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

HELPING AFTER DEATH 309
Dead for the whole forty-nine days after death. Through the
reading, the dead are shown what stage of the process of
death they are in, and given whatever inspiration and guidance
they need.
Westerners often ask me: How can a person who is dead
hear the Tibetan Book of the Dead?
The simple reply is that the consciousness of the dead person,
when it is invoked by the power of prayer, is able to read
our minds and can feel exactly whatever we may be thinking
or meditating on. That is why there is no obstacle to the dead
person's understanding the Tibetan Book of the Dead or practices
done on their behalf, even though they may be recited in
Tibetan. For the dead person, language is no barrier at all, for
the essential meaning of the text can be understood fully and
directly by his or her mind.
This makes it all the more vital that the practitioner should
be as focused and attentive as possible when doing the practice,
and not merely performing it by rote. Also, as the dead
person is living the actual experiences, he or she may have a
greater capacity to understand the truth of the Tibetan Book of
the Dead than we do!
I am sometimes asked: "But what happens if the consciousness
has already fainted into an oblivious state at the moment
of death?" Since we do not know how long the dead person
will remain in that state of unconsciousness, and at what point
he or she will enter the bardo of becoming, the Tibetan Book of
the Dead is read and practiced repeatedly, to cover any eventuality.
But what about people who are not familiar with the
teachings or the Tibetan Book of the Dead: Should we read it to
them? The Dalai Lama has given us this clear guidance:
Whether you believe in religion or not it is very important to have a
peaceful mind at the time of death.... From a Buddhist point of
view, whether the person who dies believes in rebirth or not, their
rebirth exists, and so a peaceful mind, even if it is neutral, is important
at the time of death. If the person is a non-believer, reading the
Tibetan Book of the Dead could agitate their mind... it could
arouse aversion and so even harm them instead of helping them. In
the case of a person who is open to it, however, the mantras or the
names of the buddhas might help them to generate some kind of
connection, and so it could be helpful. It is important to take into
account, above all, the attitude of the dying person. 4