Death of Crazy Uncle
Hello everyone,
It has been a while since I’ve last written. I’m currently in Bihar, India! I left Lhasa several weeks ago after the New Year’s celebrations and continued on my journey. The New Year’s celebrations in the capital of Tibet were so festive!
Here are some pictures from Lhasa:
I visited Bodh Gaya several days ago. It was an amazing experience that I won’t forget! I went to go see the Mahabodhi Temple, which was astoundingly beautiful! Inside, there is a statue of the Buddha sitting with the mudra (touching the earth with his right hand) of when he reached enlightenment (“Destinations :: BodhGaya.”). I also went to see the Bodhi Tree, which is the tree that the Buddha achieved enlightenment under (“Destinations :: BodhGaya.”).
The Bodhi Tree, in Bodh Gaya
Tomorrow, I will be visiting Nalanda University, which has been a historical site of Buddhist education. But enough about me… I’m writing to you all with some unfortunate news. Crazy Uncle has passed away. My husband wrote me a letter letting me know of the incident. He was a hermit who was rarely ever seen in the village. He lived in a cave quite far from our village. We did not know much about him or his life. I know that many in the village are talking about what they should do with his body since he has passed.
During my studies in the monastery, I read some books about death and rituals associated with it in Buddhism. Because my husband is a healer, I’ve seen firsthand many of the rituals that people have done for deaths of loved ones in our village. I am not in the village right now, so I am unsure what they are doing for Crazy Uncle, but I can give some of my speculations on what could be possibly done.
Death is an unpleasant topic and many do not like talking about it. Nevertheless, it is inevitable and when the time comes, we should not be afraid of it. Rebirth will happen, but following the Buddha’s teachings and making sure that one is compassionate to all living things helps one to be reborn as a human again. Being a human is the best way to achieve nirvana and leave the cycle of rebirth. Since we will be reborn after this life, it is more of a change from one life to another, rather than an end. I believe that the the person dying is not as sad as the people around him (ie. family and friends) who mourn the loss. In the case of Crazy Uncle, he was someone who never really interacted with the villagers. We don’t know if he has family here or somewhere else, so I don’t know about the people that he may have left behind. I feel sympathetic towards the relatives that will miss Crazy Uncle.
I have only witnessed a couple deaths in our village. I don’t know much personally about the death rituals performed by the monastic order, but the nuns that I live at the monastery with could probably tell us more. I will tell you what I know of the basics. The tradition is that after the person dies, a lama is called to the family and the deceased, so that the lama can cut the hair around the crown of the deceased’s head. This ensures that the soul can leave and move to a different body. The reason that lamas cut hair is that if the soul leaves through the upper part of the body, the individual is more likely to have a good rebirth. On the other hand, if the soul leaves through a lower part of the body, they will have a bad rebirth. There are blessed pills called po-wa pills that can help with this process for a better rebirth as well (Pende). On a similar tangent, the state of mind of the person dying is really important, because if the person is in a negative state of mind when they die, this will probably end in a worser rebirth (Pende). The lama will then recite prayers to help the soul go to a place called Dewachen, which is the Pure Land that the Buddha watches over. This is a place that when one is reborn into, it makes it easier for them to achieve enlightenment so that they can leave samsara.
After this, there is a funeral where the body is clothed in white and arranged so that friends and family can visit and pay their respects. The first day after the person dies, the lama will read from the Bardo Tödel, which helps the decreased move through the intermediate realm that one passes through from when they are dead to their next rebirth. They are in this intermediate realm, which has three different phases, for forty-nine days, until they are reborn into a new body.
One such prayer which is recited by monks to ensure the safety of the dead who move through Bardo is from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, written by Padma Sambhava.
I remember reading this prayer in our library village. Here are some passages from it:
The moment I am born spontaneously in the bardo of rebirth,
May I not be disoriented by the revelations of demons.
When by impulse I arrive in whatever place comes to mind,
May I not be terrified of straying off course due to negative actions in the past.
I think this verse from the prayer describes the individual who’s passed asking for protection against the dangers that could arise from when they are in bardo. They describe the “demons” that could get them. I am unsure of whether these are physical or abstract (or both) — whether they refer to actual demons that may harm the individual in bardo, or if they are the negative actions that the person has done in their past lives that affect their future rebirths. These are the prayers that the lamas chant are to help guide the person through the this troubling time so that they can make it to their next rebirth safely.
May I not be shadowed by every negative action in my past,
But bolstered by all my merits,
And later may I persevere in increasing these merits.
I believe that the second verse is a good example of how one should always “persevere in increasing these merits”, by leading a compassionate life that follows the Buddha’s teachings, so that they can be reborn as a human again in order for one to reach enlightenment and escape samsara.
The day after this, usually young male members of the family get very drunk on arak (a type of alcohol) and put on costumes (masks and weapons such as knives) to represent the the messengers of death who ruin the previously ordered lives of those around the deceased. Finally, on the day after this, the body is cremated and only the lama and his assistant offer the prayers to help the dead move on to the next rebirth.
Since we don’t know much information about who Crazy Uncle was or where he came from, it is hard for us to be able to bury him according to the traditions that he is familiar with. We can bury him according to our village traditions as I’ve mentioned above. Though I did not know Crazy Uncle, I hope that he has a good rebirth and he is a little closer to being enlightened. He will be missed.
I must leave soon. The bus I am taking to Nalanda will be leaving in half an hour and I still need to get all of my things and get to the bus stop. I hope that the rituals that the villagers perform are appropriate for Crazy Uncle.
On a brighter note, I am really looking forward to seeing the university and all the places that are still ahead on my pilgrimage, before I return home to the village.
See you later,
Tashi
Works Cited:
“Destinations :: BodhGaya.” Destinations :: BodhGaya. Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation Ltd., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Hawter, Ven. Pende. “Death and Dying in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition.” Death and Dying in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition. Buddha Dharma Education Association, Jan. 1995. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Sources also include the readings provided on Blackboard by Prof. Garrett.
