Five Powers Near the Time of Death

My most dear, most kind, most precious and wish-granting one,

This is the reality of life. If we are thinking without distraction about outside phenomena, instead we have to think about inside and bring our attention back inside [i.e. become an inner being].

Buddha taught the four noble truths: true suffering, the true cause of suffering, the true cessation of suffering and the true path. Of course, many eons ago the Buddha himself actualized the true cessation of suffering through the true path, the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness. Not only that, he became free from even the subtle obscurations and achieved enlightenment for us sentient beings numberless eons ago.

If we have actualized the true path, the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness, which ceases the seeds of delusion and karma, then we become free from the true cause of suffering, delusion and karma. Then we become totally free forever from true suffering.

This is important to understand. If we don’t get to actualize the true path in this life, then as we are born with delusion and karma, and it seems we did not actualize the path, then we have to die. This is like the plants. If we put the seeds in the ground, if we dig and give them water, and there is heat, everything coming together, then the flowers grow from the seeds, but then they die. That is their normal nature. Our life is like that; we have to accept that. It makes a big difference, accepting or not accepting the nature of life. Not accepting that makes for big, huge suffering.

Now one thing is thought transformation, lojong.

There are five powers integrating the whole lifetime practice and there are five powers which are practiced near the time of death. These five powers are very important. I am going to explain to you on the basis of the five powers near the deathtime. [Read about both sets of five powers in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, pp. 560–63.]

The Power of the White Seed

It’s very important to not let death make you frightened. This is very important.

Do not let the mind cling or grasp at the loved ones, the family and friends. Do not let that happen. Also, do not cling to possessions, money and all those things; do not have a grasping mind. The most difficult one is our own body. Normally we cherish that. There are numberless buddhas and bodhisattvas, but we cherish the body as more precious than them. There are numberless sentient beings, but we cherish our body more than them. Letting go of that clinging makes death so much easier, the more we let go of the clinging mind. Otherwise, it is like a rope tying us up. The problem becomes huge like a mountain or like a balloon, blown up, becoming bigger and bigger, but this is mainly a concept.

We have been clinging to these things from beginningless rebirths with attachment, the self-cherishing thought, and we have been suffering in samsara from beginningless rebirths. We have experienced the suffering of the hell realms numberless times, the suffering of the hungry ghosts numberless times, and the suffering of the animal realm numberless times. We have experienced all the animal’s sufferings numberless times, the human sufferings numberless times and the suffering of suras and asuras, from beginningless rebirths.

If we cling to [people, our possessions or our body] we will have to suffer in samsara without end. It’s not only beginningless but without end we will suffer, on and on. If we can’t bear even the small problems of this life, then how can we bear all those sufferings life after life, for eons and eons? There is no way!

We should make offerings to the Guru, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and give charity to sentient beings with compassion, by thinking about the kindness of sentient beings, having compassion for the suffering of sentient beings, like the numberless homeless who have no food, no medicine. There are so many, so many in the world to whom we can make charity.

Even if we do not give things away physically, we can give away mentally and dedicate to them, then there is nothing to be attached to. We have been universal kings, we have had everything in past lives, we have been beggars, we have been wheel-turning kings, we have had everything numberless times in past lives. So, remember that. Because we have not given up attachment, the self-cherishing thought, that is why we are still in samsara.

Buddha was the same as us before. He had problems, emotional problems, delusions, all this, but he changed his mind. Instead of cherishing I, he cherished numberless others; instead of renouncing others, he renounced the I, where all the suffering comes from. All the happiness from beginningless rebirths up to now and into the future and up to enlightenment, everything we have comes from others. Therefore, cherish others.

Buddha generated bodhicitta and then he reached enlightenment. We are the same as he was before, but because we did not do that, we are still in samsara. We are still like that.

Blaming the Self-cherishing Thought

The next thing is confession. We are angry with different people in our lives and we criticize them, so we need to do confession.

You can think you are in front of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, or you can think you are in front of me, because we have a Dharma connection. Then you confess, feeling sorry that all these things happened, all the negative karma due to anger, the self-cherishing thought, things like that.

Visualize strong beams emitted from His Holiness—or you can think of me—entering your body. It’s like being in a dark room, then the light goes on and all the darkness is gone. All the obscurations and negative karma collected from beginningless rebirths are completely gone. All those negative karmas of criticizing and being angry with people are completely gone, completely purified.

You can say sorry for all this to His Holiness. That is very good. Normally, if we can, if we have received a Highest Yoga Tantra initiation, there is self-initiation, the long one, middle one and short one, which purifies everything—pratimoksha vows, bodhisattva vows and tantric vows. That is one of the most powerful, best things.

At least do confession and purification practices by reciting the names of the Thirty-five Buddhas, then do a general confession after that. Or you can do Vajrasattva practice, one mala or half a mala or more every day, with strong regret for all the negative karma collected with body, speech and mind from beginningless rebirths, besides in this life. Then from Guru Vajrasattva light comes, nectar comes, purifying all those things, completely washing them away, and your body becomes like crystal, completely clear.

Think that from now on, what you can observe or protect, even the very difficult vows, even for one day, one hour or even a few seconds, you observe or protect whatever you can. Then Guru Vajrasattva is extremely pleased and says all your degenerated samaya vows from beginningless rebirths are totally purified. They are gone, right away.

Then Guru Vajrasattva absorbs into your heart. Not the pumping one, but imagine between the two breasts, the center where all the anger comes from, where the compassion comes from, that heart. Then your body, speech and mind—this does not mean the gross one, but the extremely subtle body, speech and mind—become one with Guru Vajrasattva’s holy body, holy speech and holy mind. Stay there for a little bit, being oneness.

Confession is very, very important. All the negative karma collected with body, speech and mind from beginningless rebirths [is purified.] Confession to the guru, like His Holiness Dalai Lama, is so important. How much there is confession, that much we can reduce the suffering of samsara, the lower realms. Our mind can do that. So we don’t have to worry about being reborn in the lower realms. That is very important.

I am going to recite some mantras so that you will not be reborn in the lower realms. Since you have taken Kalachakra initiation—I am [not] sure about other initiations, but you must have Kalachakra initiation—I am going to recite the bodhisattva vows for you three times. You must have taken them before, so while I recite, think you are receiving the bodhisattva wishing vows and entering vows. When wishing vows are taken, you collect skies of merit to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. Wow, wow, wow. When you have taken the bodhisattva entering vows, then every second you collect skies of merit. So you make this pure before you change lives.

Visualize His Holiness, and the deities of the initiations you have received are in oneness. They are all His Holiness and His Holiness is them.

[Rinpoche recites the bodhisattva vows]

Now think that you have received the bodhisattva vows. Whatever has been degenerated is purified, is revived, so now you feel great happiness.

Now the tantric vows.

[Rinpoche recites the tantric vows]

Think that you have received the tantric vows. What has been degenerated in the past is purified and revived, so feel great happiness. This is the quick way—the highest tantric vows—to achieve enlightenment in one brief lifetime of this degenerate time. Like Milarepa, who was a lay person but achieved enlightenment. He killed thirty or thirty-seven people and even more animals through black magic, but because he followed exactly the advice of his guru, the enlightened being Marpa, he practiced Dharma by going to the mountains, as advised by Marpa, then he achieved enlightenment in one brief lifetime of this degenerate time. The basis is the tantric vows, so now they are made pure.

Now I am going to recite some mantras for you to not get reborn in the lower realms.

1. Holy name mantra of Shakyamuni Buddha

[Rinpoche recites the name and mantra]

[LA MA] TÖN PA CHOM DÄN DÄ DE ZHIN SHEG PA DRA CHOM PA YANG DAG PAR DZOG PÄI SANG GYÄ PÄLGYÄLWA SHA KYA THUB PA LA CHHAG TSHÄLLO

[Guru], Teacher, Bhagavān, Tathāgata, Arhat, Perfectly Complete Buddha, Glorious Conqueror Śākyamuni Buddha, I prostrate.

TADYATHĀ OṂ MUNE MUNE MAHĀ MUNAYE SVĀHĀ

This contains all the Dharma—pratimoksha, bodhisattva, tantra—the entire Dharma taught by the Buddha. By reciting this, we are able to generate compassion for all the sentient beings. It not only frees us from the lower realms, the negative karma, but by generating compassion, it becomes so easy to be born in a pure land and so easy to achieve enlightenment. There are skies of benefit.

2. Homage to Chenrezig and mantra

[Rinpoche recites homage and mantra]

OM MANI PADME HUM

You can recite one mala or more of these different mantras. Here, I will just recite them a few times, but you can carry on reciting.

3. Mantra of the Sutra of Great Liberation

[Rinpoche recites the mantra]

So now there is a mantra from the Sutra of Great Liberation. If anybody hears this, even if animals hear this, it brings them to enlightenment. It not only frees us from the lower realms but also brings us to enlightenment. It frees us from samsara and brings us to enlightenment.

4. Namgyalma mantra

By hearing this mantra, you will never get reborn in the lower realms. There are incredible benefits, I am just mentioning this much.

5. Mitukpa mantra

Mitukpa mantra is very powerful for purification. When His Holiness gave the initiation he mentioned that when we eat meat or when we collect the animal’s bones and then recite this mantra, it purifies that animal’s negative karma and delusions. It is very common to do this and very powerful.

There are more benefits of Mitukpa mantra. It purifies the negative karma we create when criticizing arya Sangha, who have developed the wisdom directly realizing emptiness. [We purify the karma of] criticizing the holy beings and also the general Sangha, those with 253 vows, gelong. All those negative karmas get purified by hearing and reciting this mantra. 

[We purify the karma of] avoiding the holy Dharma, any holy Dharma that came from the Buddha, but we give it up, thinking, “Oh, what is the use for me?” When this thought arises, then we give up the holy Dharma as the object of respect and devotion. It is said that is much heavier negative karma than destroying all the temples, all the stupas, all the statues in the world. It’s much worse negative karma than that. It is said that by hearing and reciting Mitukpa mantra, we purify all those negative karmas, so we can see how important it is. So even before we are dead, when we recite this mantra, all these negative karmas get purified.

6. Exalted Stainless Beam Totally Pure Light mantra

This is a very powerful mantra to purify the heavy negative karma of having killed one’s father or mother, or an arhat, drawn blood from the Buddha or having caused disagreement in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha—the five very heavy negative karmas without break. This mantra purifies that heavy karma and no question about purifying the ten negative actions that we normally do. It purifies that also. It’s so powerful.

[Rinpoche recites the mantra]

NAMAḤ NAWA NAWA TĪNÄN…

7. Mantra of Great Wisdom Vimalosnisa 

[Taught by Buddha Droden Gyalwa Cho, this can also be translated as Dharani of Great Knowledge Vimalosnisa.]

8. Lotus Pinnacle of Amoghapasha

[Rinpoche recites the mantra]

OM PÄDMO USHNISHA VIMALE HUM PHAT

This mantra is also unbelievably powerful. Even when a fully ordained monk has broken all four root vows and then is reborn in hell, when we recite this mantra by thinking of that monk, then he is immediately liberated from that hell realm. The purification and the benefits are unbelievably, unbelievably powerful. By reciting this, we will be reborn as a wheel-turning king 100,000 times, then it is so easy to be born in a pure land.

9. Buddha Rinchen Gyaltsen’s holy name and mantra (Rinchhen Tsugtor)

CHOM DÄN DÄ DE ZHIN SHEG PA DRA CHOM PA YANG DAG PAR DZOG PÄI SANG GYÄ RIN CHHEN GYÄL TSHÄN LA CHHAG TSHÄL LO (3X)

To Bhagavān, Tathāgata, Arhat, Perfectly Complete Buddha, Precious Victory Banner, I prostrate.

This name of the Buddha is so powerful to recite, not only for people but also for animals before they die. If they can hear this, they never get reborn in the lower realms. It’s not only for people, but also for animals. So I recite this. Normally when I do powa, I recite this first. Then you can do powa or anything.

10. Celestial Mansion Extremely Secret Sublime Success

This mantra, called Celestial Mansion Extremely Secret Sublime Success, is very powerful. It is said in the Kangyur, that the Buddha explained, that if we hear this mantra or recite it, we will see the universes completely filled with precious jewels and then we offer them all to the buddhas. Wow! Can you imagine the merit?

In the past, in India, there was one person who had nothing and he offered medicinal food to four monks. I think I might have mentioned this story to you before. They were not arya monks, those who have wisdom directly perceiving emptiness; they were ordinary monks living in the 253 vows. That person offered just once, then he died and was reborn as the most powerful, wealthiest king, Kashika. That was the immediate result.

Therefore, offering the whole universe filled with jewels to the Buddha is most unbelievable, unbelievable merit, even compared to this example. But compared to the benefits of having heard or recited this mantra just one time, all that merit of offering the universe filled with jewels to the Buddha is almost like not collecting merit at all. Can you understand this?

By reciting this mantra, all the obstacles are purified. I am just talking about the essence of the benefits. [If we recite this mantra] then even if we talk to somebody or look at them, all [their negative karma] is purified.

[Rinpoche recites the mantra]

That is all, thank you very much.

Now, after that, I don’t know if you know how to offer tsog, but even if you have not done the retreat, you can offer tsog. To do self-initiation you need to have done the retreat of the deity before, so if you cannot do self-initiation (long, middle or short), then you can offer tsog. There are the four initiations: the common one, the uncommon one, the short self-initiation, and the very short one, the Lama Chöpa.

If you have not done the [approach] retreat, then tsog can be done. Tsog is very powerful to purify broken samaya and to revive the vows. It is very powerful to purify not only tantric vows, but also pratimoksha and bodhisattva vows, those negative karmas [relating to broken vows] get purified. I explained how to offer tsog one night at Vajra Yogini Institute, in particular, the visualizations.

Now, put all the blame on the self-cherishing thought. Then also the root of samsara, the ignorance grasping at I, the truly existing I. From beginningless time we have totally followed the self-cherishing thought, we’re completely under the control of that. It’s like our guru. That’s how we live our life and that is why we have been experiencing the oceans of samsaric sufferings of each realm—hell, hungry ghost, animal, human being, asura and sura—from beginningless rebirths.

We don’t have omniscience or even clairvoyance, so we don’t remember. We totally don’t remember, but that’s why we have so much suffering. [Due to the self-cherishing thought] we don’t practice Dharma, we don’t realize emptiness, we don’t realize bodhicitta or close to that.

This one time, we have received a perfect human rebirth, we have met the Dharma, we have met the perfect guru, like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which is like having met the real Buddha, Chenrezig, but if our mind has not changed from the selfish mind to bodhicitta, or at least close to that, then again we will have to suffer in the oceans of samsaric sufferings of the six realms, numberless times in the future. It’s an endless cycle; it’s hard to imagine. So do not follow the self-cherishing thought. That is a very important practice.

The Power of Prayer

Pray, “In the intermediate state, in the next life and in all my lives, may I never be separate from the perfectly qualified guru, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and may I always to be guided by His Holiness until enlightenment.” Make a strong bond or connection, heart to heart.

Also pray, “May I never be separate from bodhicitta, may I always practice bodhicitta and leave my heart in bodhicitta, at death time, in the intermediate state and in all my lives up to enlightenment.”

The Power of Intention

Next is the power of planning [intention]. Think, “From today until I die, may my life never go under the control of the self-cherishing thought, until enlightenment. First, until enlightenment; then second, until I die; then third, especially today, may my life never go under the control of the self-cherishing thought. May I always abide in bodhicitta, the thought of cherishing others; may I always leave my heart with that.”

The Power of Habituation

It is said that many meditators pass away while they are sitting up and meditating, but here it says to lie down in the lion position, like the Buddha when he passed away. So the right ribs are on the bed and your right hand is under your right cheek. If you can, with the right ring finger close the right nostril where the breath of attachment flows, to stop that. If you can’t do that, block the right nostril with cotton. Keep the left and right legs together and stretch out, with your left hand also stretched out on the body [and placed on the left thigh].

You just stay in the same position as the Buddha when he showed passing away; even that helps you to go to the pure land. Pabongka said this is a very important condition to help with that. We are supposed to sleep every night in that position by remembering the Buddha. That helps very much so that the death time will be very easy and we will be able to pass away in that way.

You can die with tonglen practice by generating compassion for sentient beings, taking their suffering and its causes and conditions into your heart. Take the suffering of every hell being, hungry ghost, animal, human being, sura and asura being and every intermediate state being into your heart, and give it to the self-cherishing thought, your main enemy. This is your main mara or enemy, who has been harming you from beginningless rebirths and endlessly into the future.

Take their suffering and destroy the self-cherishing thought like with a bomb. Destroy the I that you cherish so much, that does not exist except in mere name. That also means the object of ignorance, the real I, the truly existing I, the I existing from its own side, existing by its own nature, that is also gone. We cherish that, so that is gone. With that gone, it means emptiness, our mind is in the meditation of emptiness.

Then, by generating loving kindness and compassion, give your body, possessions and three-times merits, all the happiness, to all sentient beings. They receive that and it fulfills all their wishes. They get everything, whatever they want, and the numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless human beings, numberless sura and asura beings are totally satisfied.

They receive everything they need: a perfect human rebirth, meeting Mahayana teachings and a perfectly qualified holy guru who reveals the unmistaken path to enlightenment, and by pleasing the holy mind of the guru, they achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.

By giving your body possessions and three-time merits to everyone, they are completely fulfilled, satisfied, they get everything they need. They don’t know what they need, but they get everything: a perfect human rebirth, meeting Mahayana teachings, meeting the perfect guru who reveals the unmistaken path to enlightenment, and by pleasing most the holy mind, they achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. They receive all the realizations on the path and are freed from all obscurations and achieve enlightenment and feel so happy. Then you die with that.

By thinking of His Holiness and the qualities of His Holiness, his wisdom and compassion, when you die with that, while devotion is arising, definitely you are so easily saved from the lower realms and eons of suffering. You are saved and it causes your rebirth in a pure land. In certain pure lands you can become enlightened there, for example, in Amitabha’s pure land after you are born there you become enlightened.

So that is all. Thank you very much.

With much love and prayers ...

[Find links to Practicing the Five Powers Near the Time of Death and Ten Powerful Mantras for the Time of Death in the FPMT Catalogue.]