Do not be sad, for this was his karma
Hello my dear friend! I come bearing some unfortunate news. There is a very elderly hermit who lives in a cave outside our beautiful village and I was just informed that he passed away early this morning. He was known to all of us here in the nunnery as crazy Uncle. I have personally never seen him, along with the majority of people my age. Some of the elders at the nunnery tell stories that they have heard of him, but these stories seem to differ with each sister and are all hazy. Some say he has been meditating for the past twenty years in his cave and practicing yoga. Others say that he was a tantric practitioner. But there are also stories that he just lost his mind and went to the cave to be a recluse. No one is really sure of his situation.
Crazy Uncle is not the first person in the village to die since I have been born. I remember when I was very young, probably about five, the neighbours to my parents house had a family member pass away. She was the grandmother to my young friends living there, and she lived in the house with them. I have been fortunate enough to not have a family member die, which can be a very traumatic experience for some. My neighbours grandmother who passed away was vey old and frail. When someone of that age and condition dies we all know that their karma has run its course. For us, death just marks the transition point from one body to another, and when someone in the village dies, there is a common process that occurs as I remember my neighbours going through.
When someone passes away, family members must immediately contact a lama to come to the home and the first thing to do is to cut the hair from the crown of the head of the deceased. This allows for the soul to escape the body and start the transmigratory process to a new body. It is essential not to disturb the body following death and to follow the steps to ensure the soul is not prematurely ejected and is stuck wandering about in a confused manner and it is unable to find its path to its next body. After the lama performs this, he then chants prayers in attempt to send the soul directly to Dewachen. This is a heavenly paradise which is presided over by the Buddha. The goal of many laypeople is to end up here, because if one is reborn here it is much easier to attain enlightenment. Also at this time, those still alive try to generate merit for the deceased because in their current state, they are unable to.
After all the prayers are chanted, with assistance from the lama, family members must dispose of the body which is now an empty vessel because the soul has vacated. On the same day of the death, the body is wrapped in a white funerary sheet and arranged in a seated position in the home. Later that day, and this is the part I remember the most about my neighbours death, family and friends visit and bring gifts of white scarves, arak (which is an alcoholic drink), and kind words of condolences to the family of the deceased. A common saying for us to say is “do not be sad, for this was his karma”. By saying this we are acknowledging that the soul is not really dead, and this is no need to be sad because they will live on, just in a different form.
On the day following death, the lama reads from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, known to us at Bardo Todel. This is also known as the “book of the intermediate state” and it is attributed to the great teacher Padmasambhava. This book includes texts which intend to guide the reader through the intervals between death and a new rebirth. It is classified as liberation through hearing and is thought that if the soul of the deceased heard the teachings, they would know what to do in this intermediate state. Bardo Todel includes; guidance on the signs of death, rituals to undertake when death is closing in, rituals to do when death has occurred and one wants to ensure a better rebirth. The Tibetan Book of the Dead is recited over the dying person or the recently deceased in efforts to aid the soul in finding the path to the next incarnation.
The second day following death, young male relatives of the deceased gather at the home and start to drink arak until they are very intoxicated. They then put on these horrific masks and grab objects like long bladed knives and blunt axes. These men are now transformed into shidur and go into the village and wreck havoc and cause mayhem to everyone else. The purpose of this is to symbolize the messengers of death who have come to violently disrupt the lives of the villagers.
The day following this is the day of the cremation. The body is placed on top of a plalquin and carried to the monastery grounds. On the path up to the monastery, the lama and his assistant is followed by many, including the family and some neighbours and friends. Once at the monastery, a good sit is chosen to build the funeral pyre. At this point, everyone leaves except for the lama and his assistant. They then build the funeral pyre, tend to it, and recite scriptures that assist the deceased on the journey to a new incarnation.
This is what would normally happen in a funeral sort of situation. But crazy Uncle was not just a normal layperson. No one knows what he was doing up in his cave, but many thought he was a tantric practitioner. If this is true, then a normal funeral cannot be the proper situation.
Tantra is also known as Vajrayana Buddhism is a set of practices based on two principles. First is that the body exists on a series of vibrational levels and our physical body is on the lowest. We also have our “subtle body” which consists of channels of energy and consciousness, which functions on a higher level than the physical. The second principle is that there is a system of macrocosmic and microcosmic correspondence. This allows the yogin to escape human finitude by understanding how both the individual body and the cosmos are ruled by the same process. Tantric practice comes in different forms of meditation
You see, if crazy Uncle was practicing tantric rituals and meditations in his cave, he may of been practicing a special practice called “death yoga” or “death practice”. This entails the accumulation of meditative practice that helps prepare the practitioner for what they need to do at the time of death. At the time of death the mind is on a state, also known to us as a clear light, that can open the mind to enlightenment when utilized skillfully. There are three main stages that death yoga practices can come in handy; at the end of the death process, during the bardo, and during the process of rebirth.
In tantra, the concept of bardo practices become very important. A bardo means “intermediate state” and in Buddhism is it the state of existence between two lives on earth. There are six different bardos and the Tibetan Book of the Dead really helps to explain what the soul will be going through and how to help it find its next reincarnation. If a funeral were to happen for crazy Uncle as a tantric practitioner, the Tibetan Book of the Dead would come into a greater light. It would be used much more. The regular funeral processes would be ditched.
Crazy Uncle may have also been performing bardo practices. There are certain states and times when a person’s mind is in a transitional state where certain techniques can be effective. If the practitioner develops a strong mind and are able to transform the mind-stream, this can be very effective for the transitional state in between earthly lives. These states include, sex, death, meditation, and dreaming.
There is also the tantric belief that the practitioner can cheat death. In the Tibetan Book of the Dead, there is mention on instructions on how to prepare for death and there is a whole section devoted on how to cheat it. The purpose of cheating death is to help one continue exercising the vows of a bodhisattva. Maybe crazy Uncle was a bodhisattva, and us in the village just didn’t know! By cheating the Lord of Death (and death itself) is achieving liberation and living forever. This is achieved by the power of precious stones, spells, medicines, and mediations. Once one is able to recognize the signs of death, both outer and inner, and have full faith, cheating death becomes an option. Cheating death comes through the gaining of merit. Life can also be extended through these methods, and this is possibly what crazy Uncle did to extend his life so long! If some of the elder nuns here remember him being elder when they were little girls here, he has to be very, very old.
I wonder what will happen for the funeral services for crazy Uncle will be! I am not sad for his death, because it was his karma. His soul is in a bardo right now and with help from us here, he will be able to find his next reincarnate very quickly, I believe. I have to go now, I have some chores to do around the nunnery. Until next time, my dear friend.
