Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth: A Tibetan Buddhist Guidebook by Thondup Tulku

Author:Thondup, Tulku [Thondup, Tulku]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Published: 2012-09-04T03:00:00+00:00

HELL IS THE UNEXCELLED PURE LAND: THE EXPERIENCE OF TSOPHU DORLO

This delog account is a work of deep meaning, beautifully written in the original Tibetan.

Tsophu Dorlo felt that his body was naked, but he still possessed all his sense faculties just as when he was alive. He started his journey along the long, narrow, gray path of the bardo. He kept moving rapidly, propelled by the force of his karmic winds, and had no freedom to remain motionless. The dark atmosphere, without sunlight or moonlight, was filled with storms, floods, and blizzards, and resounded with thunderous shouts of “Kill! Kill! Beat! Beat!”

Many beings had come there from the human world and were tormented by fear, confusion, hunger, and thirst. Among them there was a lama, Chotrag Zangpo, whom Dorlo knew. He asked him, “Lama, what are you doing here?” The lama answered, “I am here to liberate some people with whom I have karmic connections.” He liberated many through the power of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion.

Dorlo prayed to the Buddha of Compassion for his suffering fellow-travelers. Instantly, Avalokiteshvara appeared before him with a joyful, smiling face and said, “You must spin the great wheel that turns samsara upside down. You must lead the beings of the bardo to pure lands.” So, singing OM MANI PADME HUNG, Dorlo gave teachings to the beings and said aspiration prayers.q Instantly he felt that the world of the bardo had emptied. But then, in an instant, it was all filled up again by newcomers.

Next Dorlo reached the Vast Gray Field of the Dead, which was a field of hot sand. This was a place of six uncertainties: beings had no certainty of where to go or stay, where to get shelter, what to do, what to eat, and with whom to keep company; and they were uncertain of their feelings, because everything kept changing all the time.

Since Dorlo didn’t have any physical channel, his energies were exposed and he had no control over his consciousness. So his mind ran like a wild horse. As there was no inner sun or moon of physical red and white essences, he didn’t feel any light of an outer sun and moon either, and everything was filled with darkness. The lights of his body’s five winds arose like the dawn. Unbearable rays kept flashing, as if planets and stars were landing on the earth. In such an atmosphere of darkness and light, his mental habits projected forms of frightening, dangerous monsters.

Out of many beings, Dorlo saw a lama who was suffering. Dorlo prayed and turned his prayer wheel, but because the lama had no trust in him, Dorlo couldn’t help him.

Then Dorlo reached the Sandy Mountain Pass between the Dead and the Living. He saw two roads. One was a dark road for those who had committed grave evil deeds. People on this path were just sliding down like rocks straight to the burning iron grounds of the hell realm. The other road was white, for those who had accumulated virtuous deeds.

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