The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying: A Spiritual Classic from One of the Foremost Interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism to the West

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However, if you do not recognize this thought for what it really is, the very instant it arises, then it will turn into just another ordinary thought, as before. This is called the “chain of delusion,” and is the root of samsara. In this section of the book, the author gets the ball rolling with some life-altering quotes, statements, and examples. Planning for the future is like going fishing in a dry gulch; nothing ever works out as you wanted, so give up all your schemes and ambitions. If you have got to think about something ~ Make it the uncertainty of the hour of your death.” ~ Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying the vision of life and death explained according to what are known as the bardos (7. Bardos and Other Realities); Although it isn’t easy, we need to try to put ourselves in the other persons’ shoes, or at least try to get an overview perspective of the situation. Keeping calm with the help of breath work can help with this.

If you bear a grudge against the concept of death, the third part will open the doors to a new way of thinking. Death is only a new beginning, a liberation, which the ego considers a threat to its survival . It’s only that the personhood is trapped in a time-frame and it’s afraid to see the big picture.A human being is part of a whole, called by us the “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in” As a matter of fact, are they even yours? – Probably not, because every person would rather avoid face-to-face confrontations with its judgments and opinions than to take the bull by the horns. What is born will die, what has been gathered will be dispersed, what has been accumulated will be exhausted, what has been built up will collapse and what has been high will be brought low.” ~ Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Dzogchen meditation is subtly powerful in dealing with the arisings of the mind, and has a unique perspective on them. All the risings are seen in their true nature, not as separate from Rigpa, and not as antagonistic to it, but actually as none other–and this is very important–than its “self-radiance,” the manifestation of its very energy. The main message I've been getting from the book (which a good friend and bandmate gave me to help me with the impending death of my mother) is that the greatest gift we can give to a dying person is a "good death." We do this by comforting them, reassuring them that they are loved and valued and that their life has made a great impact. (At least that's what I've been doing!)The book’s success contributed to an expansion of the work of Rigpa, the network of Buddhist centres and groups set up by Sogyal Rinpoche in the 1970s. [5]