karma is going to ripen would be a positive karma, that you would take a the outcome would necessarily be positive because the mind entering into that stream, process is so positive. Then we talked about rebirth.
You know, death is not the end. And we talked about the fact phenomena whatsoever arise in dependence upon a combination of causes and conditions. When we talk about rebirth, we’re talking about from where does the mind present at conception arise? And that’s what it comes down to, the very first moment of mind in this life. From what from where does this arise?
It doesn’t arise from nothing. Nowhere in nature does something, a product arise from nothing. And moreover, it must arise from a type of cause which is similar in type to itself. You know, if we if we investigate the natural world about us, there’s always a similarity of type between the characteristics of the result and its cause. So if we apply that same relationship to the mind, the nature of mind is clear and knowing.
By clear, here it means we can take it to mean non-physical. So there is an entity which is non-physical and has the quality of knowing. So what is it if if this mind, which has the characteristics of clarity nonmaterial and knowing, from where does it arise, that moment at the at the moment of conception, that mind which exists then. It necessarily rises from the causes and conditions. What are the causes of that?
They necessarily have to be similar in characteristics to that result. Space is nonphysical, but it’s not knowing. Okay? So space itself cannot act as a cause for mind. Now the question is, what about material?
Well, from the the reasoning here is that the material or physical objects are dissimilar in type to the mind. First, are they are material, whereas the mind is immaterial and moreover, they have they lack the quality of knowing or cognitive function whereas the mind arises as a characteristic of a cognitive function. The same holds true for for physical phenomena. Physical phenomena arise from preceding moment of physical phenomena. You know, in infinite regression, there must be always a preceding cause similar in type to itself.
So we if we try to trace back, we will never come to a first moment of physical phenomenon in the universe. There was no first atom in the universe. From where could that first atom arise? It didn’t arise from nothing. And it had to arise from a cause similar type to itself.
So there’s an infinite regression that there is no first atom, but this applies equally well to the mind itself. There is no first moment of mind. Each moment of mind must necessarily arise from a preceding moment of mind which acted as its cause. It must arise from a substantial cause which is similar similar in type to itself. What is the what is the what is the cause of that mind at the moment of conception?
It was the last moment of the mind of the preceding life. The mind the very last moment of mind of the preceding life acts as the cause of the first moment of mind of a present life. So that’s basically the way in which rebirth is proved. The basic proofs of rebirth. Because death is thought of as primarily the the the demise of the body, there’s the general notion that because the body is is when the body is destroyed, then the then the eye, the mind is destroyed.
But the, the eye is simply labeled, imputed upon combination of body and mind. The I is not the body. The I is not the mind. It is labeled onto the body and mind combination. And these body and mind combinations as we just went through has different levels of subtlety.
Upon this present gross body, a body in mind, I label Jampa. But that’s that’s simply upon the grosser level. There’s a subtle level of body and mind, which I label I. That’s a subtle level, but not the subtlest. Upon the extremely subtle level of combination of body and mind, I continue to label I or being.
And this is what will go on to take rebirth. And then this is a as we go along, if you have any if you have any comments or questions reincarnation. I just use the word rebirth. Yeah. But I don’t think I think they have the same meaning.
Yeah. Yeah. Don’t think I think in terms of in terms of our present, our logic is not. Yeah, our logic presupposes everything as a beginning but there’s no, but, but so in a way that’s not logical. There’s no logical necessity but it’s very difficult.
I can appreciate your difficulty. Shape. In fact, it may not even exist at all. It’s just a concept that we put together to make life a bit easy. So that would then give you this concept of beginninglessness.
Beginninglessness. Yeah. If you look for a beginning, you need to find it. Well, I mean, well, yeah, I I thanks for that. I I think that’s right.
I mean, when we really get even if you were to go to a real materialist scientist and I say, well, where did the first atom come from? I mean, is there a beginning to the material world? And how do we how do we wrap our our minds around that kind of, you know, that logic? Well, I didn’t the chicken and the egg concept, I can’t understand that. Universe, but it doesn’t explain a beginning.
I don’t know. But it hasn’t. Does it? Do you know? No.
I don’t. No. But I guess it scientific terms. What I’m saying, I guess, is at this point, it’s asking me to have faith. Uh-huh.
Well, no. This is what I’ll understand. But not anymore. I mean, so I’m quite willing to go through the little phases of my Buddhist growth Yeah. And test things out in little bits at a time until I get more and more.
And then I’ll test the next one. And I say, and I’ll test the next one. Yeah. But at this point, it’s beyond me. No.
It’s quite reasonable. I can appreciate that. I think that’s quite wise. Yeah. Conceptually, you can’t can’t have nothing without something.
Sorry? You can’t have you can’t have nothing without something. And that’s what you’re saying. Mhmm. Okay.
That’s only a concept. Is that what you’re saying? I was thinking it’s basically a concept. It’s that’s what you’re talking about. No.
No. No. No. No. Nothing.
Nothing in in something aren’t concepts. There’s the concept of of something and concept of nothing. No. No. Put it in the sentence I gave you.
Okay. That’s words. Alright? Something can come from but nothing can come from something or vice versa. No.
Something That’s the concept, not the individual words. So something you’re saying something can come from nothing? Surely No but what I’m saying is nothing cannot exist without something existing if something does not exist, the concept of nothing is meaningless. Nothing only only has meaning in contrast to something. If something doesn’t exist if light doesn’t exist, darkness is meaningless.
Yeah. It’s it’s it’s in there’s a book by and it’s called Commentary on Prime Cognition by Dharmakīrti. And Dharmakīrti, he wrote this huge Dharmakīrti was an ancient Buddhist master, and he wanted to prove that Buddha was a reliable person. And so he in order to do that, he had to show that that that first off he was omniscient and that he was had great compassion. In order to show that he had great compassion he he felt he had to prove the existence of past and future lives.
That the type of compassion that a Buddha has would not be built up over one lifetime, but had to be built up over many, many, lifetimes. And so he set forth all these various proofs of the existence of past lives. And in reading these, you know, what he accepted as proof and what many of these ancient Indian masters accepted as proof, I have a sense that it didn’t feel like it didn’t have the same kind of force of logic for me. Example, past and future lives exist because mind exists. So they they for them, you know, that that that’s a proof.
But that’s not that doesn’t hold much water for us. Yeah? But for them it was like, what more could you ask for? Obvious. It’s obvious.
You know? So what is proof? What is logical some people may not be a proof and logical for another. For them, mind was such that it must have a previous cause to itself and that it must be beginningless just as material universe must be beginningless materiality or there was no there’s no beginning to it. I mean, it just, you know, we don’t want to the idea of beginningless really doesn’t fit in with our present way of our scope of imagination, I guess.
But that’s a, you know, imagination, I guess. But that’s a, you know, that’s because the way that, you know, just, ah, we’ve we’ve become familiarized or accustomed to thinking. It doesn’t mean it’s not the case. So, yeah, this is the notion of similarity of type, of cause. What?
The splint? The spark. The spark. And the fire? No.
The spark and the flint. Oh, the flint. The the So that you strike together. Yeah. How’s what’s They would say, I mean, there’s two ways you could answer that, I think. One of them would be that all phenomena whatsoever are a combination of the four elements.
So depending upon which of it is predominant, they take on that characteristic. In the case of this liquid, the water element is predominant, but it still is able to support. You could float a piece of paper in it and therefore it would say it still has the earth element in it. So two things have fire element? Yes, so all elements whatsoever have all elements contained within them, but one of those elements will be predominant.
So in the case of this liquid, the water element is predominant, but it still has earth element. And in the case it still has some warmth, still has fire element, earth, water, fire, energy. I don’t know about energy. Anyway, so, yeah. So it’s just which of the so when you strike two flints together, it’s the the fire element becomes manifest.
So the fire element is there. It’s it’s it’s present in the flint. I guess it’s it’s I don’t know. It’s It’s okay. Yeah.
It’s a different system just different system way of looking at things. So, yeah. So I can appreciate the dilemma around beginningless ness. I think especially when you first hear it, I mean, sounds you can’t bring your mind can’t kind of wrap around it, you know, just the notion of beginningless. I don’t know.
Maybe just because maybe my mind’s tired, it it gets it’s become accustomed to that kind of idea. It doesn’t sound as totally absurd or impossible as I once thought it did. Sounds just sounds plausible. I mean, it sounds like it’s almost necessary and that it that that is the way even though it sounds almost illogical, it’s it’s a logical necessity given given the nature of things. So don’t know.
So the the idea of rebirth comes is very much concerned with the coming down to what is the cause of mind present at the moment of conception. And from the from the traditional explanation that necessarily arises from a cause which is similar in type, that which is that which is nonphysical and knowing, and that is the last moment of the previous life, that that mind, and giving rise to that first moment of mind in this life. Then so then we’ll go we’ll go through. Tsongkhapa goes on to talk about the facts. His next verse, thinking again and again about the unvarying relation between actions and their effects and the sufferings of cyclic existence will alter the priority to give to your future lives.
So what we’ve discussed thus far in terms of the freedoms and richnesses and this life will not last long and so forth was to help us to develop, I guess, adjust our priorities for this life, you know, like we’ve been talking to to get in touch with what is really important to ourselves. And then in terms of this next thinking of this, that this isn’t the end, that something is going to go on, and that we have to take into consideration not only this life in how we’re going to make how we’re going to where we’re going to place our emphasis and put our energies and our time and so forth, but we have to take into consideration future possibilities as well. So considering the fact that our karma is going to go on, but also in terms of these very states within cyclic existence that we’re going to experience in in the end they aren’t particularly they aren’t completely satisfactory. And, you know, I guess developing the taking the possibility of liberation a little more seriously. That this isn’t death is not the easy end that we might imagine it to be or that we’re just going to continue in this situation infinitely, indefinitely until we actually remove the very cause of it, ignorance.
So this will help us to reestablish our priorities of future lives first in terms of developing a ensuring that we create create the necessary conditions where we can carry on our future practice, and that we can carry on from where we’ve gotten this far. So making that mindfulness a part of this life. So we, you know, some type of our, some type of, some of our energies and time and so forth are used in creating the causes, not so much for this life, but to ensure that we can create the necessary situation for ourselves where we can carry on our practice in future lives, but as well understanding that no matter what the fortunate situation we may be able to find in future lives, as long as it’s driven by ignorance, it’s not satisfactory. So again, making it a priority or creating, expanding some of our time and energy into creating the, to ridding ourselves of the basic causes of cyclic existence and developing determination to develop the wisdom, understanding, emptiness, to remove ignorance from our mind. So this big these become a priority.
Maybe we could we can stop there. And I’d like to get a cup of tea, we can we can talk about some of these things.