The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying

260 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYING
dissolution, you generate devotion and pray to the master,
visualizing him or her in the different energy centers. When
the earth element dissolves and the sign of the mirage appears,
you visualize the master in your heart center. When the water
element dissolves and the sign of smoke appears, you visualize
the master in your navel center. When the fire element dissolves
and the sign of fireflies appears, you visualize the master
in the forehead center. And when the air element dissolves
and the sign of the torch appears, you focus entirely on transferring
your consciousness into the wisdom mind of your
master.
There are many descriptions of the stages of dying, differing
in small details and in their order. What I have explained
here is a description of the general pattern, but it can unfold
differently according to the makeup of the individual. I
remember when Samten, my master's attendant, was dying,
the sequence was most pronounced. But variations can occur
owing to the effects of the particular illness of the dying person,
and the state of the channels, winds, and essences. The
masters say that all living beings, even the smallest insects, go
through this process. In the case of a sudden death or an accident,
it will still take place, but extremely quickly.
I have found that the easiest way to understand what is
happening during the process of dying, with its outer and
inner dissolution, is as a gradual development and dawning of ever
more subtle levels of consciousness. Each one emerges upon the
successive dissolution of the constituents of body and mind, as
the process moves gradually toward the revelation of the very
subtlest consciousness of all: the Ground Luminosity or Clear
Light.