The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

The Spiritual Classic
Author: Sogyal Rinpoche
Subject: Buddhism, death, meditation practice
My rating: 5*

Keywords:
Rigpa - intl. network of meditation centres
Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche)
Dzogchen- an advanced system of Mahayana practice that brings enlightenment. Read more
Bardo states (transition states)

The tonglen practice = a method for connecting with suffering —ours and that which is all around us— everywhere we go. It is a method for overcoming fear of suffering and for dissolving the tightness of our heart. Primarily it is a method for awakening the compassion that is inherent in all of us, no matter how cruel or cold we might seem to be. Read more

The phowa practice = in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Phowa is considered the most important practice for death. In the Vajrayana, the Phowa practice is the most direct and the quickest path for one to achieve enlightenment. Read more

Interesting:
The position for dying- "lying down on on the right side, taking the position of the sleeping lion, which is the posture in which Buddha died. The left hand rests on the left thigh; the right hand is placed under the chin, closing the right nostril. The legs are stretched out and very slightly bent. On the right side of the body are certain subtle channels that encourage the 'karmic wind' of delusion. Lying on them and closing the right nostril blocks these channels and facilitates a person's recognition of the luminosity when it dawns at death. It also helps the consciousness to leave the body through the aperture at the crown of the head, as all the other openings through which it could leave are blocked."

The 3 poisons- Buddhism teaches that harboring the three poisons leads to evil and suffering . The Three Poisons are lobha, dvesha and moha, most often translated as "greed," "hate" and "ignorance."

From the book:
'No one wishes to be 'rescued' with someone else's beliefs. Remember your task is not to convert anyone to anything but to help the person in front of you get in touch with his or her own strength, confidence, faith and spirituality, whatever that might be'.

'Samsara is your mind, and nirvana is also your mind,
All pleasure and pain, and all delusions exist nowhere apart from your mind.
To attain control over your own mind;
This is the heart of the practice of the bardo of becoming.'

'To practice death is to practice freedom. A man who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave'- Montaigne