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

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202 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYINGperson to whom that compassion is directed. As Portia says inShakespeare's Merchant of Venice:The quality of mercy is not strained,It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd;It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes ...Compassion is the wish-fulfilling gem whose light of healingspreads in all directions.There is a very beautiful story that I love that illustrates this.Buddha once recounted one of his previous lives, before hebecame enlightened. A great emperor had three sons, and theBuddha had been the youngest, who was called Mahasattva.Mahasattva was by nature a loving and compassionate littleboy, and thought of all living things as his children.One day the emperor and his court went to picnic in a forest,and the princes went off to play in the woods. After awhile they came across a tigress who had given birth, andwas so exhausted with hunger that she was on the point ofeating her little cubs. Mahasattva asked his brothers: "Whatwould the tigress need to eat now to revive her?""Only fresh meat or blood," they replied."Who could give his own flesh and blood to see that she isfed and save the lives of her and her cubs?" he asked."Who, indeed?" they replied.Mahasattva was deeply moved by the plight of the tigressand her cubs, and started to think: "For so long I have beenwandering uselessly through samsara, life after life, andbecause of my desire, anger, and ignorance, have done little tohelp other beings. Here at last is a great opportunity."The princes were walking back to join their family, whenMahasattva said: "You two go on ahead. I will catch you uplater." Quietly he crept back to the tigress, went right up toher, and lay down on the ground in front of her, to offer himselfto her as food. The tigress looked at him, but was soweak that she could not even open her mouth. So the princefound a sharp stick and cut a deep gash in his body; the bloodflowed out, the tigress licked it, and she grew strong enoughto open her jaws and eat him.Mahasattva had given his body to the tigress in order tosave her cubs, and through the great merit of his compassion,he was reborn in a higher realm and progressed toward hisenlightenment and his rebirth as the Buddha. But it was not
COMPASSION: THE WISH-FULFILLING JEWEL 203only himself he had helped through his action: The power ofhis compassion had also purified the tigress and her cubs oftheir karma, and even of any karmic debt they might haveowed to him for saving their lives in the way he did. Becauseit was so strong, in fact, his compassionate act created akarmic link between them that was to continue far into thefuture. The tigress and her cubs, who received the flesh ofMahasattva's body, were reborn, it is said, as the Buddha'sfirst five disciples, the very first to receive his teaching afterhis enlightenment. What a vision this story gives us of howvast and mysterious the power of compassion truly is!5. How to Meditate on CompassionYet, as I have said, evoking this power of compassion in usis not always easy. I find myself that the simplest ways arethe best and the most direct. Every day, life gives us innumerablechances to open our hearts, if we can only take them. Anold woman passes you with a sad and lonely face, swollenveins on her legs, and two heavy plastic bags full of shoppingshe can hardly carry; a shabbily dressed old man shuffles infront of you in line at the post office; a boy on crutches looksharried and anxious as he tries to cross the street in the afternoontraffic; a dog lies bleeding to death on the road; a younggirl sits alone, sobbing hysterically in the subway. Switch on atelevision, and there on the news perhaps is a mother inBeirut kneeling above the body of her murdered son; or an oldgrandmother in Moscow pointing to the soup that is her foodfor today, not knowing if she'll even have that tomorrow; orone of the AIDS children in Romania staring out at you witheyes drained of any living expression.Any one of these sights could open the eyes of your heartto the fact of vast suffering in the world. Let it. Don't wastethe love and grief it arouses; in the moment you feel compassionwelling up in you, don't brush it aside, don't shrug it offand try quickly to return to "normal," don't be afraid of yourfeeling or embarrassed by it, don't allow yourself to be distractedfrom it or let it run aground in apathy. Be vulnerable:use that quick, bright uprush of compassion; focus on it, godeep into your heart and meditate on it, develop it, enhance,and deepen it. By doing this you will realize how blind youhave been to suffering, how the pain that you are experiencingor seeing now is only a tiny fraction of the pain of theworld. All beings, everywhere, suffer; let your heart go out tothem all in spontaneous and immeasurable compassion, and
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The Tibetan Bookof Living and Dying
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ContentsDedicationForeword, by His
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Forewordby His Holiness the Dalai L
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Introduction to the Revised Edition
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INTRODUCTIONxiiiour attitudes towar
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PrefaceI WAS BORN IN TIBET, and I w
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PREFACExviinext to my master, on a
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PART ONELiving
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4 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DY
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10 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND D
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THREEReflection and ChangeWHEN I WA
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FOURThe Nature of MindCONFINED IN T
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Padmasambhava: "Looks Like Me/' Pad
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SIXEvolution, Karma, and RebirthON
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100 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND
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SEVENBardos and Other RealitiesBARD
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Page 168 and 169: TENThe Innermost EssenceNO ONE CAN
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SIXTEENThe GroundWE OFTEN HEAR STAT
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THE GROUND 265explain its sacred me
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THE GROUND 267so, the more our habi
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THE GROUND 269view our thoughts and
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THE GROUND 271ning joke. We'd ask h
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THE GROUND 273do this: When we star
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THE GROUND 275Then something extrao
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THE GROUND 277May all of you who re
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INTRINSIC RADIANCE 279are. Dharmata
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INTRINSIC RADIANCE 2812. Union—Th
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INTRINSIC RADIANCE 283to the experi
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INTRINSIC RADIANCE 285So the five n
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INTRINSIC RADIANCE 287At exactly th
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INTRINSIC RADIANCE 289tice, so with
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EIGHTEENThe Bardo of BecomingTHE EX
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THE BARDO OF BECOMING 293even for a
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THE BARDO OF BECOMING 295comes the
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THE BARDO OF BECOMING 297The overwh
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THE BARDO OF BECOMING 299This is th
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THE BARDO OF BECOMING 301Alas! the
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NINETEENHelping After Deathso OFTEN
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HELPING AFTER DEATH 305you love ver
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HELPING AFTER DEATH 307sponsor work
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HELPING AFTER DEATH 309Dead for the
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HELPING AFTER DEATH 311cause, avari
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HELPING AFTER DEATH 313stay in the
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HELPING AFTER DEATH 315Remember too
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HELPING AFTER DEATH 317dead person,
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HELPING AFTER DEATH 319and sparklin
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HELPING AFTER DEATH 321people have
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TWENTYThe Near-Death Experience:A S
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THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE: A STAIRC
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PART FOURConclusion
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TWENTY-TWOServants of PeaceONE OF M
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Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (18
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Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1991)
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Khandro Tsering Chödrön was the s
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QUESTIONS ABOUT DEATH 379make rules
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QUESTIONS ABOUT DEATH 381ALLOWING D
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QUESTIONS ABOUT DEATH 383According
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APPENDIX THREETwo StoriesMY STUDENT
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TWO STORIES 387She tried to do as m
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TWO STORIES 389them a part of his l
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TWO STORIES 391You don't have to fe
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APPENDIX FOURTwo MantrasThe two mos
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TWO MANTRAS 395When the syllables V
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TWO MANTRAS 397hell realms, ascendi
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NotesPREFACE1. Rinyoche, a term of
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NOTES 4016. Portia Nelson, quoted i
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NOTES 403am) I shall not live to se
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NOTES 4058. From the Guru Yoga in J
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NOTES 407and treat all without bias
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NOTES 4093. In Kalu Rinpoche, The D
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NOTES 4114. An answer given by His
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NOTES 4133. Kalu Rinpoche, The Dhar
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Selected BibliographyTRADITIONAL TI
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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 417. Life at
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AcknowledgmentsIN THE TASK OF PRESE
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 421I am deeply grat
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 423helping the dyin
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426 INDEXBardo Tödrol Chenmo, See
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428 INDEXon merging of luminosities
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430 INDEXJowo Rinpoche, 242, 243Jud
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432 INDEXNé Dren, 310Near-death ex
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434 INDEXfinding master in, 132-34;
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436 NOTESFrancisco, 1986; First Sno
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CreditsCover design: Ross Carron De
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About the PublisherAustraliaHarperC
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