Rinpoche's first Letter, 2006Dear John,I have checked and am giving this advice. 

My very dear James,Even non-Buddhists should prepare for death every day, and especially as practitioners we should all prepare like this.

My very dear one,I checked and you need to have the puja called chab trü done by a senior geshe or lama who you have much devotion to.

A student wrote to Rinpoche about a brain scan which showed brain damage, possibly from multiple minor strokes. She asked Rinpoche if there were practices she could do.

A student advised that she had been diagnosed with a terminal brain disease, cerebellar atrophy [degeneration of the cerebellum], as a result of chemical poisons, and she had only a couple more years to live. She remembered the wonderful times that she had spent with Rinpoche and she asked Rinpoche for practice advice, prayers and blessings.

A student wrote to Rinpoche asking for advice regarding changes in her husband’s brain functions. Her letter and Rinpoche’s response are reproduced below.

Rinpoche sent a card with the following advice to a very sick student, a young person, who had a type of brain disease.

A student wrote to Rinpoche saying a brain scan showed changes in the white tissue in her brain. The radiologist could not explain what had caused them. The student was unsure whether to pursue Western medicine for the condition and wrote to Rinpoche for advice.

Dear James,Here is the practice and mantra for your brother:I prostrate to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. This is the mantra called “Exalted one whose shape of the body is beautified.”Mantra:

My very dear Jeanette,Thank you for your kind email.