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General
Buddhism |
Namo Dharmaya !
Hail to the Teachings
DEATH AND REBIRTH
CONTENTS
Indian Poem
Body and Mind
Death
Bardo - Intermediate stage
Rebirth
The Desire Realms
Meditation on the Death Process
"This day is a special day, it is yours.
Yesterday slipped away, it cannot be filled anymore with meaning.
About tomorrow nothing is known.
But this day, today, is yours, make use of it.
Today you can make someone happy.
Today you can help another.
This day is a special day, it is yours."
In Buddhism, the way to describe the body and mind, is to talk about the five aggregates. The first aggregate is form, which refers to the physical aspect or body of a sentient being, and the next four aggregates are aspects of the mind. All five are:
1. Form - the body
2. Feeling or sensation - this refers to the mental separation of sensations
into pleasant, unpleasant and neutral.
3. Recognition, discrimination or distinguishing awareness - in many
ways similar to the discriminating intellect
4. Primary Consciousness - the five sense consciousnesses (smell, touch,
taste, seeing and hearing) and mental consciousness
5. Compositional Factors, volition - these are all other mental processes,
in general "thoughts".
Another essential differentiation is made between the different levels of subtlety
of body and mind. Distinctions are made between:
Gross Body: our "normal" physical body of muscles, fat, bones etc.
Subtle Body: the "energy" within our body as it flows in our energy
channels, similar to their description in Chinese acupuncture or Indian
yoga.
Gross Mind: our "normal" observed continuation of thoughts and feelings
etc.
Subtle Mind: the state of mind that we are normally unaware of, and which
becomes noticeable during deep meditation. (This is not identical to our Western
concept of sub-consciousness, although some aspects may overlap.)
Most Subtle Body / Mind: this most essential and subtle part of our existence
can be seen as the most essential energy and awareness of a sentient being.
This aspect of ourselves is extremely difficult to observe and body and mind
at this level are inseparable.
The above levels of mind and body are sometimes compared to going to sleep.
When awake, we are aware of our gross body and mind. When we are dreaming, we
have a very flexible body and ideas in our mind that we normally do not experience,
similar to the subtle body and mind. When we are in deep sleep, we are barely
aware of both body and mind.
Much more detail on the entire subject of death and rebirth can be found in
the popular book "Death and Dying" by Sogyal Rinpoche or the "Tibetan Book of
the Dead". It must be noted however, that the last book is nearly impossible
to understand without a proper and extensive explanation.
"No matter where you prepare your last bed,
No matter where the sword of death falls,
The terrifying messengers of death descend,
Horrid and giant; and glare with thirsty eyes.Friends and family, weeping, surround you.
Eyeing your wealth and possessions,
They offer prayers and enshroud you.
Unprepared, you pass away;
Helpless and alone."
From 'Songs of spiritual change' by His Holiness the 7th Dalai Lama (transl. Glenn Mullin)
Death is in Buddhism defined as the separation of the Most Subtle Body & Mind from the more gross aspects of the body and mind. As this separation is a gradual process, death is not a point in time as in Western thought, but it describes a period during which this separation occurs.
During the death process, it is said that we have a sequence of experiences. What these will be exactly, how long they last and their exact order may depend on the individual person and the death cause. Generally they are described as "visions", which appears when the various elements dissolve and sense awareness dissolves.
In common sequential order they are:
1. Mirage vision: vision become blurred, mirages and dark images appear,
the sense of seeing dissolves.
Earth absorbs into Water: the body becomes weak and powerless, a feeling of
sinking or falling.
2. Smoke vision: feeling absorbed in smoke, the sense of hearing dissolves.
Feelings of pleasant, unpleasant or neutral cease.
Water absorbs into Fire: the bodily fluids dry up.
3. Fireflies: feeling surrounded by sparks or fireflies, the sense of
smell dissolves. Memories of friends and enemies fade away.
Fire absorbs into Air: food and drinks are not digested anymore.
4. Butter-lamp: appearance of a dying flame, the sense of taste dissolves
and the body cannot be moved anymore. No more thoughts of worldly activities
or purpose etc.
Air absorbs into Consciousness: the breath ceases.
- Somewhere around here one would become "clinically dead" according to Western
science -
5. White vision: appearance of a vacuum filled with white light.
6. Red vision: appearance of a vacuum filled with red light, like at
dawn.
7. Black vision: appearance of darkness, slowly losing consciousness.
8. Clear light of death: appearance of an empty vacuum. Few people have
a sufficiently trained awareness to experience this clearly.
As this state is quite similar to the highly evolved state of the clear light
mind, very advanced practitioners are able to remain in this state for weeks
by the power of their meditation; clinically dead, but without decay of the
body.
A dedication by the Panchen Lama:
When the doctor gives me up,
When rituals no longer work,
When friends have given up hope for my life,
When anything I do is futile,
May I be blessed to remember my guru's instructions.
Following the death process, a similar process like the above visions is experienced
in reverse order. After the mirage vision, one finds oneself in the intermediate
state or bardo in Tibetan. The experiences in this state is described
as being similar to dreaming. The "body" moves as fast as thought and confused
as most beings are by death, it can even take the aspect of a kind of nightmare.
Of course, nothing but our own karma is at work here, creating pleasant or unpleasant
experiences.
Traditionally it is explained that the maximum period that one can stay in bardo
is 49 ordinary worldly days. Within that period, all beings have been attracted
to a new body to take rebirth. Every 7 days in bardo, a kind of small death
and rebirth appears.
In the bardo, one will be attracted to a copulating male and female. If one is attracted to the female, one will be reborn as a male and vice versa. Again, a kind of small death occurs, and the reverse process is experienced while the most subtle body / mind is connecting to the fertilised egg. With this, contact to a subtle and gross body is established, and gradually the subtle and gross mind will arise again.
A short story from Zen flesh, Zen bones, called The Gates of Paradise:
A soldier named Nobushige came to Hakuin and asked: "Is there really a paradise and a hell?"The concepts of the different realms in Buddhism can be seen as a direct consequence of the law of karma. When beings accumulate many negative actions, they can be expected to receive "hellish" experiences in return; similarly, many positive actions can give rise to a "heavenly" existence.
"Who are you?" inquired Hakuin.
"I am a samurai", the warrior replied.
"You, a soldier!" exclaimed Hakuin, "What kind of ruler would have you as his guard? You look like a beggar". Nobushige became so angry that he began to draw his sword, but Hakuin continued: "So you have a sword! Your weapon is probably to dull to cut off my head."
As Nobushige drew his sword Hakuin remarked:"Here open the gates of hell!"
At these words the samurai, perceiving the master's discipline, put away his sword and bowed.
"Here open the gates of paradise", said Hakuin.
According to Buddhism, we cannot only be born as human beings the next time,
but also as animal, "god", "half-god", "hungry ghost" or even in "hell". Obviously,
these words have specific connotations in most religions, and the expressions
in Buddhism refer to different experiences than e.g. in Christianity.
After a life in "god-realm" one could be reborn in the "hell-realm" next, it
all just depends on our karma ripening. A brief explanation of the six realms:
1. God-realm: Life is experienced as happiness virtually without any
problems whatsoever. The largest problem of this realm comes when the time is
near to die, one begins to experience suffering as one can see the next rebirth
coming up, which is usually much less pleasant. So a life as a god definitely
does not refer to anything like "God" in the Judeo-Christian-Moslim traditions.
2. Demigod realm: Life is experiences at much happiness, the main problems
are caused by jealousy. The demigods can see the perfect life the gods are experiencing
and become jealous, as the gods have somewhat better lives. They then want to
fight the gods, but are always defeated.
3. Human realm: Life is more or less a balance between happiness and
suffering. The biggest advantage of being born as a human is that one has the
possibilities (and good reasons because of the problems) to change one's karma
and do practices to become liberated from cyclic existence or even achieve Buddhahood.
4. Animal realm: Life is ruled by ignorance. Happiness and suffering
happen, but understanding it or even controlling it does not occur in the darkened
awareness of an animal.
5. Hungry ghost or preta (Tib.) realm: Life is marked by suffering, especially
from attachment and craving, without being able to satisfy one's needs. Life
here is often described as a continuous suffering from hunger and thirst, but
one cannot eat or drink.
6. Hell realm: Life is defined as suffering virtually without any happiness
whatsoever. The only positive thing about the Buddhist hell realm is the fact
that it is not eternal. After consuming up much of the negative karmic potential,
one will die and has the chance to be reborn in a different (more pleasant)
realm.
A very nice traditional explanation of the realms, on the web using the "Wheel of Life", see Buddhanet.
MEDITATION ON THE DEATH PROCESS
When you meditate on the death process, in order to make the experience real
for you, like a rehearsal of your own death you may imagine a scenario in which
you have suddenly come face to face with death.
For example you can imagine being in a hospital bed, surrounded by doctors and
nurses, maybe some friend or relative anxiously watching your face and clutching
your hand. You are on your back in the bed staring up onto the ceiling wondering
what's next.
1. The Earth Element Dissolves
- When the earth element loses its power, the body becomes very thin, limbs
loose and you feel as if the body is sinking under the earth.
- When the aggregate of form absorbs, the limbs become smaller, the body becomes
weak and powerless, the luster of the body diminishes and all one's strength
is consumed.
- When the basic mirror-like wisdom dissolves, the sight becomes unclear and
dark.
- Eye sense: one cannot open or close one's eyes.
- Internal sign: appearance of mirages.
2. The Water Element Dissolves
- When the water element looses its power, saliva, sweat, urine, blood etc.
dry greatly.
- When the aggregate of feelings absorb, the body consciousness can no longer
experience the three types of feelings that accompany sense consciousness
- When the basic wisdom of equality (our ordinary consciousness mindful of pleasure,
pain and neutral feelings as feelings) dissolve, one is no longer mindful of
the feelings accompanying the mental consciousness
- Ear sense: one no longer has external or internal sounds Internal sign: appearance
of smoke.
3. The Fire Element Dissolves
- When the fire element loses its power, one cannot digest food or drink.
- When the aggregate of discrimination absorbs, one is no longer mindful of
affairs of close persons.
- When the basic wisdom of analysis dissolves, one can no longer remember the
names of close persons.
- Nose sense: inhalation weak, exhalation strong and lengthy and one cannot
smell.
- Internal signs: appearance of fireflies or sparks within smoke.
4. The Wind Element Dissolves
- When the wind element loses its power, the ten winds move to the heart and
the inhalation and exhalation ceases.
- When the aggregate of compositional factors absorbs, one cannot perform physical
actions and one cannot experience smoothness or roughness.
- When the basic wisdom of achieving activities dissolves, one is no longer
mindful of external worldly activities, purposes etc.
- Tongue sense: tongue becomes think and short and the root of the tongue becomes
blue.
- Internal sign: appearance of sputtering candle-light about to go out.
5. The aggregate of consciousness absorbs
- The eighty conceptions dissolve.
- Cause of appearance: winds in the right and left channels above the heart
enter the central channel at the top of the head.
- Internal sight: clear vacuity filled with white light.
6. The Mind of White Appearance Dissolves
- Cause of appearance: winds in right and left channels below heart enter central
channel at base of spine.
- Internal sign: very clear vacuity filled with red light.
7. The Mind of Red Increase Dissolves
- Cause of appearance: upper and lower winds gather at heart and then the winds
enter the drop at the heart.
- Internal sign: at first, vacuity filled with thick darkness; then as if swooning
into unconsciousness.
8. The Mind of Black Near Attainment Dissolves
- Cause of appearance: all winds dissolve into the very subtle life-bearing
wind in the indestructible drop at the heart.
- Internal sign: very clear vacuity, the mind of clear light of death. Focus
on this clear light for as long as you can.
When the clear light of death ceases, the consciousness passes back through
the stages of dissolution in reverse order.
As soon as this reverse process begins, the person is reborn into an intermediate
state (Tibetan bardo) between lives, with a subtle body that can go anywhere,
through mountains, etc., to find a place of rebirth.
Dedication
Leaving all I must depart alone.
But through not having understood this,
I committed various kinds of evil
For the sake of my friends and foes.My foes will become nothing.
My friends will become nothing.
I too will become nothing.
Likewise all will become nothing.Just like a dream experience,
Whatever things I enjoy will become a memory.
Whatever has passed will not be seen again.Even within this brief life many friends and foes have passed,
But whatever unbearable evil I committed for them remains ahead of me.
(By Shantideva)
Due to these merits may
I quickly attain buddhahood
And lead all living beings, without exception,
Into that enlightened state.
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Last updated: March 6, 2001
