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

THE PROCESS OF DYING 255THE POSITION FOR DYINGTraditionally the position generally recommended for dyingis to lie down on the right side, taking the position of "thesleeping lion," which is the posture in which Buddha died.The left hand rests on the left thigh; the right hand is placedunder the chin, closing the right nostril. The legs are stretchedout and very slightly bent. On the right side of the body arecertain subtle channels that encourage the "karmic wind" ofdelusion. Lying on them in the sleeping lion's posture, andclosing the right nostril, blocks these channels and facilitates aperson's recognition of the luminosity when it dawns at death.It also helps the consciousness to leave the body through theaperture at the crown of the head, as all the other openingsthrough which it could leave are blocked.THE OUTER DISSOLUTION:THE SENSES AND THE ELEMENTSThe outer dissolution is when the senses and elements dissolve.How exactly will we experience this when we die?The first thing we may be aware of is how our sensescease to function. If people around our bed are talking, therewill come a point where we can hear the sound of theirvoices but we cannot make out the words. This means thatthe ear consciousness has ceased to function. We look at anobject in front of us, and we can only see its outline, not itsdetails. This means that the eye consciousness has failed. Andthe same happens with our faculties of smell, taste, and touch.When the senses are no longer fully experienced, it marks thefirst phase of the dissolution process.The next four phases follow the dissolution of the elements.EarthOur body begins to lose all its strength. We are drained ofany energy. We cannot get up, stay upright, or hold anything.We can no longer support our head. We feel as though we arefalling, sinking underground, or being crushed by a greatweight. Some traditional texts say that it is as if a huge mountainwere being pressed down upon us, and we were beingsquashed by it. We feel heavy and uncomfortable in any position.We may ask to be pulled up, to have our pillows madehigher, or for the bedcovers to be taken off. Our complexion