Urgent Advice
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
Dear Rinpoche,
My mother’s eyes open today and she is following movements in the room. Hands and feet still cold. Nurse said it’s the medication they use to draw blood to vital organs. Bed sore not improving. Hands a little swollen. She seemed comfortable but condition remain unstable. I am continuing mantra Rinpoche advised.
Much Prayers.
G
Please read carefully:
Dear G,
Just a note of information:
Since you are in this situation with your mom, allow me to humbly interject the Dharma at this point as it’s easier for you to see as you are in the face of the situation although sad. Contemplate the below.
If your mom had been practicing Vajra Yogini, she can be in this state peacefully now. She can control her vital winds to reduce her suffering. She can dissolve her winds within her body into the heart area. Then she can slowly and with control, and with direction slowly eject her consciousness out of her body through the central channel (acupuncture works because these ‘shafts’ exists although naked to the eye) and up this shaft, leaving her body with clarity and control. She would leave her body with no fears, no pain, no confusion and she would be shining. Then she would leave through the top of her head (crown) and enter into the bardo (intermediate state) very peacefully, alert and fully in control now. She would need no help from anyone. She can pass in the hosptital or a mountain cave alone, but she would be fine, in control due to the ancient effective meditations contained in Vajra Yogini she practiced daily. Then she can take rebirth carefully and without being lost. She would be fully prepared for this day. As all of us could be if we fully practice Vajra Yogini but we must prepare prior to this well (foundations).
Prayers done for her would help at this point, but her Vajra Yogini practice would guide her all the way now. She would have gained the power to guide herself. Even Vajra Yogini would guide her now if necessary. This procedure is mentioned clearly in the Vajra Yogini tantric texts although I’ve simplified it.
We must practice this daily after receiving this practice from our teacher after we have formed a good relationship and faith after when our teacher feels we are ready, then he will confer.. With this we can practice daily and prepare for our own big day. Practicing daily is the most important time of our day and for our future. Real future.
When we prepare for our big day daily, then we eat, enjoy, visit friends,etc is ok because we have an ‘insurance’ for our own deaths. It’s like we went to gymn, did our excercises for the day and we are fit and then we can do any activities with our body and it’s ok. Our bodies are ‘prepared.’ It is likened to this. We can go out, eat, have fun, etc….but if our body is not fit, then we cannot do anything with confidence. With Vajra Yogini practice done daily, we are confident and safe. And to achieve this our preparatory practices very important.
But to live life ‘simply’ to raise kids, eat, make money, will lead us nowhere. On our big day, we lose control of everything in our lives even our five senses and cannot recognize those we have been attached to.
With Vajra Yogini, we lose nothing by surrendering..that is the crucial point. And we can enjoy this life and be ready for our deaths simultaneously….yes simultaneously. The value of Dharma is beyond anything this world of deceptions can offer. Buddha taught the tantras (like Vajra Yogini) knowing the workings of our body, mind and death. He taught according to what we need to do for our bodies/minds and death. We must not waste this chance or what we are witnessing with your mom (sorry) will happen to us. Take this as a profound teaching please.
I will share your mom’s pic/condition (ask people to pray) and my explanation to them hoping it will give them knowledge.
Thank you. You and everyone should contempate deeply what I have typed here and make it strong immediately resolve to do Dharma. And really do. It is for ourselves.
Now please continue your mantras for your mom daily. This is all you can do as she cannot do anything for herself as she has not trained herself as she did not meet Vajra Yogini in this life. Karma not there. Her life was very ordinary and lucky she has you. Good for you. Om Mani Peme Hung. I am sorry and glad you are there. Lucky you met the Dharma and can do alittle for her. You can do more for her if your practice is higher in results. You can help many in fact. It’s not too late for you and many. Dharma is the way. It’s our salvation because we apply the efforts not because it’s based on just belief. There are methods.
Tsem Rinpoche
(G’s mom is in the advanced state of Alzheimer’s. She has lost control of movement, swallowing, and recognizing her close ones. I send my condolences. I offer my prayers humbly. And I hope by G’s dedication of merits, she will take a birth that gives her the proximity to dharma to practice. My prayers, Tsem Rinpoche)
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Profound teachings , we should learn , practice Dharma before its too late. We only live once, the most valuable lesson on modern life that most of us can take from Buddhism. Life is short and impermanence.
G’s mother is lucky to have G who had practiced Dharma and practice Vajrayogini’s practice well. By practicing Dharma had it free her mother’s suffering. Practicing Dharma makes it easier to understand the world as impermanent and remove our attachment. Live our life meaningfully as though today is the only one that matters. I am glad to have learn and practice from Rinpoche, that’s the best choice I have made.
Thank you Rinpoche for the teachings.
Given how fragile our health is and how uncertain our life actually is, we should make spiritual practice a priority. Too often when people are faced with mortality, they choose to enjoy life to the fullest thinking that this is the best way. But what have they really achieved? Because ultimately, all the travels and money in the world will not help us at the time of death. We can’t take our money to the next life, nor will it ensure us of a good rebirth.
This is a good post to wake us up from the delusion that we will be healthy and live forever.
Reading this blog post, we will always rejoice how lucky for the mum as G knew and practiced Dharma. I do hope that G is still in Dharma and practicing it strongly than ever.
For me, although am happy that I met Dharma but also how sad to know that I’ve been the same for all these years. ? Thank you for this reminder!
Dear Rinpoche,
The way you talked about how the mother could had a different death and life if she had devoted herself to dharma and practice Vajrayogini’s practice. She could had spared herself from all those suffering from Alzheimers and have a total different end in her life. Dharma is the way. The only way that can save us from samsara and get liberated to firm grounds.
Humbly,
Chris
”The value of Dharma is beyond anything this world of deceptions can offer.” I have been feeling this lately. Thank you for the teaching Rinpoche.
Thanks Rinpoche for the sharing. Most of the people now only enjoy the samsaric pleasure instead of doing spiritual practice.
We need to always prepare for the day we die so that we will have a good reincarnation.
Dear G,
I will dedicate the prayers that I do to your mom’s improvement. Please listen to Rinpoche’s advice when it comes to chanting mantras as a mantra can go a long way. Rinpoche always reminds us whenever people are ill, we should remind ourselves that we should firmly practice the Dharma as one day, we will be ill too and we might not have time remaining.
A life with dharma and one without really differs between heaven and earth. Without dharma we are at the mercy of the winds of karma and our volatile last thoughts.
In Vajrayogini we trust
she is the mother of all buddhas.
Dear G, I am very sorry to learn about your mother’s condition, your mother’s health is in all our prayers. She is very lucky to have you and Rinpoche by her side. With the dharma and the mantra’s recited to her may she take a wonderful and swift rebirth. With this situation Rinpoche is very compassionate to teach us the dharma about a very crucial time of our lives. Please take good care of yourself too. Thank you for teaching us the Dharma Rinpoche.
Dear G, I’m very sorry to know about your beloved mother’s condition, may your mum take a good rebirth. You are very lucky to have knew Rinpoche for so many years and that you could do the necessary things for your mum..
Please take care.
Thank You for sharing Rinpoche.
Shelly tai on 24 July 2013 at 1044am
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this piece of advice with us. It is very true we must be prepare for our death prior for me to know the Buddha teaching, I was not knowing how is our death how to prepare this big day not that now I can control my death but I m trying m best to prepare this big day and remember we cannot escape our death. I wish your mum will take a good rebirth and meet the Buddha Dharma again in all her future life.
Dear Rinpoche,
You strive so hard daily to find ways to teach us. To assist us in removing our ignorance. To find all sorts of skillful methods to allow us to create and collect merits .Thank you dear Rinpoche . This teaching of G and G’s mother is so profound, so real ! We would all be at that juncture some point in our life. Having Dharma and most of all Vajrayogini’s tantric practice would be the most valuable tool to help us pass over smoothly to the best rebirth in our next life!! Thank you Rinpoche for this teaching.
Dear G. May your mother have a swift and good rebirth . Om Mani Padme Hung !
Dear G, I’m sorry about your mother. As Rinpoche said what we can do now is put more effort to bring our practice to higher the results so that we can benefit not just our parents but to more people. May your mother be blessed to meet and practice the Dharma in the future and many lives after until she reaches attainments.
Dear Rinpoche, this post does hit me and made me realized though not fully but at least some realization, which is practising daily (doing prayers or reading Dharma texts) and doing Dharma work is very important for us to accumulate good karma and merits in preparation for our death or a better rebirth. By understanding Death and how our Karma can affect our death and rebirth are very important, as this is taught by Rinpoche in the post “Tendecies” (link: http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/tendencies.html), our non virtuous actions has three effects: 1. Ripen effect, 2. Effect similar to the cause,3. Environmental effect. In my humble opinions, these are very crucial for us to understand and work with it, so that we would avoid doing actions that can create more negative karma for ourselves to not be able to practice the Dharma.
It is also very important for us to contemplate on death and impermanence daily, in order for us to push ourselves to transform our mind so that we will not create more suffering to others, as well to motivate and push ourselves to go further in our Dharma work and practices. I think that it’s very important for us to practice sincerely and be truth in the face of the Dharma, accepting our own silly mistakes we made in our lives, and then confess to ourselves, then make promise not to repeat the same mistakes then move step by step from there.
It’s also very important to realize how our daily practice can help us at the point of death and nothing else would. I like how Rinpoche use the “insurance term”; Dharma is the protection, daily efforts is the payment for the “insurance”, result from daily practice would then be the “payment” upon death. This is a very profound teaching that Rinpoche has kindly put it in such a simplistic way.
Dear G,
Your mum may not know dhama but she is lucky to have you to recite mantras and transfer the merits to her during this crucial time. May she take a good and swift rebirth.
Rinpoche’s advise to you is also a teaching for us to wake up and realize that our life is very short and unpredictable. We should not waste our time on mundane activities but to commit more to dhama so that we can perfect our practices and be able to receive the sacred teachings of Vajrayogini.
Thank You Rinpoche for the teaching. I think it is important for us to practice Dharma daily sincerely to prepare for our Big Day.
I feel sad today as I just witnessed a tragedy happened. A wealthy and smart person just fall down in front of me and passed away due to heart attack. I am heart disease patient and i do not know when my big day will come too. I am glad (I mean it) to meet you as my Guru, my dearest Rinpoche. I will follow your teaching till my big day come. Just hope I will have enough time to settle my wolrdly responsibility when the time come.
Thank you Rinpoche for the advice.
Dear G,
We will pray for your mother.follow Rinpoche ‘s instruction never go wrong and this is also good advice to us .
Dear G,
I am sorry to hear about your mum’s situation. I know that what you are doing will definitely help your mum with Rinpoche’s advice and guidance. How fortunate are we to have Rinpoche advice us at critical times like this.
Rinpoche is truly kind and compassionate to explain how important it is for us not to waste any precious time on things other than Dharma for in the end, nothing else matters but what we have gained spiritually and its definitely something we can bring with us in every life. May we have the merits to receive Vajrayogini practice always…
Dear G,
Your mum is very fortunate indeed that you have a Guru to give you such invaluable advice on the mantras to recite and what you can do for your mother in this most crucial period of her life, as she passes away from this life. She will be assured of a peaceful end and a good rebirth.
At the same time, Rinpoche has used this occasion to give a teaching that we can all benefit from, the teaching on the importance of being able to receive the Vajrayogini practice and practicing it until at point of death that practice will guide us peacefully out of this life, into the bardo and to a new life, with fortunate circumstances to continue one’s Dharma practice.
But we must first have a strong foundation in our Dharma practice. Dharma is all that matters.
Dear G,
How lucky you are to have HE Tsem Rinpoche’s advice at this crucial time. And how lucky we all are to receive this advice at this time because we will ALL have someone at this same state whom we love, who never knew dharma but because of our dharma practice, would benefit. May we all create the karma to meet Vajrayogini in this life so that we can be prepared to help others and ultimately be prepared for our own deaths.
With prayers for your mother’s swift and good rebirth…
Dear G, we will dedicate our prayers to your mum at the Setrap Puja tonight. I have personally witnessed my brother in law deterioration at the hospital till he passed away. He was indeed very fortunate as he was a firm believer and practice of his Christian faith and even though he was in pain, reduced by medication, i could see that he was at peace. And it at these times when we as family and friends cannot do much for the dying, if they have no faith or practice, except to offer our prayers and dedicate to them. It is never too late to learn and practice Dharma because at the time of death that is the only thing that can help us and in our future lives.
May we take this news and experience as a teaching in it self of the truth of what awaits us all so that we will value our life in Dharma and strive to practice whole heartedly. May we be able to receive the sacred teaching of Vajrayogini.
Dear G,
you are very lucky to have a Guru to tell you the truth. It may sound harsh but it is the hard truth so that you will know and can change your own situation perhaps one day. My prayers and good wishes to you and may your mother receive the transference of merits from you and all of us praying for her.
Dear G, I am sorry to hear this. May you continue to pray for her and recite mantra for her. Believe inthe power to Mantra and prayers. Your dedication is very important and may youand your mother be free of pain and sufferings.
Dear G, your mother may not know the dharma but she has the merits to have you pray and chant the Buddha’s mantra to her in her time of need. It will be good if you have a image or statue of the Buddha within her eyesight to imprint this in her mind too. As Rinpoche said, without higher training, this is what we are limited to in way of helping others, with prayers and dedications. By this every fact, I now realise that in order to really help others, we need higher training. Then only will we be able to see things as they are and understand what really is required to meet the specific needs of the person we are helping. If we can’t help ourselves, then how can we effectively help others. With folded hands to Rinpoche, may we strive to perfect our practices and to be blessed with the precious VY practises in order to bring real benefits to others.
Dear G
We will dedicate our prayers to your mum’s improvement in her condition. As advised by Rinpoche – do keep on chanting the mantra prescribed for her to enable her to be better.
Rinpoche’s timely reminder to us at this stage when people are ill is for us to start making firm commitments to dharma and with effort, we may be conferred the Vajrayogini practice to be able to practice and control where our rebirths will be, even upon death. If we can learn the methods to control our death, what can be more precious than that in this lifetime.
Dear G, may ur mum free of suffering and u do the best choice that keep beside her and chant mantra…
Please take good care urself also…