“When we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings.” KnowsMomentsSpiritualDeathGrowsCompassionClearDyingEncouragementBurningDeath And DyingLimitlessHeartbreakingFragilitySentient Beings Author:Sogyal Rinpoche
“When one past thought has ceased and a future thought has not yet risen, in that gap, in between, isn't there a consciousness of the present moment; fresh, virgin, unaltered by even a hair's breadth of a concept, a luminous, naked awareness? Well, that's what naturally peaceful awareness is.” WellsMomentsPastConsciousnessMeditationAwarenessHairConceptsNakedPeacefulPresent MomentGapsVirginsRisenLuminousBreadth Author:Sogyal Rinpoche
“We often wonder: "How will I be when I die?" The answer to that is that whatever state of mind we are in now, whatever kind of person we are now, that's what we will be like at the moment of death, if we do not change. This is why it is so absolutely important to use this lifetime to purify our mindstream, and so our basic being and character, while we can.” IfsMindKindPersonsImportantStatesMomentsCharacterUseDeathDiesAnswersWonderDyingLifetimeState Of Mind Author:Sogyal Rinpoche
“At every moment in our lives we need compassion, but what more urgent moment could there be than when we are dying? What more wonderful and consoling gift could you give to dying people than the knowledge that they are being prayed for, and that you are taking on their suffering and purifying their negative karma through your practice for them?” PeopleNeedsGivingMomentsDeathSufferingCompassionPracticeOur LivesWonderfulDyingNegativeKarmaUrgentConsolingPurifyingMoments In Our LivesNegative Karma Author:Sogyal Rinpoche
“I remember how people would often come to see my master Jamyang Khyentse simply to ask for his guidance for the moment of death. He was so loved and revered throughout Tibet, especially in the eastern province of Kham, that some would travel for months on end to meet him and get his blessing just once before they died. All my masters would give this as their advice, for this is the essence of what is needed as you come to die: "Be free of attachment and aversion. Keep your mind pure. And unite your mind with Buddha."” PeopleGivingMindEndsMomentsRememberDeathDiesAsksAdviceDyingMastersMonthsNeededBlessingPureEssenceDiedGuidanceAttachmentEasternProvincesAversionTibet Author:Sogyal Rinpoche
“If all we know of mind is the aspect of mind that dissolves when we die, we will be left with no idea of what continues, no knowledge of the new dimension of the deeper reality of the nature of mind. So it is vital for us all to familiarize ourselves with the nature of mind while we are still alive. Only then will we be prepared for the time when it reveals itself spontaneously and powerfully at the moment of death; be able to recognize it "as naturally," the teachings say, "as a child running into its mother's lap"; and by remaining in that state, finally be liberated.” IfsKnowsMindChildrenStillsIdeasStatesMomentsRealityRunningAbleDeathMotherDiesLeftAliveTeachingDyingAspectPreparedDeeperNo IdeaDimensionsBe PreparedLapLiberated Author:Sogyal Rinpoche
“For most of us, karma and negative emotions obscure the ability to see our own intrinsic nature, and the nature of reality. As a result we clutch on to happiness and suffering as real, and in our unskillful and ignorant actions go on sowing the seeds of our next birth. Our actions keep us bound to the continuous cycle of worldly existence, to the endless round of birth and death. So everything is at risk in how we live now at this very moment: How we live now can cost us our entire future.” RealMomentsRealityActionDeathSufferingNextAbilityResultsEmotionExistenceRiskDyingGoes OnBirthCostNegativeBoundsRoundsSeedsKarmaEndlessIgnorantCyclesObscureWorldlyOur ActionsClutchSowingBirth And DeathAbility To SeeNegative Emotions Author:Sogyal Rinpoche
“At the moment of death, there are two things that count: whatever we have done in our lives, and what state of mind we are in at that very moment. Even if we have accumulated a lot of negative karma, if we are able to make a real change of heart at the moment of death, it can decisively influence our future, and transform our karma, for the moment of death is an exceptionally powerful opportunity to purify karma.” IfsMindHeartTwoRealStatesDoneMomentsAbleDeathOpportunityPowerfulOur LivesInfluenceDyingNegativeKarmaTwo ThingsOur FutureState Of MindReal ChangeChange Of HeartNegative Karma Author:Sogyal Rinpoche
“Ask yourself these two questions: Do I remember at every moment that I am dying, and that everyone and everything else is, and so treat all beings at all times with compassion? Has my understanding of death and impermanence become so keen and so urgent that I am devoting every second to the pursuit of enlightenment? If you can answer "yes" to both of these, then you really understand impermanence.” IfsTwoMomentsRememberDeathAsksUnderstandingAnswersCompassionDyingEnlightenmentTreatsPursuitAll TimeUrgentImpermanenceEvery Second Author:Sogyal Rinpoche
“Don't you notice that there are particular moments when you are naturally inspired to introspection? Work with them gently, for these are the moments when you can go through a powerful experience, and your whole worldview can change quickly.” WholeMomentsPowerfulParticularInspiredIntrospectionWorldview Book:The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: The Spiritual Classic & International Bestseller: Revised and Updated Edition Source: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: The Spiritual Classic & International Bestseller: Revised and Updated Edition
“Without our familiar props, we are faced with just ourselves, a person we do not know, an unnerving stranger with whom we have been living all the time but we never really wanted to meet. Isn't that why we have tried to fill every moment of time with noise and activity, however boring or trivial, to ensure that we are never left in silence with this stranger on our own?” KnowsPersonsHas BeensMomentsWantedLeftSilenceActivityBoringStrangerFamiliarNoiseProps Author:Sogyal Rinpoche
