The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Page 18
In the presence of our spiritual brothers and sisters,
We confess our inadequate fervour for upholding the commitments.
In the presence of the six classes of sentient beings,
We confess the inadequacy of our compassion and altruism.
We confess all our contradictions and degenerations:
Those relating to the prātimokṣa vows,
Those relating to the trainings cultivated by the bodhisattvas,
And those relating to the commitments upheld by the awareness holders.30
From now on we shall not conceal [such degenerations]
And we resolve to guard against any and every infraction!
As we confess all our negative obscurations born of indulging in the three poisons,
Please purify [all our obscurations]
And grant us the supreme and common accomplishments of buddha-body, speech and mind!
The Hundred-syllable Mantra [of Vajrasattva] should be recited [repeatedly] in conjunction with these verses and thus the confession will be effected.
This Natural Liberation through Acts of Confession in the Presence of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities,
Which is a supporting text to the Reparation and Confession: Natural Liberation of Degenerations, 31 is thus presented.
Be persevering with regard to this practice, O Children of Posterity!
May this practice be encountered by all those of the future who have a [positive] inheritance of past actions!
This Natural Liberation through Acts of Confession, in the Presence of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities was extracted from the Tantra of Immaculate Confession by Padmākara, the preceptor of Oḍḍiyāna. May [the influence of] this sublime teaching not be exhausted until all of cyclic existence is emptied!
May virtue prevail!
SAMAYA rgya rgya rgya!
gter-rgya! sbas-rgya! gtad-rgya!32
A treasure of Karma Lingpa!
8
Natural Liberation through Recognition of the Visual Indications and Signs of Death
CONTEXT
Since the human body is regarded as an abode of deities, it is the responsibility of the practitioner to protect the body from the causes of harm, disease and premature death and to foster the conditions which support an active and unencumbered life up to the natural exhaustion of the lifespan.
This chapter describes six categories of signs indicative of the time of death, together with a variety of techniques for purposefully eliciting specific indications of death. Also described, in the section titled ‘Signs of Extremely Near Death’, are the experiential and outer signs that occur during the process of dying. Lastly, the signs that are indicative of the nature of the future rebirth, which occur at or after death, are described.
This chapter and the following chapter: Natural Liberation of Fear through the Ritual Deception of Death are inextricably interlinked. Should the predictive signs described in this chapter definitively arise, then it is expected that the appropriate practices described in the following chapter: Natural Liberation of Fear through the Ritual Deception of Death should be undertaken without delay.
The sophisticated description of the process of dying, contained in the section ‘Signs of Extremely Near Death’, concurs with the understanding of the process of death commonly found in classical Buddhist literature.h This section forms a component of the Liberation by Hearing (Chapter 11) and it is a vital aspect of the guidance to be given by a qualified spiritual teacher at the time of death.
The predictive signs of death, however, are more idiosyncratic and show influences from Tibetan folklore and traditional medicine. Further, in terms of the predictive signs of death, it is said that the subtler signs described here can only be accurately recognised by those who are continuously engaged in meditative practice.
The elicitation and analysis of the predictive signs is not a common practice today, except, in the case of certain signs, in the context of traditional medicine. Nonetheless, this text demonstrates a powerful sensitivity to impermanence and a sustained sensitivity to one’s immediate experience.
Herein is contained the Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] the Visual Indications and Signs of Death,1 an extract from the Peace ful and Wrathful Deities: A Profound Sacred Teaching, [entitled] Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention.2
I bow down to the naturally radiant Peaceful and Wrathful Deities,
[Manifestations of] the three buddha-bodies!
This natural liberation through [the recognition of] signs
Which is a technique for analysing [the onset of] death
Is presented as a supporting text to the Natural Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States.3
Study it repeatedly, O Child of Buddha Nature.
SAMAYA!
INTRODUCTION
Alas! This illusory and feeble aggregate of form,
Created from compounded past actions and conditions,
Like [the flame of] a butter lamp blowing in the wind, cannot last for ever.4
Nothing at all exists which is not subject to the conditioning of death,
And indeed, since it is uncertain when death will occur,
One should constantly be cognisant of the signs of [impending] death,
And strive after [the accumulation of] virtue.
There are two [primary] conditions responsible for the death of human beings:
[First] untimely death and [second] death due to the [natural] exhaustion of the lifespan.5
Untimely or sudden death may be averted,
By successful application of the Ritual Deception of Death,6
But death due to the [natural] exhaustion of the lifespan
Is like the burning out of a butter lamp,
So there is no way of averting this through ‘ritual deception’,
And thus, [if this is indicated], one should make preparations to depart.
In either case, [however], it is most important to engage in the following analysis.
This teaching [on the visual indications and signs of death]
Is presented in terms of six general topics, namely:
External, internal, and secret signs of death,
Signs of remote death, signs of near death,
And, lastly, miscellaneous signs of death.
When investigating [the time of] death,
First one should make offerings
To the [visualised] assemblies of spiritual teachers, meditational deities and ḍākinῑs,
And please the protectors of the [sacred] teachings with torma-offerings.
Then, one should present feast-offerings to one’s fellow practitioners,
And also engage in charitable acts.
Then, [the signs of] death should be examined in the following way.
EXTERNAL SIGNS OF DEATH
First, when the examination of external [signs] is made,
It is the bodily characteristics that should be investigated,
Because the signs of death will arise in relation to these [characteristics].
The body is composed of the four elements,
Thus the following portents of its demise
Will arise prior [to the time of death]:
Loss of appetite, dullness of the sense faculties,
A feeling of anger which consumes body, speech and mind,
Distracted or depressed thoughts,
Disturbed dreams, character changes, and fading complexion.
These are the portents [indicating] that life [-threatening] hindrances may arise.
More particularly, there are the following specifically physical signs of death:7
If the fingernails and toenails become bloodless or lustreless,
[This indicates] death after nine months, less half a day.
If the cornea of the eyes begin to cloud over,
[This indicates] death after five months.
If the hair on the nape of the neck gr
ows upwards,
[This indicates] death after three months.
[Then again, more generally], if one urinates, defecates and sneezes simultaneously,
This too is an indication of death.
Also, if one’s urine falls in two forks,
If one’s muscles become utterly loose and flabby,
If faeces are excreted and semen ejaculated simultaneously,
If one’s body odour changes dramatically,
If one’s conduct changes dramatically,
If one blushes little and one’s complexion becomes pallid,
If the tone of one’s voice becomes thin, and one’s eyes become sunken,
If the space above the bridge of the nose becomes exfoliated,
If the eyes do not clearly perceive forms,
Or else if they perceive incorrectly, and so forth,
If [the ears] do not hear, or else hear incorrectly,
If [the nose] does not smell, or else smells incorrectly,
If [the tongue] does not taste, or else tastes incorrectly,
If the point between the eyebrows is effaced,
Or evaporation ceases from the crown of the head,
These [signs] may all indicate that one has fallen into the hands of the Lord of Death.8
Furthermore, while in good health,
[The following technique for eliciting indications can also be applied]:
If, when the [closed] eyes are pressed with the fingers,
The [minute] circles of light which appear
Are absent from the lower part of the left eye,
[This indicates that] one may die after six months,
But if they are absent from the upper part [of that eye],
One may die after three months.
If these [same circles] are absent from the direction of the [left] nostril,
[This indicates that] one may die after one month.
If they are absent from the direction of the [left] ear,
[This indicates that] one may die after two months.
[Resuming this process, focusing on the right eye]:
If [the circles] are absent from the lower part of the right eye,
One should know that one may die after ten days.
If they are absent from the upper part [of the right eye],
[This indicates that] one may die after five days.
If they are absent from the direction of the [right] ear,
[This indicates that one may die] after three days;
And if they are absent from the direction of the [right] nostril,
One should know that one may die after two days, even if one is not sick.
Secondly, if when the ears are cupped with the fingers,
No humming sound is heard throughout an entire day,9
One should know that one might die after six years.
If it is absent for two days,
One may die after six years less two months.
Similarly, for each additional day [that the sound is absent],
[This indicates that] one may die, decrementally, after three fewer months.
That is, if [the sound] is absent for a third or fourth day,
Death may come after three [or six] fewer months, respectively.
It has also been said that the number of days [indicated] might not necessarily be definite.
There are also other [external] signs of death, such as:
If one feels [continuously] angry and short-tempered,
If one feels fearful, wherever one may be,
If one’s positive perspective, devotion, and similar qualities ebb away,
If one feels aversion towards saintly beings,
If one feels depressed, wherever one may be, and [constantly] wishes to go [elsewhere],
If one wishes to be separated from sympathetic Buddhist companions,
If one delights in the social diversions and distracting activities of cyclic existence,
Or if one feels excessive attachment, aversion, pride, or envy,
These may all indicate that one has fallen into the hands of the Lord of Death.
These, [the above], are called ‘the external signs of death’,
Which, it is said, can be averted by the ritual deception of death.
The techniques, by which they are averted, should be studied,
By referring to the Ritual Deception of Death [chapter, which follows].
INTERNAL SIGNS OF DEATH
The investigation of the internal signs of death
Comprises the examination of vital breath and the examination of dreams.
Examination of the Vital Breath10
Around the time of the [vernal or autumnal] equinox,
At daybreak on the first day [of the lunar month],
One should sit upright, with the body in the seven-point posture of Vairocana.
Then, one should observe the vital breath, and note from which [nostril] this emerges.
If, at this time, the vital breath is moving through the left nostril,
Then, for a period of three days, the breath will continue to move exclusively through the left nostril,
But then on the fourth day it will change,
And proceed to move through the right nostril for three days.
Thus it will alternate in this way every three days between the two nostrils.
[Observe this process and] count the number of days diligently, and do not make a mistake.
If no error is made [in the counting], and if the breath moves successively in this way,
And then begins to move erratically after one and a half months,
It is said that one may die after [a further] six months.
If the breath begins to move erratically after one month,
It is said that severe misfortunes may occur.
If it begins to move erratically after two weeks,
[It is said that] serious illness may occur.
If it moves erratically after five days,11
[It is said that] slander and calumny may occur.
If [the breath] does not alternate [from one nostril to the other] over a ten-day period,
Then, as soon as it does change, one may die.
If it moves simultaneously through both nostrils and the mouth,
[This indicates that] one may die after half a day.
And if it ceases to move through the nose and instead moves only through the mouth,
It is said that one will die immediately.
Examination of the Signs of Death which Occur in Dreams12
[First, one should know that] those dreams which occur in the late evening or around midnight are unreliable,
But if one dreams between dawn and daybreak that:
One is riding a cat or a white monkey with a red face,
While moving further and further towards the east,
It is said that this is a sign of death caused by king spirits.13
If one dreams of riding a tiger, fox, or corpse,
Or of riding a buffalo, pig, camel, or donkey,
While moving further and further towards the south,
This is a sign of death [indicating that] one has fallen into the hands of Yama.
Furthermore, if one dreams of eating faeces,
Of wearing black clothes of yak hair, while plunging downwards,
Of being trapped in a wicker-basket or snare,
Of being bound with iron chains,
Or of copulating repeatedly with a black figure or animal,
These are [also] signs [which are indicative] of death.
If one dreams of being disembowelled by a fierce black woman,
And that one’s entrails are spilling out,
Or that a black man arrives, wielding an iron mace,
And coming into one’s presence, he tells you to depart,
Or [if one dreams] that one is being dragged along by a black rope attached to the neck,
Or that one is inside a lofty red-coloured castle,
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Surrounded by a moat and perimeter wall,
Or [if one dreams] of being decapitated and having one’s head carried off by another,
Or of being surrounded by crows, anguished spirits, or villains,
Or of being willingly led away, or leaving [home] in a bridal procession,
Of being naked, with one’s hair cut off and beard shaved,
Of constantly associating with friends who have died,
Of being dragged along by a crowd of dead people,
Of jumping into water, sinking into mud, or being swallowed by fish,
Of entering a womb and falling asleep,
Of being overcome in a battle, in which the other side is victorious,
Of wearing red clothing, and being adorned with red garlands,
Of repeatedly picking red flowers,
Of climbing a mountain of red shellac,
Of having one’s head wrapped in a red silk turban,
Of twigs growing on the crown of your head, and birds nesting there,
Of falling asleep repeatedly in a terrifying charnel ground,
Of being old, and carrying a heavy burden,
Of the sun and moon falling to the plains, leaving one shrouded in darkness,
Of jumping headlong into a pit,
Of dancing together with a host of ogres,
Or setting out, thinking one will roam to unfamiliar distant lands, never to return —
If such dreams and others like them occur when one is not sick, they are indefinite [with respect to the time of death],
And one may be released [from their indications] by means of the [appropriate] ritual service.
If, however, such dreams continually recur,
[This indicates that] one will die within a year.