The Foundation of Buddhist Meditation
by Venerable Kalu Rinpoche
Now in order to embark upon religious practice, right from the start, an awareness of the diffi- culties of meeting with the opportunities and bless- ings of this life will anchor the mind and lead one to enter religion; then through the contemplation of impermanence, laziness will be abandoned and one will strive at such practice; belief in seed and results will cause evil to be rejected, virtue to be taken up, and
?
by Venerable Kalu Rinpoche
Now in order to embark upon religious practice, right from the start, an awareness of the diffi- culties of meeting with the opportunities and bless- ings of this life will anchor the mind and lead one to enter religion; then through the contemplation of impermanence, laziness will be abandoned and one will strive at such practice; belief in seed and results will cause evil to be rejected, virtue to be taken up, and
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Kalu-Rinpoche-Foundation-of-Buddhist-Meditation
?
Foundation of
Buddhist Meditation
Ven. Kalu Rinpoche
? The Foundation
of
Buddhist Meditation
Ven. Kalu Rinpoche
LIBRARY OF TIBETAN WORKS AND ARCHIVES
? (C) 1987: Library ofTibetan Works and Archives
First published in 1973 as a pamphlet
Published in Four Essential Buddhist Texts in 1981, 1982
Reprint: 1992 This edition: 2004
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 81-85102-61-9
Published by Library ofTibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, and printed at Indraprastha Press (CBT) 4 Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-1 00 002
? Publisher's Note
The Foundation ofBuddhist Meditation by Yen. Kalu Rinpoche was first published as a pamphlet by us in 1973. In 1981 it was included in an anthology Four Essential Buddhist Texts, which was reprinted in 1982 and in booklet form in 1992. Now we are pleased to bring out this new format in response to persistent demand.
The Foundation ofBuddhist Meditation outlines the basic meditation practices common to all sects of Tibetan Buddhism.
The late Yen. Kalu Rinpoche, the head of the Shang-pa Kagyu tradition, is one ofTibet's foremost living meditation masters, and has guided hundreds ofdisciples through three-year retreats in many coun- tries.
It is hoped that this meditation manual will provide the reader with a deeper insight into the
? complex scope of Tibetan Buddhist thought and practice.
Publication Department
Library ofTibetan Works and Archives 2004
? Introduction
In this manual, the four teachings which motivate religious practice and the attributes of the Three Jewels are explained. If one completely understands the significance ofall these things, one will turn away from the cycle of existence and strive to procure freedom, will believe in action and result (karma), and will either obtain Buddhahood in this life or will become free of this cycle, etc. Moreover when many positive qualities are cultivated, one will consolidate a basis for the holy Dharma. So, please, don't just penetrate the significance of all three things, but, in
addition, strive at Dharma practice.
This book, was written by myself, Kalu Rinpoche
(Karma Drub-gyud Ten-dzin) for the benefit of all who practice the Dharma. Ken McLoed of Canada did the translation from the Tibetan into English, after which Kungo Losang Lhalungpa checked and corrected the translation manuscript.
? May this work deliver many sentient beings from the ocean of suffering, this cycle of existence; may they attain the Castle of Buddha.
Kalu Rinpoche
? The Foundation of Buddhist Meditation
by Venerable Kalu Rinpoche
Now in order to embark upon religious practice, right from the start, an awareness of the diffi- culties of meeting with the opportunities and bless- ings of this life will anchor the mind and lead one to enter religion; then through the contemplation of impermanence, laziness will be abandoned and one will strive at such practice; belief in seed and results will cause evil to be rejected, virtue to be taken up, and
? 2
one to act with propriety; and when the misery of the
cycle of existence is understood, because of strong revulsion one will want to procure only freedom.
First to possess the eight opportunities means not to be born in the eight unrestful existences which are the hell, preta and animal realms all tormented by suffering exclusively; primitive tribes to which no religion has appeared; the long lived gods adrift on the currents of desire;1 those human beings who have wrong views, believing neither in religion nor in the law of action and result, those born in a dark aeon when Buddha has not appeared; and those who can- not understand the meaning of religion due to retar- dation or defects in speech, ears or eyes.
To possess the ten blessings means first to have the five blessings which accrue through oneself; i. e. to obtain the body of a human, to be born in a central country which has religion, to have all five senses intact, to reverse the tide of karma, and to have faith in the Three Jewels; and secondly, to have the five blessings which accrue through others; i. e. the ap- pearance ofBuddha, the teaching ofreligion (Dharma),
? 3 the stability of the Doctrine, the existence of many who follow the' Doctrine, and through the kindness and faith ofothers to have favorable circumstances for religious practice. Together, the five blessings, from oneself and the five through others comprise the ten blessings. Thus, to possess these, eighteen opportuni-
ties and blessings, forms the human birth.
The difficulty of meeting with it is illustrated in three ways: by considering the cause, the numbers,
and an example. The karmic cause is the cultivation of a completely pure ethical code. Such individuals are very rare. Number means that while hell beings are as numerous as the dust particles of the earth, pretas as the sand of the Ganges (the sacred river in India), animals as snow flakes, those in the celestial and anti- god realms as the stars at night, those who have a precious human birth with opportunities and bless- ings are like daytime stars. For example, it is taught that if all the world were water and a wooden yoke were thereupon to be tossed by the winds, and a blind turtle surfaced once every hundred years, for that turtle to put its neck in the yoke would be easier than to obtain the precious human birth.
? 4
Thus, at this time when the precious human birth
has been obtained, not to set out to follow the path to freedom and so, when completely free from the suf- fering of the cycle of existence to obtain the perma- nent peace ofBuddhahood, is more wasteful than, for example, a poor man who, finding as many jewels would fill a house, makes no use and so loses them.
So now, resolve to dismiss all worldly work, which is great activity for little purpose, and don't deceive oneself or pretend that one understands Dharma or that one can meditate. Obtain the nectar of religion from a qualified teacher (or spiritual friend), and then after completely comprehending the significance of the Holy Dharma, never depart from the resolution to complete the practice of Dharma by accumulated spiritual merits, eliminating mental impurities, and applying through meditation transformation and spiri- tual perfection.
Secondly, if impermanence is contemplated, strong clinging to this life diminishes and one is able to cultivate virtue. What is impermanence? All gath- erings of riches, enjoyment and splendor are, in the
? 5 end, dispersed; in the end, buildings ruined; in the end, those who have gathered together are separated; in the end, those born die. Thus every thing is but
impermanent.
In addition, the external world which seems solid
and firm is impermanent and will be destroyed in stages by fire, water and wind. The force of the coming spring causes the earth to be soft and reddish- brown in colour; trees and plants bring forth shoots and buds. But this is impermanent, for the force of the coming summer causes the earth to be moist and blue-green in color; grass, trees and plants develop leaves and petals. The force of the coming autumn causes the earth to be firm and reddish-yellow in color; grass, trees and plants ripen in fruit. The force of the coming winter causes the earth to be hard and grey in color; grass, trees and plants become dry and brittle; and so on season by season. The sun and moon rising and setting are also impermanent. At day it is clear and bright; at night black and dark. Moreover hours and minutes are impermanent, a passing mo- ment. Impermanent is like a continual water fall: something else similar arises.
? 6
All sentient beings,2 the inner contents of the external world, are impermanent. All those who came before have died, all that are now are dying, all to come will but die. One's self in each year, month, day, hour, and minute draws closer to death. Though brave and greatly courageous, one cannot turn back death; though strong and fleet of foot, there is no freedom in flight; though clever and eloquent, erudite discourse can do nought. Brave troops, sharp weap- ons, power and influence, clever schemes, wealth or riches, a beautiful girl's body, all these will not turn it away. When the sun goes behind the mountain, there is no one who can possibly delay or detain it.
Nor is this life certain in its length. Death can come in the mother's womb, or at birth, or when one can just begin to crawl or walk, in the time of youth, or after old age: the time of death 'is not certain. Also there are the causes ofdeath: fire and water, wind and lightning, earthquakes, avalanches, falling houses, weapons, poison, demons, bad food, etc. Which of these causes ofdeath will come is not certain. This life is like a butter lamp in a hurricane, a bubble in water, or a drop of dew on a blade of grass.
? 7 There is no yearning for or joy at the coming of death. It is loathed. For, after one has set aside land
and house and farm, property and possessions, rela- tives and close friends, father and mother, children, brother and spouse, together with one's own body, one must go powerless, alone and friendless to an unfamiliar realm, the terrifYing Bardo (the stage be- tween death and birth). Since without the slightest exception, the basis for this departure, whether early or late, is part ofeverything, whenever one sees, hears or thinks ofanother's death, one must make it part of oneself.
Any man at all who has a sound body, good complexion, and feels happy and comfortable has no thought for death. When the sickness ofdeath strikes, his body's strength ebbs and he cannot even sit in a crouch: the glow of health wanes, and he looks like a corpse; he suffers with no means to prevent the thorns of pain; medicine, rituals, or ceremonies, none of these is of any benefit, and he knows he is to die; his suffering and fear increase and he despairs of leaving everything and having to go alone. As the last meal is
? 8
taken and the last words are uttered, think, "I also do not pass beyond this nature. "
Once death has come, even a person who loved him very much does not want to keep his corpse longer than a day or two; everyone is sickened and looks on in fear. The corpse carriers carry him across the threshold and away to be buried in a cemetery, cremated, hidden in a crevice or given to birds or dogs etc. After all that has taken place, no eyes will ever see him again. Think, "I also will come to the same end. "
At that time, the three Precious Jewels3 and the Lama are the friends who can provide refuge. Since virtue and vice are the only things that bring benefit or harm, strive now towards pure and perfect religious practice.
Since this body is made from the fusion ofvarious parts: black and white karma, secretions from the mother and father, the four elements, space con- sciousness, etc. , and all compounded things are im- permanent, so is the body.
In addition, the high become low, the low high, mighty become paupers, poor become rich, enemies
? 9 change to friends, friends to enemies: in all these changes nothing goes beyond its essential nature of impermanence. So, this holding to the impermanent as permanent is like existing in the delusions of a
madman.
This precious human birth now obtained can
convey and comprehend ideas, has a full compliment ofcapabilities, has met spiritual teachers and friends, and has understood the implications of religion. If it should go to waste, even after the sufferings of the cycle have been experienced intensely for a long time, such a foundation as this body may not be obtained again. Thus, since the time one has to live is like the sun peeping through clouds, think about practicing religion completely and vow to do so diligently.
Contemplation ofimpermanence in this way leads to comprehension of the impermanence of all com- posite things. Then, manifest attachment to this life decreases, the power of the defilements (desire, aver- sion, etc. ) is destroyed; faith in religion increases, and one works with diligence. He who practices religion is never depressed or weary and will finally realize the
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meaning of the unborn, undying nature of mind and obtaintheperfectaccomplishmentoftheGreatSymbol.
Thirdly, it is necessary to cultivate mindfulness of the failings of the cycle. Although there be death and impermanence, if, like a fire dying or water evaporat- ing, nothing happens afterwards, it would be easy; but mind, whose nature is empty, never dies. The aggre- gates ofmind and body which have come from strong clinging and is the manifestation of delusion breaks up and is dispersed. Then again, from various poten- tials and causes such as defilements, karma, inclina- tions, etc. , birth takes place wherever appropriate in any ofthe realms.
The composition of the skandhas4 incorporates the essential nature of the cycle, i. e. suffering. When there is the existence of the skandhas there is the existence ofthe potential sorrow that pervades forma- tions; when potential sorrow, through various causes, changes to the feeling of sorrow, it is the sorrow of changes; the sorrow that really is experienced is the sorrow of sorrows. There is no freedom from any of these three sufferings.
? 11 Particularly, sentient beings in the six realms ex- perience many different sorrows. First, the beings of the eight hot hells called Reviving, Black Line, Crush- ing and Destruction, Crying in Agony, Hot, Very Hot, and Worst Torment pass their time only suffer-
ing from death, killing, heat and flames. The length of time spent and amount ofsuffering increase by factors offour from hell. In each ofthe four directions, there are four other hells called Fire and Hot Mud Trench, Cesspool of Rotting Corpses, Road Full of Razors, and River of Hot Ashes. These hells, situated four in each offour directions ofthe great hells, make a total ofsixteen neighboring hells. There, one is subjected to sufferings suggested by the meaning ofthe names, and the life span is indefinite. The eight cold hells are called Blistering, Teeth Chattering, Sounding Achoo, Sounding Kyehu, Cracks Like a Flower, Cracks Like a Lotus, and Cracks Like a Large Lotus. In these dwell- ing places all the mountains and valleys are ice and snow, and it is as cold as can be. The length of time spent in Blistering is given as follows: if from eighty bushels ofsesame seeds one seed were removed each
? 12
year, the time taken to exhaust the seeds would be one lifespan there. The lifespan increases by factors of twenty successively, through the other cold hells, as does the suffering. Finally, the occasional hells may be above or below ground, in indefinite places. Neither the suffering nor lifespan is strictly determined, and the only reason for being there is to suffer.
The pretas: those obscured outwardly do not see a drop of water for twelve years and experience the sorrow of having dry food only. Those inwardly ob- scured have mouths no larger than the eye ofa needle, eyes as thin as a horse's hair, arms and legs like blades ofgrass, and stomachs as big as mountains, and thus, unable to seek food and drink, experience the sorrow ofnot putting anything into their mouths and throats. For those obscured in food and drink, food and fluid become filth or molten metal. Those with particular burdens have many pretas living in and eating their bodies and each mother gives birth to five hundred children, etc. Continually subject to the suffering of quarrelling, grabbing, heat, cold, hunger and thirst, they live for five hundred years. One day there is as long as a month for humans.
? 13 In the animal realms, there are all those such as nagas,5 etc. , who dwell in seclusion in the ocean or under the ground, and those scattered and living in the places of men: antelopes, carnivores, cows, deer, insects, worms, etc. Size and shape ofbody and lifespan are uncertain and varied. Foolish and stupid, hungry and thirsty, through heat and cold, frightened and panic-stricken, ever eating one another, they suffer immeasurably. For all nagas, seven times every day usually, scorching sand falls like rain and flays the flesh to the bone. Fear of garuda birds constantly plagues them. All those animals which one can see with one's own eyes, when examined accurately, will
be seen to have sorrows which seem in-exhaustible. On top ofthis great suffering, they become subject to desire and attachments and the other defilements, and commit various unwholesome acts, such as killing, etc. Since they all neither know nor recall even a vestige of the root of virtue, i. e. faith, compassion, etc. , one should have compassion and strive at the means to avoid birth there. These are the circum- stances of the three lower realms.
? 14
Of the three higher realms and their circum-
stances, the first to be explained is that of humans. There are four great sorrows: birth, old age, sickness and death.
First is the suffering of birth. After the previous body has been cast aside, in the imagined Bardo body one passes the time powerless, in fear and in pain. According to the amount of merit previously accu- mulated, one sees from afar a beautiful house, or a hut ofgrass or leaves or a crack in a wall, and rushes there. According to whether one is to be born male or female, one feels attachment and aversion to the mother and father. Then the secretions of the mother and fluid from the father and one's own consciousness are mixed. At that time, all conscious memory is jumbled like the unclear dreams ofa thick sleep.
In the first week in the mother's womb, the suffering is like being roasted or fried on hot copper. At that time, the appearance is ofsoft rice; this stage is named Mer Mer. In the second week, the All-Touch- ing Wind causes the four elements to manifest and the appearance is like cold butter and is call Nur Nur. In
? 15 the third week, the Storing Up Wind causes the four elements to manifest strongly; now the shape is like an insect and is called Tar Tar. And so, similar changes take place stage by stage until the seventh week when theTwisting Wind gives rise to the four arms and legs; the suffering is like having the limbs pulled out by a strong person and being spread out by a stick. By stages, the shape forms and sorrows come; in the eighth week, the Hole Forming Wind comes and the nine orifices form; there is the additional suffering as
if a finger were probing an open wound.
When the mother takes something cold, there is
suffering like being immersed in ice; when she eats a great deal, the suffering is like being crushed by boulders; if only a little is eaten, then like hanging in the air, when running or being very active, like rolling down into a large abyss; and when she has intercourse, it is like being pierced by iron needles.
In the thirty-seventh week after entering the womb, there is the recognition that the womb is really like a jail: dark and smelly and filthy, and completely de- pressing, inducing the desire to escape. In the thirty-
? 16
eighth week, one is moved in the direction of the gate ofbirth by the Flower Gathering Wind, at which time there is suffering like being spun on an iron wheel. So, from the first moment of conception in the womb, one was cooked as if in molten copper, disturbed by twenty-eight different winds, and was stewed in the gravy of the mother's blood, until the body was com- pletely finished. Now, the Mouth Down Wind turns the body upside down, the hands stretch out, and out one comes. At this time, the suffering is like being pulled through a net ofiron. When born, at the time of c o m i n g o u t t h e r e is t h e s o r r o w o f b e i n g t h r o w n i n t o t h e centre oflife. At later times, various sorrows such as the skin being flayed (when first washed) will come. Ifthese sorrows are thought about, is there anyone who thinks he is willing to enter the womb again?
The sufferings ofold age, also, are immeasurable. Where as the body was straight and firm before, now it changes to being bent and stooped and needs a cane for support; the hair changes in color; the face, etc. , is no longer beautiful; the skin which was fine and soft like Chinese silk becomes a thick heap of wrinkles,
? 17 just as a freshly blooming lotus is white and red but when old becomes dry, wrinkled and shrivelled. The lift ofthe body is broken; both sitting and moving are wearisome; the power of the mind is destroyed; and there is little inclination to do anything. The capabili- ties of the sense exhausted; the eyes no longer see forms clearly, the ears don't hear sounds, the nose
doesn't sense odors, the tongue doesn't taste flavors, the touch ofthe body has little pleasure and mentally, memories are unclear, now remembered, now forgot- ten. Because everything is disordered and chaotic, one is unhappy and contemptuous. The wealth gathered before is exhausted and there is much suffering from being powerless, etc. Thus, one is very depressed. After one sees clearly that there is nothing else but death, one has to sit with the head bent down in sadness. When the present time passes, the end oflife is reached. The breath, moving in and out, causes a rasping sound. Composite things that age together decay together.
The sufferings of disease are: one can't bear the ravages of fever, nor can one lie in the sick bed; the
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lower halfofthe body can't bear the upper, there is no wish to eat or drink nor power to do what one wants; one is dependent on doctors; property and wealth are exhausted; one has to be carefully examined; even if the day passes, there is still the night, etc. The time is passed in such suffering.
The suffering of death: for all ordinary mortals, as soon as they come to the great crossroads on the road ofthe cycle, the sickness ofdeath strikes; they are cut off and divorced from happiness and tormented by disease; the mouth is parched; what is. familiar changes; legs and arms thrash about and one trembles uncontrollably; spittle, mucous, urine and stools de- file the body; one breathes hoarsely; the doctors give up; all means are exhausted; strong and violent delu- sions arouse fear and panic; the movement of breath ceases; mouth and nose gape open. This world is cast aside, the great change comes, and one moves to another realm, enters into great darkness, falls into a great abyss, is carried away by a great ocean, is chased by the winds of karma, and wanders with no fixed aim. House, farm, fields, jewels, wealth, property,
? 19 fortune, power and spouse, together with the body so
dear: all are set aside.
With tears trickling at the time ofdeparture, first
earth is absorbed into water and the trembling body feels as if a mountain were relentlessly crushing it. Then water is absorbed into fire, and fluid dribbles uncontrollably from the mouth, nose and so forth; one feels that one is being carried away in flood. As fire dissolves into wind, the mouth and nose become dry and the eyes turn upward; body heat begins to leave the limbs and it is as if there were a great fire roaring and burning inside onesel( As wind dissolves into consciousness the breath stops and a great wind, gisting and whining, is felt with great apprehension and fear. Then when consciousness, is absorbed into ignorance, white brilliance, then red and then black are perceived; all mental activity ceases and one be- comes oblivious. Mter a period of between three and four days, mental activity is revived and the various manifestations of the Bardo arise. Once again, the force ofkarma brings birth in the appropriate place in the six realms.
? 20
However, these four great sufferings are not the
only ones. There are also other sorrows.
The Foundation of Buddhist Meditation
by Venerable Kalu Rinpoche
Now in order to embark upon religious practice, right from the start, an awareness of the diffi- culties of meeting with the opportunities and bless- ings of this life will anchor the mind and lead one to enter religion; then through the contemplation of impermanence, laziness will be abandoned and one will strive at such practice; belief in seed and results will cause evil to be rejected, virtue to be taken up, and
? 2
one to act with propriety; and when the misery of the
cycle of existence is understood, because of strong revulsion one will want to procure only freedom.
First to possess the eight opportunities means not to be born in the eight unrestful existences which are the hell, preta and animal realms all tormented by suffering exclusively; primitive tribes to which no religion has appeared; the long lived gods adrift on the currents of desire;1 those human beings who have wrong views, believing neither in religion nor in the law of action and result, those born in a dark aeon when Buddha has not appeared; and those who can- not understand the meaning of religion due to retar- dation or defects in speech, ears or eyes.
To possess the ten blessings means first to have the five blessings which accrue through oneself; i. e. to obtain the body of a human, to be born in a central country which has religion, to have all five senses intact, to reverse the tide of karma, and to have faith in the Three Jewels; and secondly, to have the five blessings which accrue through others; i. e. the ap- pearance ofBuddha, the teaching ofreligion (Dharma),
? 3 the stability of the Doctrine, the existence of many who follow the' Doctrine, and through the kindness and faith ofothers to have favorable circumstances for religious practice. Together, the five blessings, from oneself and the five through others comprise the ten blessings. Thus, to possess these, eighteen opportuni-
ties and blessings, forms the human birth.
The difficulty of meeting with it is illustrated in three ways: by considering the cause, the numbers,
and an example. The karmic cause is the cultivation of a completely pure ethical code. Such individuals are very rare. Number means that while hell beings are as numerous as the dust particles of the earth, pretas as the sand of the Ganges (the sacred river in India), animals as snow flakes, those in the celestial and anti- god realms as the stars at night, those who have a precious human birth with opportunities and bless- ings are like daytime stars. For example, it is taught that if all the world were water and a wooden yoke were thereupon to be tossed by the winds, and a blind turtle surfaced once every hundred years, for that turtle to put its neck in the yoke would be easier than to obtain the precious human birth.
? 4
Thus, at this time when the precious human birth
has been obtained, not to set out to follow the path to freedom and so, when completely free from the suf- fering of the cycle of existence to obtain the perma- nent peace ofBuddhahood, is more wasteful than, for example, a poor man who, finding as many jewels would fill a house, makes no use and so loses them.
So now, resolve to dismiss all worldly work, which is great activity for little purpose, and don't deceive oneself or pretend that one understands Dharma or that one can meditate. Obtain the nectar of religion from a qualified teacher (or spiritual friend), and then after completely comprehending the significance of the Holy Dharma, never depart from the resolution to complete the practice of Dharma by accumulated spiritual merits, eliminating mental impurities, and applying through meditation transformation and spiri- tual perfection.
Secondly, if impermanence is contemplated, strong clinging to this life diminishes and one is able to cultivate virtue. What is impermanence? All gath- erings of riches, enjoyment and splendor are, in the
? 5 end, dispersed; in the end, buildings ruined; in the end, those who have gathered together are separated; in the end, those born die. Thus every thing is but
impermanent.
In addition, the external world which seems solid
and firm is impermanent and will be destroyed in stages by fire, water and wind. The force of the coming spring causes the earth to be soft and reddish- brown in colour; trees and plants bring forth shoots and buds. But this is impermanent, for the force of the coming summer causes the earth to be moist and blue-green in color; grass, trees and plants develop leaves and petals. The force of the coming autumn causes the earth to be firm and reddish-yellow in color; grass, trees and plants ripen in fruit. The force of the coming winter causes the earth to be hard and grey in color; grass, trees and plants become dry and brittle; and so on season by season. The sun and moon rising and setting are also impermanent. At day it is clear and bright; at night black and dark. Moreover hours and minutes are impermanent, a passing mo- ment. Impermanent is like a continual water fall: something else similar arises.
? 6
All sentient beings,2 the inner contents of the external world, are impermanent. All those who came before have died, all that are now are dying, all to come will but die. One's self in each year, month, day, hour, and minute draws closer to death. Though brave and greatly courageous, one cannot turn back death; though strong and fleet of foot, there is no freedom in flight; though clever and eloquent, erudite discourse can do nought. Brave troops, sharp weap- ons, power and influence, clever schemes, wealth or riches, a beautiful girl's body, all these will not turn it away. When the sun goes behind the mountain, there is no one who can possibly delay or detain it.
Nor is this life certain in its length. Death can come in the mother's womb, or at birth, or when one can just begin to crawl or walk, in the time of youth, or after old age: the time of death 'is not certain. Also there are the causes ofdeath: fire and water, wind and lightning, earthquakes, avalanches, falling houses, weapons, poison, demons, bad food, etc. Which of these causes ofdeath will come is not certain. This life is like a butter lamp in a hurricane, a bubble in water, or a drop of dew on a blade of grass.
? 7 There is no yearning for or joy at the coming of death. It is loathed. For, after one has set aside land
and house and farm, property and possessions, rela- tives and close friends, father and mother, children, brother and spouse, together with one's own body, one must go powerless, alone and friendless to an unfamiliar realm, the terrifYing Bardo (the stage be- tween death and birth). Since without the slightest exception, the basis for this departure, whether early or late, is part ofeverything, whenever one sees, hears or thinks ofanother's death, one must make it part of oneself.
Any man at all who has a sound body, good complexion, and feels happy and comfortable has no thought for death. When the sickness ofdeath strikes, his body's strength ebbs and he cannot even sit in a crouch: the glow of health wanes, and he looks like a corpse; he suffers with no means to prevent the thorns of pain; medicine, rituals, or ceremonies, none of these is of any benefit, and he knows he is to die; his suffering and fear increase and he despairs of leaving everything and having to go alone. As the last meal is
? 8
taken and the last words are uttered, think, "I also do not pass beyond this nature. "
Once death has come, even a person who loved him very much does not want to keep his corpse longer than a day or two; everyone is sickened and looks on in fear. The corpse carriers carry him across the threshold and away to be buried in a cemetery, cremated, hidden in a crevice or given to birds or dogs etc. After all that has taken place, no eyes will ever see him again. Think, "I also will come to the same end. "
At that time, the three Precious Jewels3 and the Lama are the friends who can provide refuge. Since virtue and vice are the only things that bring benefit or harm, strive now towards pure and perfect religious practice.
Since this body is made from the fusion ofvarious parts: black and white karma, secretions from the mother and father, the four elements, space con- sciousness, etc. , and all compounded things are im- permanent, so is the body.
In addition, the high become low, the low high, mighty become paupers, poor become rich, enemies
? 9 change to friends, friends to enemies: in all these changes nothing goes beyond its essential nature of impermanence. So, this holding to the impermanent as permanent is like existing in the delusions of a
madman.
This precious human birth now obtained can
convey and comprehend ideas, has a full compliment ofcapabilities, has met spiritual teachers and friends, and has understood the implications of religion. If it should go to waste, even after the sufferings of the cycle have been experienced intensely for a long time, such a foundation as this body may not be obtained again. Thus, since the time one has to live is like the sun peeping through clouds, think about practicing religion completely and vow to do so diligently.
Contemplation ofimpermanence in this way leads to comprehension of the impermanence of all com- posite things. Then, manifest attachment to this life decreases, the power of the defilements (desire, aver- sion, etc. ) is destroyed; faith in religion increases, and one works with diligence. He who practices religion is never depressed or weary and will finally realize the
? 10
meaning of the unborn, undying nature of mind and obtaintheperfectaccomplishmentoftheGreatSymbol.
Thirdly, it is necessary to cultivate mindfulness of the failings of the cycle. Although there be death and impermanence, if, like a fire dying or water evaporat- ing, nothing happens afterwards, it would be easy; but mind, whose nature is empty, never dies. The aggre- gates ofmind and body which have come from strong clinging and is the manifestation of delusion breaks up and is dispersed. Then again, from various poten- tials and causes such as defilements, karma, inclina- tions, etc. , birth takes place wherever appropriate in any ofthe realms.
The composition of the skandhas4 incorporates the essential nature of the cycle, i. e. suffering. When there is the existence of the skandhas there is the existence ofthe potential sorrow that pervades forma- tions; when potential sorrow, through various causes, changes to the feeling of sorrow, it is the sorrow of changes; the sorrow that really is experienced is the sorrow of sorrows. There is no freedom from any of these three sufferings.
? 11 Particularly, sentient beings in the six realms ex- perience many different sorrows. First, the beings of the eight hot hells called Reviving, Black Line, Crush- ing and Destruction, Crying in Agony, Hot, Very Hot, and Worst Torment pass their time only suffer-
ing from death, killing, heat and flames. The length of time spent and amount ofsuffering increase by factors offour from hell. In each ofthe four directions, there are four other hells called Fire and Hot Mud Trench, Cesspool of Rotting Corpses, Road Full of Razors, and River of Hot Ashes. These hells, situated four in each offour directions ofthe great hells, make a total ofsixteen neighboring hells. There, one is subjected to sufferings suggested by the meaning ofthe names, and the life span is indefinite. The eight cold hells are called Blistering, Teeth Chattering, Sounding Achoo, Sounding Kyehu, Cracks Like a Flower, Cracks Like a Lotus, and Cracks Like a Large Lotus. In these dwell- ing places all the mountains and valleys are ice and snow, and it is as cold as can be. The length of time spent in Blistering is given as follows: if from eighty bushels ofsesame seeds one seed were removed each
? 12
year, the time taken to exhaust the seeds would be one lifespan there. The lifespan increases by factors of twenty successively, through the other cold hells, as does the suffering. Finally, the occasional hells may be above or below ground, in indefinite places. Neither the suffering nor lifespan is strictly determined, and the only reason for being there is to suffer.
The pretas: those obscured outwardly do not see a drop of water for twelve years and experience the sorrow of having dry food only. Those inwardly ob- scured have mouths no larger than the eye ofa needle, eyes as thin as a horse's hair, arms and legs like blades ofgrass, and stomachs as big as mountains, and thus, unable to seek food and drink, experience the sorrow ofnot putting anything into their mouths and throats. For those obscured in food and drink, food and fluid become filth or molten metal. Those with particular burdens have many pretas living in and eating their bodies and each mother gives birth to five hundred children, etc. Continually subject to the suffering of quarrelling, grabbing, heat, cold, hunger and thirst, they live for five hundred years. One day there is as long as a month for humans.
? 13 In the animal realms, there are all those such as nagas,5 etc. , who dwell in seclusion in the ocean or under the ground, and those scattered and living in the places of men: antelopes, carnivores, cows, deer, insects, worms, etc. Size and shape ofbody and lifespan are uncertain and varied. Foolish and stupid, hungry and thirsty, through heat and cold, frightened and panic-stricken, ever eating one another, they suffer immeasurably. For all nagas, seven times every day usually, scorching sand falls like rain and flays the flesh to the bone. Fear of garuda birds constantly plagues them. All those animals which one can see with one's own eyes, when examined accurately, will
be seen to have sorrows which seem in-exhaustible. On top ofthis great suffering, they become subject to desire and attachments and the other defilements, and commit various unwholesome acts, such as killing, etc. Since they all neither know nor recall even a vestige of the root of virtue, i. e. faith, compassion, etc. , one should have compassion and strive at the means to avoid birth there. These are the circum- stances of the three lower realms.
? 14
Of the three higher realms and their circum-
stances, the first to be explained is that of humans. There are four great sorrows: birth, old age, sickness and death.
First is the suffering of birth. After the previous body has been cast aside, in the imagined Bardo body one passes the time powerless, in fear and in pain. According to the amount of merit previously accu- mulated, one sees from afar a beautiful house, or a hut ofgrass or leaves or a crack in a wall, and rushes there. According to whether one is to be born male or female, one feels attachment and aversion to the mother and father. Then the secretions of the mother and fluid from the father and one's own consciousness are mixed. At that time, all conscious memory is jumbled like the unclear dreams ofa thick sleep.
In the first week in the mother's womb, the suffering is like being roasted or fried on hot copper. At that time, the appearance is ofsoft rice; this stage is named Mer Mer. In the second week, the All-Touch- ing Wind causes the four elements to manifest and the appearance is like cold butter and is call Nur Nur. In
? 15 the third week, the Storing Up Wind causes the four elements to manifest strongly; now the shape is like an insect and is called Tar Tar. And so, similar changes take place stage by stage until the seventh week when theTwisting Wind gives rise to the four arms and legs; the suffering is like having the limbs pulled out by a strong person and being spread out by a stick. By stages, the shape forms and sorrows come; in the eighth week, the Hole Forming Wind comes and the nine orifices form; there is the additional suffering as
if a finger were probing an open wound.
When the mother takes something cold, there is
suffering like being immersed in ice; when she eats a great deal, the suffering is like being crushed by boulders; if only a little is eaten, then like hanging in the air, when running or being very active, like rolling down into a large abyss; and when she has intercourse, it is like being pierced by iron needles.
In the thirty-seventh week after entering the womb, there is the recognition that the womb is really like a jail: dark and smelly and filthy, and completely de- pressing, inducing the desire to escape. In the thirty-
? 16
eighth week, one is moved in the direction of the gate ofbirth by the Flower Gathering Wind, at which time there is suffering like being spun on an iron wheel. So, from the first moment of conception in the womb, one was cooked as if in molten copper, disturbed by twenty-eight different winds, and was stewed in the gravy of the mother's blood, until the body was com- pletely finished. Now, the Mouth Down Wind turns the body upside down, the hands stretch out, and out one comes. At this time, the suffering is like being pulled through a net ofiron. When born, at the time of c o m i n g o u t t h e r e is t h e s o r r o w o f b e i n g t h r o w n i n t o t h e centre oflife. At later times, various sorrows such as the skin being flayed (when first washed) will come. Ifthese sorrows are thought about, is there anyone who thinks he is willing to enter the womb again?
The sufferings ofold age, also, are immeasurable. Where as the body was straight and firm before, now it changes to being bent and stooped and needs a cane for support; the hair changes in color; the face, etc. , is no longer beautiful; the skin which was fine and soft like Chinese silk becomes a thick heap of wrinkles,
? 17 just as a freshly blooming lotus is white and red but when old becomes dry, wrinkled and shrivelled. The lift ofthe body is broken; both sitting and moving are wearisome; the power of the mind is destroyed; and there is little inclination to do anything. The capabili- ties of the sense exhausted; the eyes no longer see forms clearly, the ears don't hear sounds, the nose
doesn't sense odors, the tongue doesn't taste flavors, the touch ofthe body has little pleasure and mentally, memories are unclear, now remembered, now forgot- ten. Because everything is disordered and chaotic, one is unhappy and contemptuous. The wealth gathered before is exhausted and there is much suffering from being powerless, etc. Thus, one is very depressed. After one sees clearly that there is nothing else but death, one has to sit with the head bent down in sadness. When the present time passes, the end oflife is reached. The breath, moving in and out, causes a rasping sound. Composite things that age together decay together.
The sufferings of disease are: one can't bear the ravages of fever, nor can one lie in the sick bed; the
? 18
lower halfofthe body can't bear the upper, there is no wish to eat or drink nor power to do what one wants; one is dependent on doctors; property and wealth are exhausted; one has to be carefully examined; even if the day passes, there is still the night, etc. The time is passed in such suffering.
The suffering of death: for all ordinary mortals, as soon as they come to the great crossroads on the road ofthe cycle, the sickness ofdeath strikes; they are cut off and divorced from happiness and tormented by disease; the mouth is parched; what is. familiar changes; legs and arms thrash about and one trembles uncontrollably; spittle, mucous, urine and stools de- file the body; one breathes hoarsely; the doctors give up; all means are exhausted; strong and violent delu- sions arouse fear and panic; the movement of breath ceases; mouth and nose gape open. This world is cast aside, the great change comes, and one moves to another realm, enters into great darkness, falls into a great abyss, is carried away by a great ocean, is chased by the winds of karma, and wanders with no fixed aim. House, farm, fields, jewels, wealth, property,
? 19 fortune, power and spouse, together with the body so
dear: all are set aside.
With tears trickling at the time ofdeparture, first
earth is absorbed into water and the trembling body feels as if a mountain were relentlessly crushing it. Then water is absorbed into fire, and fluid dribbles uncontrollably from the mouth, nose and so forth; one feels that one is being carried away in flood. As fire dissolves into wind, the mouth and nose become dry and the eyes turn upward; body heat begins to leave the limbs and it is as if there were a great fire roaring and burning inside onesel( As wind dissolves into consciousness the breath stops and a great wind, gisting and whining, is felt with great apprehension and fear. Then when consciousness, is absorbed into ignorance, white brilliance, then red and then black are perceived; all mental activity ceases and one be- comes oblivious. Mter a period of between three and four days, mental activity is revived and the various manifestations of the Bardo arise. Once again, the force ofkarma brings birth in the appropriate place in the six realms.
? 20
However, these four great sufferings are not the
only ones. There are also other sorrows. One some- times has to be separated from those one loves dearly, one's parents, brothers, spouse, etc. , even when living; also, one is completely separated from them by death. There are no means to forget this sorrow. Then, the suffering caused by meeting angry enemies or being beaten, defeated, killed, struck, and abused by poi- sons one to the point ofnot eating at day nor sleeping at night. Also there are the sorrows ofseeking but not finding what one doesn't have and the sorrow ofbeing unable to keep what one does have. Especially, in these degenerate times one has to spend all the time, day and night, suffering from anxiety, depression, attachment, and aversion.
Thus, be ever mindful of the failings of desire's yearnings, and know that all the dharmas6 of the cycle of existence are at no time still, just like ripples on water; that it's as if there were nothing, but delusions appearing like magic, or like dreams. If revulsion (for existence) and contentment (with one's material situ- ation) arise, one will be able to sit quietly with the mind happy and at ease.
? 21 The sufferings ofthe titans are: although equal to the gods in riches and possessions, generally, the force of jealousy causes them to quarrel with outsiders, insiders, with everyone, and there is especially violent
suffering from quarrelling with the gods.
In the desire realm, gods suffer from quarrelling with the titans, from not satisfYing the yearnings of desire, and from death and banishment. At death, five signs appear: the god's clothes become smelly, his garland and flowers wilt, perspiration breaks out from his armpits, his body begins to smell, and his seat becomes uncomfortable. All the other gods and god- desses run away, and dying by himself, he suffers greatly and is panic-stricken, seeing the place of his next birth. He must experience these sorrows for seven days. Although in the form and formless realms there are no sufferings like these, because death does come and one has no power to stay, there is the sorrow
o f fetching a worse situation.
So, since hell beings suffer from heat and cold,
pretas from hunger and thirst, and animals from stupidity, fooiishness and eating each other, and hu-
? 22
mans suffer from birth, old age, sickness, and death, titans from quarrelling and gods from death and their subsequent fall; one must strive to be free from sink- ing into the cycle of the ocean of suffering, and to attain the blissful, sacred, and perfect Buddhahood.
Fourthly, one must understand karmic cause and result. Now the subjection to the various manifesta- tions of delusions of comfort and discomfort in the six worlds and the three realms7 arises through the power of karma. First, non-meritorious actions are the ten vices, etc. , which originate from a defiled mind. The ten vices are given as follows.
Through the gate of the body, there is taking life. Taking life out of desire means killing for the sake of meat, skin, bones, musk, etc. , or for money, or to protect oneself or one's friends; out of anger means that which is done in enmity or quarrelling; and to take life for offering or gifts, thinking it is virtuous or the like, is to kill from stupidity. From these actions, the completely developed result is birth as a sentient being in hell; if born as a human, the result which corresponds with the cause of the act is that one likes
? 23 to take life; the result that agrees with the experience is that one will have a short life and much sickness and, for a long succession of lives, one will have to face being killed; the result in environment is that one is born in a rocky and steep land where there is much danger for life.
Buddhist Meditation
Ven. Kalu Rinpoche
? The Foundation
of
Buddhist Meditation
Ven. Kalu Rinpoche
LIBRARY OF TIBETAN WORKS AND ARCHIVES
? (C) 1987: Library ofTibetan Works and Archives
First published in 1973 as a pamphlet
Published in Four Essential Buddhist Texts in 1981, 1982
Reprint: 1992 This edition: 2004
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 81-85102-61-9
Published by Library ofTibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, and printed at Indraprastha Press (CBT) 4 Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-1 00 002
? Publisher's Note
The Foundation ofBuddhist Meditation by Yen. Kalu Rinpoche was first published as a pamphlet by us in 1973. In 1981 it was included in an anthology Four Essential Buddhist Texts, which was reprinted in 1982 and in booklet form in 1992. Now we are pleased to bring out this new format in response to persistent demand.
The Foundation ofBuddhist Meditation outlines the basic meditation practices common to all sects of Tibetan Buddhism.
The late Yen. Kalu Rinpoche, the head of the Shang-pa Kagyu tradition, is one ofTibet's foremost living meditation masters, and has guided hundreds ofdisciples through three-year retreats in many coun- tries.
It is hoped that this meditation manual will provide the reader with a deeper insight into the
? complex scope of Tibetan Buddhist thought and practice.
Publication Department
Library ofTibetan Works and Archives 2004
? Introduction
In this manual, the four teachings which motivate religious practice and the attributes of the Three Jewels are explained. If one completely understands the significance ofall these things, one will turn away from the cycle of existence and strive to procure freedom, will believe in action and result (karma), and will either obtain Buddhahood in this life or will become free of this cycle, etc. Moreover when many positive qualities are cultivated, one will consolidate a basis for the holy Dharma. So, please, don't just penetrate the significance of all three things, but, in
addition, strive at Dharma practice.
This book, was written by myself, Kalu Rinpoche
(Karma Drub-gyud Ten-dzin) for the benefit of all who practice the Dharma. Ken McLoed of Canada did the translation from the Tibetan into English, after which Kungo Losang Lhalungpa checked and corrected the translation manuscript.
? May this work deliver many sentient beings from the ocean of suffering, this cycle of existence; may they attain the Castle of Buddha.
Kalu Rinpoche
? The Foundation of Buddhist Meditation
by Venerable Kalu Rinpoche
Now in order to embark upon religious practice, right from the start, an awareness of the diffi- culties of meeting with the opportunities and bless- ings of this life will anchor the mind and lead one to enter religion; then through the contemplation of impermanence, laziness will be abandoned and one will strive at such practice; belief in seed and results will cause evil to be rejected, virtue to be taken up, and
? 2
one to act with propriety; and when the misery of the
cycle of existence is understood, because of strong revulsion one will want to procure only freedom.
First to possess the eight opportunities means not to be born in the eight unrestful existences which are the hell, preta and animal realms all tormented by suffering exclusively; primitive tribes to which no religion has appeared; the long lived gods adrift on the currents of desire;1 those human beings who have wrong views, believing neither in religion nor in the law of action and result, those born in a dark aeon when Buddha has not appeared; and those who can- not understand the meaning of religion due to retar- dation or defects in speech, ears or eyes.
To possess the ten blessings means first to have the five blessings which accrue through oneself; i. e. to obtain the body of a human, to be born in a central country which has religion, to have all five senses intact, to reverse the tide of karma, and to have faith in the Three Jewels; and secondly, to have the five blessings which accrue through others; i. e. the ap- pearance ofBuddha, the teaching ofreligion (Dharma),
? 3 the stability of the Doctrine, the existence of many who follow the' Doctrine, and through the kindness and faith ofothers to have favorable circumstances for religious practice. Together, the five blessings, from oneself and the five through others comprise the ten blessings. Thus, to possess these, eighteen opportuni-
ties and blessings, forms the human birth.
The difficulty of meeting with it is illustrated in three ways: by considering the cause, the numbers,
and an example. The karmic cause is the cultivation of a completely pure ethical code. Such individuals are very rare. Number means that while hell beings are as numerous as the dust particles of the earth, pretas as the sand of the Ganges (the sacred river in India), animals as snow flakes, those in the celestial and anti- god realms as the stars at night, those who have a precious human birth with opportunities and bless- ings are like daytime stars. For example, it is taught that if all the world were water and a wooden yoke were thereupon to be tossed by the winds, and a blind turtle surfaced once every hundred years, for that turtle to put its neck in the yoke would be easier than to obtain the precious human birth.
? 4
Thus, at this time when the precious human birth
has been obtained, not to set out to follow the path to freedom and so, when completely free from the suf- fering of the cycle of existence to obtain the perma- nent peace ofBuddhahood, is more wasteful than, for example, a poor man who, finding as many jewels would fill a house, makes no use and so loses them.
So now, resolve to dismiss all worldly work, which is great activity for little purpose, and don't deceive oneself or pretend that one understands Dharma or that one can meditate. Obtain the nectar of religion from a qualified teacher (or spiritual friend), and then after completely comprehending the significance of the Holy Dharma, never depart from the resolution to complete the practice of Dharma by accumulated spiritual merits, eliminating mental impurities, and applying through meditation transformation and spiri- tual perfection.
Secondly, if impermanence is contemplated, strong clinging to this life diminishes and one is able to cultivate virtue. What is impermanence? All gath- erings of riches, enjoyment and splendor are, in the
? 5 end, dispersed; in the end, buildings ruined; in the end, those who have gathered together are separated; in the end, those born die. Thus every thing is but
impermanent.
In addition, the external world which seems solid
and firm is impermanent and will be destroyed in stages by fire, water and wind. The force of the coming spring causes the earth to be soft and reddish- brown in colour; trees and plants bring forth shoots and buds. But this is impermanent, for the force of the coming summer causes the earth to be moist and blue-green in color; grass, trees and plants develop leaves and petals. The force of the coming autumn causes the earth to be firm and reddish-yellow in color; grass, trees and plants ripen in fruit. The force of the coming winter causes the earth to be hard and grey in color; grass, trees and plants become dry and brittle; and so on season by season. The sun and moon rising and setting are also impermanent. At day it is clear and bright; at night black and dark. Moreover hours and minutes are impermanent, a passing mo- ment. Impermanent is like a continual water fall: something else similar arises.
? 6
All sentient beings,2 the inner contents of the external world, are impermanent. All those who came before have died, all that are now are dying, all to come will but die. One's self in each year, month, day, hour, and minute draws closer to death. Though brave and greatly courageous, one cannot turn back death; though strong and fleet of foot, there is no freedom in flight; though clever and eloquent, erudite discourse can do nought. Brave troops, sharp weap- ons, power and influence, clever schemes, wealth or riches, a beautiful girl's body, all these will not turn it away. When the sun goes behind the mountain, there is no one who can possibly delay or detain it.
Nor is this life certain in its length. Death can come in the mother's womb, or at birth, or when one can just begin to crawl or walk, in the time of youth, or after old age: the time of death 'is not certain. Also there are the causes ofdeath: fire and water, wind and lightning, earthquakes, avalanches, falling houses, weapons, poison, demons, bad food, etc. Which of these causes ofdeath will come is not certain. This life is like a butter lamp in a hurricane, a bubble in water, or a drop of dew on a blade of grass.
? 7 There is no yearning for or joy at the coming of death. It is loathed. For, after one has set aside land
and house and farm, property and possessions, rela- tives and close friends, father and mother, children, brother and spouse, together with one's own body, one must go powerless, alone and friendless to an unfamiliar realm, the terrifYing Bardo (the stage be- tween death and birth). Since without the slightest exception, the basis for this departure, whether early or late, is part ofeverything, whenever one sees, hears or thinks ofanother's death, one must make it part of oneself.
Any man at all who has a sound body, good complexion, and feels happy and comfortable has no thought for death. When the sickness ofdeath strikes, his body's strength ebbs and he cannot even sit in a crouch: the glow of health wanes, and he looks like a corpse; he suffers with no means to prevent the thorns of pain; medicine, rituals, or ceremonies, none of these is of any benefit, and he knows he is to die; his suffering and fear increase and he despairs of leaving everything and having to go alone. As the last meal is
? 8
taken and the last words are uttered, think, "I also do not pass beyond this nature. "
Once death has come, even a person who loved him very much does not want to keep his corpse longer than a day or two; everyone is sickened and looks on in fear. The corpse carriers carry him across the threshold and away to be buried in a cemetery, cremated, hidden in a crevice or given to birds or dogs etc. After all that has taken place, no eyes will ever see him again. Think, "I also will come to the same end. "
At that time, the three Precious Jewels3 and the Lama are the friends who can provide refuge. Since virtue and vice are the only things that bring benefit or harm, strive now towards pure and perfect religious practice.
Since this body is made from the fusion ofvarious parts: black and white karma, secretions from the mother and father, the four elements, space con- sciousness, etc. , and all compounded things are im- permanent, so is the body.
In addition, the high become low, the low high, mighty become paupers, poor become rich, enemies
? 9 change to friends, friends to enemies: in all these changes nothing goes beyond its essential nature of impermanence. So, this holding to the impermanent as permanent is like existing in the delusions of a
madman.
This precious human birth now obtained can
convey and comprehend ideas, has a full compliment ofcapabilities, has met spiritual teachers and friends, and has understood the implications of religion. If it should go to waste, even after the sufferings of the cycle have been experienced intensely for a long time, such a foundation as this body may not be obtained again. Thus, since the time one has to live is like the sun peeping through clouds, think about practicing religion completely and vow to do so diligently.
Contemplation ofimpermanence in this way leads to comprehension of the impermanence of all com- posite things. Then, manifest attachment to this life decreases, the power of the defilements (desire, aver- sion, etc. ) is destroyed; faith in religion increases, and one works with diligence. He who practices religion is never depressed or weary and will finally realize the
? 10
meaning of the unborn, undying nature of mind and obtaintheperfectaccomplishmentoftheGreatSymbol.
Thirdly, it is necessary to cultivate mindfulness of the failings of the cycle. Although there be death and impermanence, if, like a fire dying or water evaporat- ing, nothing happens afterwards, it would be easy; but mind, whose nature is empty, never dies. The aggre- gates ofmind and body which have come from strong clinging and is the manifestation of delusion breaks up and is dispersed. Then again, from various poten- tials and causes such as defilements, karma, inclina- tions, etc. , birth takes place wherever appropriate in any ofthe realms.
The composition of the skandhas4 incorporates the essential nature of the cycle, i. e. suffering. When there is the existence of the skandhas there is the existence ofthe potential sorrow that pervades forma- tions; when potential sorrow, through various causes, changes to the feeling of sorrow, it is the sorrow of changes; the sorrow that really is experienced is the sorrow of sorrows. There is no freedom from any of these three sufferings.
? 11 Particularly, sentient beings in the six realms ex- perience many different sorrows. First, the beings of the eight hot hells called Reviving, Black Line, Crush- ing and Destruction, Crying in Agony, Hot, Very Hot, and Worst Torment pass their time only suffer-
ing from death, killing, heat and flames. The length of time spent and amount ofsuffering increase by factors offour from hell. In each ofthe four directions, there are four other hells called Fire and Hot Mud Trench, Cesspool of Rotting Corpses, Road Full of Razors, and River of Hot Ashes. These hells, situated four in each offour directions ofthe great hells, make a total ofsixteen neighboring hells. There, one is subjected to sufferings suggested by the meaning ofthe names, and the life span is indefinite. The eight cold hells are called Blistering, Teeth Chattering, Sounding Achoo, Sounding Kyehu, Cracks Like a Flower, Cracks Like a Lotus, and Cracks Like a Large Lotus. In these dwell- ing places all the mountains and valleys are ice and snow, and it is as cold as can be. The length of time spent in Blistering is given as follows: if from eighty bushels ofsesame seeds one seed were removed each
? 12
year, the time taken to exhaust the seeds would be one lifespan there. The lifespan increases by factors of twenty successively, through the other cold hells, as does the suffering. Finally, the occasional hells may be above or below ground, in indefinite places. Neither the suffering nor lifespan is strictly determined, and the only reason for being there is to suffer.
The pretas: those obscured outwardly do not see a drop of water for twelve years and experience the sorrow of having dry food only. Those inwardly ob- scured have mouths no larger than the eye ofa needle, eyes as thin as a horse's hair, arms and legs like blades ofgrass, and stomachs as big as mountains, and thus, unable to seek food and drink, experience the sorrow ofnot putting anything into their mouths and throats. For those obscured in food and drink, food and fluid become filth or molten metal. Those with particular burdens have many pretas living in and eating their bodies and each mother gives birth to five hundred children, etc. Continually subject to the suffering of quarrelling, grabbing, heat, cold, hunger and thirst, they live for five hundred years. One day there is as long as a month for humans.
? 13 In the animal realms, there are all those such as nagas,5 etc. , who dwell in seclusion in the ocean or under the ground, and those scattered and living in the places of men: antelopes, carnivores, cows, deer, insects, worms, etc. Size and shape ofbody and lifespan are uncertain and varied. Foolish and stupid, hungry and thirsty, through heat and cold, frightened and panic-stricken, ever eating one another, they suffer immeasurably. For all nagas, seven times every day usually, scorching sand falls like rain and flays the flesh to the bone. Fear of garuda birds constantly plagues them. All those animals which one can see with one's own eyes, when examined accurately, will
be seen to have sorrows which seem in-exhaustible. On top ofthis great suffering, they become subject to desire and attachments and the other defilements, and commit various unwholesome acts, such as killing, etc. Since they all neither know nor recall even a vestige of the root of virtue, i. e. faith, compassion, etc. , one should have compassion and strive at the means to avoid birth there. These are the circum- stances of the three lower realms.
? 14
Of the three higher realms and their circum-
stances, the first to be explained is that of humans. There are four great sorrows: birth, old age, sickness and death.
First is the suffering of birth. After the previous body has been cast aside, in the imagined Bardo body one passes the time powerless, in fear and in pain. According to the amount of merit previously accu- mulated, one sees from afar a beautiful house, or a hut ofgrass or leaves or a crack in a wall, and rushes there. According to whether one is to be born male or female, one feels attachment and aversion to the mother and father. Then the secretions of the mother and fluid from the father and one's own consciousness are mixed. At that time, all conscious memory is jumbled like the unclear dreams ofa thick sleep.
In the first week in the mother's womb, the suffering is like being roasted or fried on hot copper. At that time, the appearance is ofsoft rice; this stage is named Mer Mer. In the second week, the All-Touch- ing Wind causes the four elements to manifest and the appearance is like cold butter and is call Nur Nur. In
? 15 the third week, the Storing Up Wind causes the four elements to manifest strongly; now the shape is like an insect and is called Tar Tar. And so, similar changes take place stage by stage until the seventh week when theTwisting Wind gives rise to the four arms and legs; the suffering is like having the limbs pulled out by a strong person and being spread out by a stick. By stages, the shape forms and sorrows come; in the eighth week, the Hole Forming Wind comes and the nine orifices form; there is the additional suffering as
if a finger were probing an open wound.
When the mother takes something cold, there is
suffering like being immersed in ice; when she eats a great deal, the suffering is like being crushed by boulders; if only a little is eaten, then like hanging in the air, when running or being very active, like rolling down into a large abyss; and when she has intercourse, it is like being pierced by iron needles.
In the thirty-seventh week after entering the womb, there is the recognition that the womb is really like a jail: dark and smelly and filthy, and completely de- pressing, inducing the desire to escape. In the thirty-
? 16
eighth week, one is moved in the direction of the gate ofbirth by the Flower Gathering Wind, at which time there is suffering like being spun on an iron wheel. So, from the first moment of conception in the womb, one was cooked as if in molten copper, disturbed by twenty-eight different winds, and was stewed in the gravy of the mother's blood, until the body was com- pletely finished. Now, the Mouth Down Wind turns the body upside down, the hands stretch out, and out one comes. At this time, the suffering is like being pulled through a net ofiron. When born, at the time of c o m i n g o u t t h e r e is t h e s o r r o w o f b e i n g t h r o w n i n t o t h e centre oflife. At later times, various sorrows such as the skin being flayed (when first washed) will come. Ifthese sorrows are thought about, is there anyone who thinks he is willing to enter the womb again?
The sufferings ofold age, also, are immeasurable. Where as the body was straight and firm before, now it changes to being bent and stooped and needs a cane for support; the hair changes in color; the face, etc. , is no longer beautiful; the skin which was fine and soft like Chinese silk becomes a thick heap of wrinkles,
? 17 just as a freshly blooming lotus is white and red but when old becomes dry, wrinkled and shrivelled. The lift ofthe body is broken; both sitting and moving are wearisome; the power of the mind is destroyed; and there is little inclination to do anything. The capabili- ties of the sense exhausted; the eyes no longer see forms clearly, the ears don't hear sounds, the nose
doesn't sense odors, the tongue doesn't taste flavors, the touch ofthe body has little pleasure and mentally, memories are unclear, now remembered, now forgot- ten. Because everything is disordered and chaotic, one is unhappy and contemptuous. The wealth gathered before is exhausted and there is much suffering from being powerless, etc. Thus, one is very depressed. After one sees clearly that there is nothing else but death, one has to sit with the head bent down in sadness. When the present time passes, the end oflife is reached. The breath, moving in and out, causes a rasping sound. Composite things that age together decay together.
The sufferings of disease are: one can't bear the ravages of fever, nor can one lie in the sick bed; the
? 18
lower halfofthe body can't bear the upper, there is no wish to eat or drink nor power to do what one wants; one is dependent on doctors; property and wealth are exhausted; one has to be carefully examined; even if the day passes, there is still the night, etc. The time is passed in such suffering.
The suffering of death: for all ordinary mortals, as soon as they come to the great crossroads on the road ofthe cycle, the sickness ofdeath strikes; they are cut off and divorced from happiness and tormented by disease; the mouth is parched; what is. familiar changes; legs and arms thrash about and one trembles uncontrollably; spittle, mucous, urine and stools de- file the body; one breathes hoarsely; the doctors give up; all means are exhausted; strong and violent delu- sions arouse fear and panic; the movement of breath ceases; mouth and nose gape open. This world is cast aside, the great change comes, and one moves to another realm, enters into great darkness, falls into a great abyss, is carried away by a great ocean, is chased by the winds of karma, and wanders with no fixed aim. House, farm, fields, jewels, wealth, property,
? 19 fortune, power and spouse, together with the body so
dear: all are set aside.
With tears trickling at the time ofdeparture, first
earth is absorbed into water and the trembling body feels as if a mountain were relentlessly crushing it. Then water is absorbed into fire, and fluid dribbles uncontrollably from the mouth, nose and so forth; one feels that one is being carried away in flood. As fire dissolves into wind, the mouth and nose become dry and the eyes turn upward; body heat begins to leave the limbs and it is as if there were a great fire roaring and burning inside onesel( As wind dissolves into consciousness the breath stops and a great wind, gisting and whining, is felt with great apprehension and fear. Then when consciousness, is absorbed into ignorance, white brilliance, then red and then black are perceived; all mental activity ceases and one be- comes oblivious. Mter a period of between three and four days, mental activity is revived and the various manifestations of the Bardo arise. Once again, the force ofkarma brings birth in the appropriate place in the six realms.
? 20
However, these four great sufferings are not the
only ones. There are also other sorrows.
The Foundation of Buddhist Meditation
by Venerable Kalu Rinpoche
Now in order to embark upon religious practice, right from the start, an awareness of the diffi- culties of meeting with the opportunities and bless- ings of this life will anchor the mind and lead one to enter religion; then through the contemplation of impermanence, laziness will be abandoned and one will strive at such practice; belief in seed and results will cause evil to be rejected, virtue to be taken up, and
? 2
one to act with propriety; and when the misery of the
cycle of existence is understood, because of strong revulsion one will want to procure only freedom.
First to possess the eight opportunities means not to be born in the eight unrestful existences which are the hell, preta and animal realms all tormented by suffering exclusively; primitive tribes to which no religion has appeared; the long lived gods adrift on the currents of desire;1 those human beings who have wrong views, believing neither in religion nor in the law of action and result, those born in a dark aeon when Buddha has not appeared; and those who can- not understand the meaning of religion due to retar- dation or defects in speech, ears or eyes.
To possess the ten blessings means first to have the five blessings which accrue through oneself; i. e. to obtain the body of a human, to be born in a central country which has religion, to have all five senses intact, to reverse the tide of karma, and to have faith in the Three Jewels; and secondly, to have the five blessings which accrue through others; i. e. the ap- pearance ofBuddha, the teaching ofreligion (Dharma),
? 3 the stability of the Doctrine, the existence of many who follow the' Doctrine, and through the kindness and faith ofothers to have favorable circumstances for religious practice. Together, the five blessings, from oneself and the five through others comprise the ten blessings. Thus, to possess these, eighteen opportuni-
ties and blessings, forms the human birth.
The difficulty of meeting with it is illustrated in three ways: by considering the cause, the numbers,
and an example. The karmic cause is the cultivation of a completely pure ethical code. Such individuals are very rare. Number means that while hell beings are as numerous as the dust particles of the earth, pretas as the sand of the Ganges (the sacred river in India), animals as snow flakes, those in the celestial and anti- god realms as the stars at night, those who have a precious human birth with opportunities and bless- ings are like daytime stars. For example, it is taught that if all the world were water and a wooden yoke were thereupon to be tossed by the winds, and a blind turtle surfaced once every hundred years, for that turtle to put its neck in the yoke would be easier than to obtain the precious human birth.
? 4
Thus, at this time when the precious human birth
has been obtained, not to set out to follow the path to freedom and so, when completely free from the suf- fering of the cycle of existence to obtain the perma- nent peace ofBuddhahood, is more wasteful than, for example, a poor man who, finding as many jewels would fill a house, makes no use and so loses them.
So now, resolve to dismiss all worldly work, which is great activity for little purpose, and don't deceive oneself or pretend that one understands Dharma or that one can meditate. Obtain the nectar of religion from a qualified teacher (or spiritual friend), and then after completely comprehending the significance of the Holy Dharma, never depart from the resolution to complete the practice of Dharma by accumulated spiritual merits, eliminating mental impurities, and applying through meditation transformation and spiri- tual perfection.
Secondly, if impermanence is contemplated, strong clinging to this life diminishes and one is able to cultivate virtue. What is impermanence? All gath- erings of riches, enjoyment and splendor are, in the
? 5 end, dispersed; in the end, buildings ruined; in the end, those who have gathered together are separated; in the end, those born die. Thus every thing is but
impermanent.
In addition, the external world which seems solid
and firm is impermanent and will be destroyed in stages by fire, water and wind. The force of the coming spring causes the earth to be soft and reddish- brown in colour; trees and plants bring forth shoots and buds. But this is impermanent, for the force of the coming summer causes the earth to be moist and blue-green in color; grass, trees and plants develop leaves and petals. The force of the coming autumn causes the earth to be firm and reddish-yellow in color; grass, trees and plants ripen in fruit. The force of the coming winter causes the earth to be hard and grey in color; grass, trees and plants become dry and brittle; and so on season by season. The sun and moon rising and setting are also impermanent. At day it is clear and bright; at night black and dark. Moreover hours and minutes are impermanent, a passing mo- ment. Impermanent is like a continual water fall: something else similar arises.
? 6
All sentient beings,2 the inner contents of the external world, are impermanent. All those who came before have died, all that are now are dying, all to come will but die. One's self in each year, month, day, hour, and minute draws closer to death. Though brave and greatly courageous, one cannot turn back death; though strong and fleet of foot, there is no freedom in flight; though clever and eloquent, erudite discourse can do nought. Brave troops, sharp weap- ons, power and influence, clever schemes, wealth or riches, a beautiful girl's body, all these will not turn it away. When the sun goes behind the mountain, there is no one who can possibly delay or detain it.
Nor is this life certain in its length. Death can come in the mother's womb, or at birth, or when one can just begin to crawl or walk, in the time of youth, or after old age: the time of death 'is not certain. Also there are the causes ofdeath: fire and water, wind and lightning, earthquakes, avalanches, falling houses, weapons, poison, demons, bad food, etc. Which of these causes ofdeath will come is not certain. This life is like a butter lamp in a hurricane, a bubble in water, or a drop of dew on a blade of grass.
? 7 There is no yearning for or joy at the coming of death. It is loathed. For, after one has set aside land
and house and farm, property and possessions, rela- tives and close friends, father and mother, children, brother and spouse, together with one's own body, one must go powerless, alone and friendless to an unfamiliar realm, the terrifYing Bardo (the stage be- tween death and birth). Since without the slightest exception, the basis for this departure, whether early or late, is part ofeverything, whenever one sees, hears or thinks ofanother's death, one must make it part of oneself.
Any man at all who has a sound body, good complexion, and feels happy and comfortable has no thought for death. When the sickness ofdeath strikes, his body's strength ebbs and he cannot even sit in a crouch: the glow of health wanes, and he looks like a corpse; he suffers with no means to prevent the thorns of pain; medicine, rituals, or ceremonies, none of these is of any benefit, and he knows he is to die; his suffering and fear increase and he despairs of leaving everything and having to go alone. As the last meal is
? 8
taken and the last words are uttered, think, "I also do not pass beyond this nature. "
Once death has come, even a person who loved him very much does not want to keep his corpse longer than a day or two; everyone is sickened and looks on in fear. The corpse carriers carry him across the threshold and away to be buried in a cemetery, cremated, hidden in a crevice or given to birds or dogs etc. After all that has taken place, no eyes will ever see him again. Think, "I also will come to the same end. "
At that time, the three Precious Jewels3 and the Lama are the friends who can provide refuge. Since virtue and vice are the only things that bring benefit or harm, strive now towards pure and perfect religious practice.
Since this body is made from the fusion ofvarious parts: black and white karma, secretions from the mother and father, the four elements, space con- sciousness, etc. , and all compounded things are im- permanent, so is the body.
In addition, the high become low, the low high, mighty become paupers, poor become rich, enemies
? 9 change to friends, friends to enemies: in all these changes nothing goes beyond its essential nature of impermanence. So, this holding to the impermanent as permanent is like existing in the delusions of a
madman.
This precious human birth now obtained can
convey and comprehend ideas, has a full compliment ofcapabilities, has met spiritual teachers and friends, and has understood the implications of religion. If it should go to waste, even after the sufferings of the cycle have been experienced intensely for a long time, such a foundation as this body may not be obtained again. Thus, since the time one has to live is like the sun peeping through clouds, think about practicing religion completely and vow to do so diligently.
Contemplation ofimpermanence in this way leads to comprehension of the impermanence of all com- posite things. Then, manifest attachment to this life decreases, the power of the defilements (desire, aver- sion, etc. ) is destroyed; faith in religion increases, and one works with diligence. He who practices religion is never depressed or weary and will finally realize the
? 10
meaning of the unborn, undying nature of mind and obtaintheperfectaccomplishmentoftheGreatSymbol.
Thirdly, it is necessary to cultivate mindfulness of the failings of the cycle. Although there be death and impermanence, if, like a fire dying or water evaporat- ing, nothing happens afterwards, it would be easy; but mind, whose nature is empty, never dies. The aggre- gates ofmind and body which have come from strong clinging and is the manifestation of delusion breaks up and is dispersed. Then again, from various poten- tials and causes such as defilements, karma, inclina- tions, etc. , birth takes place wherever appropriate in any ofthe realms.
The composition of the skandhas4 incorporates the essential nature of the cycle, i. e. suffering. When there is the existence of the skandhas there is the existence ofthe potential sorrow that pervades forma- tions; when potential sorrow, through various causes, changes to the feeling of sorrow, it is the sorrow of changes; the sorrow that really is experienced is the sorrow of sorrows. There is no freedom from any of these three sufferings.
? 11 Particularly, sentient beings in the six realms ex- perience many different sorrows. First, the beings of the eight hot hells called Reviving, Black Line, Crush- ing and Destruction, Crying in Agony, Hot, Very Hot, and Worst Torment pass their time only suffer-
ing from death, killing, heat and flames. The length of time spent and amount ofsuffering increase by factors offour from hell. In each ofthe four directions, there are four other hells called Fire and Hot Mud Trench, Cesspool of Rotting Corpses, Road Full of Razors, and River of Hot Ashes. These hells, situated four in each offour directions ofthe great hells, make a total ofsixteen neighboring hells. There, one is subjected to sufferings suggested by the meaning ofthe names, and the life span is indefinite. The eight cold hells are called Blistering, Teeth Chattering, Sounding Achoo, Sounding Kyehu, Cracks Like a Flower, Cracks Like a Lotus, and Cracks Like a Large Lotus. In these dwell- ing places all the mountains and valleys are ice and snow, and it is as cold as can be. The length of time spent in Blistering is given as follows: if from eighty bushels ofsesame seeds one seed were removed each
? 12
year, the time taken to exhaust the seeds would be one lifespan there. The lifespan increases by factors of twenty successively, through the other cold hells, as does the suffering. Finally, the occasional hells may be above or below ground, in indefinite places. Neither the suffering nor lifespan is strictly determined, and the only reason for being there is to suffer.
The pretas: those obscured outwardly do not see a drop of water for twelve years and experience the sorrow of having dry food only. Those inwardly ob- scured have mouths no larger than the eye ofa needle, eyes as thin as a horse's hair, arms and legs like blades ofgrass, and stomachs as big as mountains, and thus, unable to seek food and drink, experience the sorrow ofnot putting anything into their mouths and throats. For those obscured in food and drink, food and fluid become filth or molten metal. Those with particular burdens have many pretas living in and eating their bodies and each mother gives birth to five hundred children, etc. Continually subject to the suffering of quarrelling, grabbing, heat, cold, hunger and thirst, they live for five hundred years. One day there is as long as a month for humans.
? 13 In the animal realms, there are all those such as nagas,5 etc. , who dwell in seclusion in the ocean or under the ground, and those scattered and living in the places of men: antelopes, carnivores, cows, deer, insects, worms, etc. Size and shape ofbody and lifespan are uncertain and varied. Foolish and stupid, hungry and thirsty, through heat and cold, frightened and panic-stricken, ever eating one another, they suffer immeasurably. For all nagas, seven times every day usually, scorching sand falls like rain and flays the flesh to the bone. Fear of garuda birds constantly plagues them. All those animals which one can see with one's own eyes, when examined accurately, will
be seen to have sorrows which seem in-exhaustible. On top ofthis great suffering, they become subject to desire and attachments and the other defilements, and commit various unwholesome acts, such as killing, etc. Since they all neither know nor recall even a vestige of the root of virtue, i. e. faith, compassion, etc. , one should have compassion and strive at the means to avoid birth there. These are the circum- stances of the three lower realms.
? 14
Of the three higher realms and their circum-
stances, the first to be explained is that of humans. There are four great sorrows: birth, old age, sickness and death.
First is the suffering of birth. After the previous body has been cast aside, in the imagined Bardo body one passes the time powerless, in fear and in pain. According to the amount of merit previously accu- mulated, one sees from afar a beautiful house, or a hut ofgrass or leaves or a crack in a wall, and rushes there. According to whether one is to be born male or female, one feels attachment and aversion to the mother and father. Then the secretions of the mother and fluid from the father and one's own consciousness are mixed. At that time, all conscious memory is jumbled like the unclear dreams ofa thick sleep.
In the first week in the mother's womb, the suffering is like being roasted or fried on hot copper. At that time, the appearance is ofsoft rice; this stage is named Mer Mer. In the second week, the All-Touch- ing Wind causes the four elements to manifest and the appearance is like cold butter and is call Nur Nur. In
? 15 the third week, the Storing Up Wind causes the four elements to manifest strongly; now the shape is like an insect and is called Tar Tar. And so, similar changes take place stage by stage until the seventh week when theTwisting Wind gives rise to the four arms and legs; the suffering is like having the limbs pulled out by a strong person and being spread out by a stick. By stages, the shape forms and sorrows come; in the eighth week, the Hole Forming Wind comes and the nine orifices form; there is the additional suffering as
if a finger were probing an open wound.
When the mother takes something cold, there is
suffering like being immersed in ice; when she eats a great deal, the suffering is like being crushed by boulders; if only a little is eaten, then like hanging in the air, when running or being very active, like rolling down into a large abyss; and when she has intercourse, it is like being pierced by iron needles.
In the thirty-seventh week after entering the womb, there is the recognition that the womb is really like a jail: dark and smelly and filthy, and completely de- pressing, inducing the desire to escape. In the thirty-
? 16
eighth week, one is moved in the direction of the gate ofbirth by the Flower Gathering Wind, at which time there is suffering like being spun on an iron wheel. So, from the first moment of conception in the womb, one was cooked as if in molten copper, disturbed by twenty-eight different winds, and was stewed in the gravy of the mother's blood, until the body was com- pletely finished. Now, the Mouth Down Wind turns the body upside down, the hands stretch out, and out one comes. At this time, the suffering is like being pulled through a net ofiron. When born, at the time of c o m i n g o u t t h e r e is t h e s o r r o w o f b e i n g t h r o w n i n t o t h e centre oflife. At later times, various sorrows such as the skin being flayed (when first washed) will come. Ifthese sorrows are thought about, is there anyone who thinks he is willing to enter the womb again?
The sufferings ofold age, also, are immeasurable. Where as the body was straight and firm before, now it changes to being bent and stooped and needs a cane for support; the hair changes in color; the face, etc. , is no longer beautiful; the skin which was fine and soft like Chinese silk becomes a thick heap of wrinkles,
? 17 just as a freshly blooming lotus is white and red but when old becomes dry, wrinkled and shrivelled. The lift ofthe body is broken; both sitting and moving are wearisome; the power of the mind is destroyed; and there is little inclination to do anything. The capabili- ties of the sense exhausted; the eyes no longer see forms clearly, the ears don't hear sounds, the nose
doesn't sense odors, the tongue doesn't taste flavors, the touch ofthe body has little pleasure and mentally, memories are unclear, now remembered, now forgot- ten. Because everything is disordered and chaotic, one is unhappy and contemptuous. The wealth gathered before is exhausted and there is much suffering from being powerless, etc. Thus, one is very depressed. After one sees clearly that there is nothing else but death, one has to sit with the head bent down in sadness. When the present time passes, the end oflife is reached. The breath, moving in and out, causes a rasping sound. Composite things that age together decay together.
The sufferings of disease are: one can't bear the ravages of fever, nor can one lie in the sick bed; the
? 18
lower halfofthe body can't bear the upper, there is no wish to eat or drink nor power to do what one wants; one is dependent on doctors; property and wealth are exhausted; one has to be carefully examined; even if the day passes, there is still the night, etc. The time is passed in such suffering.
The suffering of death: for all ordinary mortals, as soon as they come to the great crossroads on the road ofthe cycle, the sickness ofdeath strikes; they are cut off and divorced from happiness and tormented by disease; the mouth is parched; what is. familiar changes; legs and arms thrash about and one trembles uncontrollably; spittle, mucous, urine and stools de- file the body; one breathes hoarsely; the doctors give up; all means are exhausted; strong and violent delu- sions arouse fear and panic; the movement of breath ceases; mouth and nose gape open. This world is cast aside, the great change comes, and one moves to another realm, enters into great darkness, falls into a great abyss, is carried away by a great ocean, is chased by the winds of karma, and wanders with no fixed aim. House, farm, fields, jewels, wealth, property,
? 19 fortune, power and spouse, together with the body so
dear: all are set aside.
With tears trickling at the time ofdeparture, first
earth is absorbed into water and the trembling body feels as if a mountain were relentlessly crushing it. Then water is absorbed into fire, and fluid dribbles uncontrollably from the mouth, nose and so forth; one feels that one is being carried away in flood. As fire dissolves into wind, the mouth and nose become dry and the eyes turn upward; body heat begins to leave the limbs and it is as if there were a great fire roaring and burning inside onesel( As wind dissolves into consciousness the breath stops and a great wind, gisting and whining, is felt with great apprehension and fear. Then when consciousness, is absorbed into ignorance, white brilliance, then red and then black are perceived; all mental activity ceases and one be- comes oblivious. Mter a period of between three and four days, mental activity is revived and the various manifestations of the Bardo arise. Once again, the force ofkarma brings birth in the appropriate place in the six realms.
? 20
However, these four great sufferings are not the
only ones. There are also other sorrows. One some- times has to be separated from those one loves dearly, one's parents, brothers, spouse, etc. , even when living; also, one is completely separated from them by death. There are no means to forget this sorrow. Then, the suffering caused by meeting angry enemies or being beaten, defeated, killed, struck, and abused by poi- sons one to the point ofnot eating at day nor sleeping at night. Also there are the sorrows ofseeking but not finding what one doesn't have and the sorrow ofbeing unable to keep what one does have. Especially, in these degenerate times one has to spend all the time, day and night, suffering from anxiety, depression, attachment, and aversion.
Thus, be ever mindful of the failings of desire's yearnings, and know that all the dharmas6 of the cycle of existence are at no time still, just like ripples on water; that it's as if there were nothing, but delusions appearing like magic, or like dreams. If revulsion (for existence) and contentment (with one's material situ- ation) arise, one will be able to sit quietly with the mind happy and at ease.
? 21 The sufferings ofthe titans are: although equal to the gods in riches and possessions, generally, the force of jealousy causes them to quarrel with outsiders, insiders, with everyone, and there is especially violent
suffering from quarrelling with the gods.
In the desire realm, gods suffer from quarrelling with the titans, from not satisfYing the yearnings of desire, and from death and banishment. At death, five signs appear: the god's clothes become smelly, his garland and flowers wilt, perspiration breaks out from his armpits, his body begins to smell, and his seat becomes uncomfortable. All the other gods and god- desses run away, and dying by himself, he suffers greatly and is panic-stricken, seeing the place of his next birth. He must experience these sorrows for seven days. Although in the form and formless realms there are no sufferings like these, because death does come and one has no power to stay, there is the sorrow
o f fetching a worse situation.
So, since hell beings suffer from heat and cold,
pretas from hunger and thirst, and animals from stupidity, fooiishness and eating each other, and hu-
? 22
mans suffer from birth, old age, sickness, and death, titans from quarrelling and gods from death and their subsequent fall; one must strive to be free from sink- ing into the cycle of the ocean of suffering, and to attain the blissful, sacred, and perfect Buddhahood.
Fourthly, one must understand karmic cause and result. Now the subjection to the various manifesta- tions of delusions of comfort and discomfort in the six worlds and the three realms7 arises through the power of karma. First, non-meritorious actions are the ten vices, etc. , which originate from a defiled mind. The ten vices are given as follows.
Through the gate of the body, there is taking life. Taking life out of desire means killing for the sake of meat, skin, bones, musk, etc. , or for money, or to protect oneself or one's friends; out of anger means that which is done in enmity or quarrelling; and to take life for offering or gifts, thinking it is virtuous or the like, is to kill from stupidity. From these actions, the completely developed result is birth as a sentient being in hell; if born as a human, the result which corresponds with the cause of the act is that one likes
? 23 to take life; the result that agrees with the experience is that one will have a short life and much sickness and, for a long succession of lives, one will have to face being killed; the result in environment is that one is born in a rocky and steep land where there is much danger for life.
