Geshe Soepa gave his last teaching whilst acting as our resident teacher over the Easter retreat. The weekend was devoted to the Seven Point Mind Training as codified by Geshe Chekawa in the 12 Century. Previous talks had covered the first three of the seven points: Preliminaries, the two types of Bodhicitta and how to generate them, and how to transform obstacles into practice. We then came to the fourth point: How to practise throughout life and death. This is an extract.

"Now when the point of death approaches, what should we do?

First, there is the power of the seed. Offer your possessions to the Buddhas, the poor, to your family, and then give up attachment to the things of this life - body, family, possessions, country, life itself. Give these up with a positive state of mind, not a negative one.

Secondly, there is the power of fearlessness. Think that the situation you are in is not just your problem, everyone has to die, and that this is natural. Give up your attachment and think of your next life. Purify any negativities, and if you have taken any vows, take these again.

Thirdly, there is the power of prayer. Make good offerings and take refuge, and  renew your other commitments. Make offerings to Mahakala and make a request that you remember your practice in the bardo. Request help from all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Importantly, pray that you may practise Bodhicitta in the bardo and in the next life.

Some people die in their sleep, others die only after great suffering. The bardo is like a dream, you may not recognise it but you will not be able to see yourself in a mirror or see the sun or moon. Whilst you are in the bardo, if you can, you should meditate and stay in the body for three days until the gross energies are absorbed into the subtle mind. When the mind passes on, then the body starts to decompose. If your karma is good, your experience of the bardo will also be good. If your karma is bad, your experience will be bad. If you can remember to do your practice in the bardo, this will really help. Pray during this life to be able to do so.

Fourth, is the power of the antidote. Think like this: all bad things come from the self cherishing mind. If I don't give up this self cherishing mind then it will continue to cause me many problems. Realise that this self-cherishing mind  is the worst enemy of Bodhicitta. You need a strong decision the day before you die that you will do your practice the following day. In the time of the bardo, practice is very strong, very clear, so you must have this strong motivating power to practise.

The fifth power is the power of habit. Meditate again and again on Bodhicitta so as to create a strong habit. When you realise that you are dying, lie on your right side with your right hand under your cheek and with your head facing North. Then, as you breathe out, give all your virtues to all sentient beings and as you breathe in take in all the suffering from all sentient beings. Practising Tonglen like this whilst you die is a wonderful death.

Also meditate that all phenomena, all samsara, comes from the mind, and meditate on emptiness. If you die doing emptiness meditation, that also is wonderful.

So don't have any fear or worries at the time of death and practise in this way."

The full talk will be available on the Talking Buddhism pages of the Jamyang website. Geshe Soepa has now moved to the Lama Yeshe Ling centre in Canada, were he will be teaching. Thank you Geshe Soepa!

Hello from me. Not having written in Gentle Voice for eight/nine months, I want to say from my heart "hello" to everyone who reads Gentle Voice. I had a really really good time and I enjoyed very much my last seven months away from Jamyang in India. Although I didn't have any blissful experiences, I enjoyed very much - first doing prostrations in Bodh Gaya for more than two and half months, then a short pilgrimage to Sri Lanka, four/five days, then engaging in my retreat for about another 2 months. All these activities which I managed to do were extremely enjoyable, and beneficial to my mind, although as I said earlier, no deep down blissful experiences. I want to say thank you all at Jamyang for giving me this great opportunity, for your support in giving me this long break. At the end of my time in India, I joined a group of people, mostly from the UK. About 33 of us did this month long pilgrimage, the third pilgrimage organised by Jamyang. As with the previous two, this latest one was an extremely enjoyable journey. Of course from time to time there were hardships. But visiting these great places, where the Buddha Shakyamuni himself spent time and gave teachings and where great events like his enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and his first teaching at Varanasi happened, I really enjoyed visiting all those places with a group of very pleasant harmonious people. The pilgrimage went very well, as I'm sure you can gather from other people's reports.

Mainly I just want to say "hello" and thank you" for all your support. Thank you! 

Today I would like to make a personal appeal to all Chinese spiritual brothers and sisters, both inside as well as outside the People's Republic of China, and  especially to the followers of the Buddha.  I do this as a Buddhist monk and a student of our most revered teacher, the Buddha.  I have already made an appeal to the general Chinese community.  Here I am appealing to you, my spiritual brothers and sisters, on an urgent humanitarian matter.

 

The Chinese and the Tibetan people share common spiritual heritage in Mahayana Buddhism.  We worship the Buddha of Compassion - Guan Yin in the Chinese tradition and Chenrezig in Tibetan tradition - and cherish compassion for all suffering beings as one of the highest spiritual ideals.  Furthermore, since Buddhism flourished in China before it came to Tibet from India, I have always viewed the Chinese Buddhists with the reverence due to senior spiritual brothers and sisters.

 

As most of you are aware, beginning with the 10th of March this year, a series of demonstrations have taken place in Lhasa and across many Tibetan areas.  These are caused by deep Tibetan resentment against the policies of the Chinese government.  I have been deeply saddened by the loss of life, both Chinese and Tibetans, and immediately appealed to both the Chinese authorities and the Tibetans for restraint.  I specially appealed to the Tibetans not to resort to violence.

 

Unfortunately, the Chinese authorities have resorted to brutal methods to deal with the development despite appeals for restraint by many world leaders, NGOs and noted world citizens, particularly many Chinese scholars.  In the process, there has been loss of life, injuries to many, and the detention of large number of Tibetans.   The crackdown still continues, especially targeting monastic institutions, which have traditionally been the repository of ancient Buddhist knowledge and tradition.  Many of these have been sealed off.  We have reports that many of those detained are beaten and treated harshly. These repressive measures seem to be part of an officially sanctioned systematic policy.

 

With no international observers, journalists or even tourists allowed to Tibet,  I am deeply worried about the fate of the Tibetans.  Many of those injured in the crackdown, especially in the remote areas, are too terrified to seek medical treatment for fear of arrest.  According to some reliable sources, people are fleeing to the mountains where they have no access to food and shelter.  Those who remained behind are living in a constant state of fear of being the next to be arrested.

 

I am deeply pained by this ongoing suffering.  I am very worried where all these tragic developments might lead to ultimately.  I do not believe that repressive measures can achieve any long-term solution.  The best way forward is to resolve the issues between the Tibetans and the Chinese leadership through dialogue, as I have been advocating for a long time.  I have repeatedly assured the leadership of the People's Republic of China that I am not seeking independence.  What I am seeking is a meaningful autonomy for the Tibetan people that would ensure the long-term survival of our Buddhist culture, our language and our distinct identity as a people.  The rich Tibetan Buddhist culture is part of the larger cultural heritage of the People's Republic of China and has the potential to benefit our Chinese brothers and sisters.

 

Dear friends,
The work camp was a great success, thanks to the efforts of all the volunteers.  The Tara room got revamped with a new coat of paint; the basement was cleared of 6 years of accumulated matter; the garden was weeded, cleaned and watered; a new water heater was installed for the cell block; the two Gompas were given a spring clean; and the final decoration of the healing room was completed.

The cost for doing all this work was only £107! 

Well done to everyone!

with love Anil xx

manager@jamyang.co.uk

Exalted in mind & heedful,
the sage trained in sagacity's ways:
He has no sorrows, one who is Such,
calmed & ever mindful