Tulku Thondup
Editor’s Note: Some of us may be worried about what awaits us when we die,” writes Tibetan Buddhist master Tulku Thondup. “But this is not a time to be scared or sad. It is a time to recognize that we have a golden opportunity.” Tibetan Buddhism offers a radically different understanding and attitude toward death than many of us have grown up with in the West. In the Tibetan view, the mind goes on to have experiences after death. Whatever your personal beliefs about an afterlife, these intriguing teachings are worth contemplating.
Death is a new beginning. It is the doorway to a dawn of fresh opportunities for us to enjoy the fruits that we have cultivated, in accordance with the karmic law of cause and effect. While the cycle of karma is spinning all the time, its impact can be far more sweeping and direct after we die than it was during our life.
Why? As long as we are alive, our mind is programmed to operate within the structure of our physical body and daily routines. It is relatively hard to change these structures in a radical way. But once released from the body at death, the mind runs its own show. Then the only thing conditioning our perception will be the habits that we have sewn in our mindstream.
We have all experienced how, when our minds are filled with joy, whatever we see, hear, or feel brings us joy. When our minds are enraged, everything irritates us. These reactions occur even more so after death, for then everything will manifest for us in accordance with our mental and emotional habitual tendencies alone. So, if we have given way to hatred, greed, and ignorance, we will be reborn in a place ravaged by hunger, stupidity, and hellish phenomena. If we have been kind, peaceful, and joyful, our world will manifest as one of peace and joy. If we have enjoyed the qualities of the Blissful Pure Land, we will be reborn there or in any pure land of peace and joy. And if we have realized the enlightened nature of the mind and perfected it, our minds will unite with the absolute universal true nature, the ultimate peace and joy, and our services to others will shine forth effortlessly, as the sun radiates naturally for all.
Some of us may be worried about what awaits us when we die. But this is not a time to be scared or sad. It is a time to recognize that we have a golden opportunity to get ready for our big day and turn our life in the right direction for now and forever, for ourselves and others.
Even if we are old, until our last breath it is not too late to change the course of our life. We don’t need to do anything drastic. We just need to relax a little and enjoy the feeling of peace and joy that is innate in us, to whatever extent we can and according to whatever spiritual tradition we wish.
If we are young, it is best to rush to improve our future now, as we might not be able to later. All it takes to land on the doorstep of the next world is to exhale and be unable to inhale again. Youth cannot insure against that end.
In my native land of Tibet, many people would spend years in solitude in caves practicing for themselves and others. This kind of life and dedication is wonderful. But it is not a must. If we practice sincerely for just ten or twenty minutes a day, whether praying to the Buddha of Infinite Light or doing some other meditation, our practice will embody peace and joy. Then, if we could remember what we felt during our practice session again and again throughout the day, its impact will gradually infuse our entire life. One day, we will find that our whole attitude has been transformed. We won’t need to fabricate the feeling of peace, joy, and the presence of the blessed ones anymore. They will be what we have become. And death and rebirth will be a seamless flow of the wheel of peace and joy spun by the power of our own mind.
How could a few minutes of sincere meditation produce such great results? For the same reason that Shantideva says, “If you develop bodhichitta [the awakened heart], from that time on, even if you fall asleep or get distracted, the force of the merits will increase without cessation, filling the extent of space.” The important thing is the intensity of our practice more than its duration. If we push a wheel forcefully, it will keep spinning for a long time afterward. In the same way, if we start our meditation wholeheartedly, its spiritual force will remain alive continuously. That force grows even stronger every time we do the meditation.
I myself am not someone who says a lot of prayers or observes long meditation sessions. But somewhat by nature and upbringing I am a fervent believer in the ever-presence of sublime qualities in us and outside us. We could call them buddha-qualities. Most of the time, I live in awe of them, enjoying their presence. So when I reach the fork in the road at the other side of this life, I am pretty hopeful that some peaceful and joyful faces will caringly guide me to a happier land for my rebirth, a land of peace and joy.
I fervently hope that you will explore the teachings of the Buddha and Buddhist masters and that you will relish the benefits that I enjoyed or even better. How exciting to think of such a bright future for so many of us!
