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A Buddhist's Perspective on Dying
In this article, I rely heavily on the Tibetan Buddhist's teaching on the dying process as I find their teachings on this particular topic to be fascinating and profound. In Tibetan, the word "bar" means interval and "do" means two, thus "bardo" means the interval between two states. According to the Tibetan Buddhist teaching, there are six Bardos. They are:
The Tibetan lamas taught that in the dying process, the physical body disintegrates first (four cycles, one for each element) and this is followed by the disintegration of the mind or consciousness (another four cycles). The physical breath ceases some time in the fourth cycle. Physical disintegration starts with the dissolution of the four basic elements that made up our physical body, beginning with the dissolution of the earth element, followed by the water element, the fire element and finally the wind element. The dissolution of each of the four basic elements is accompanied by the dissolution of four other factors, and both external (can be visibly seen) and internal signs (experienced by the dying person). Following the dissolution of the above elements, the mind begins to dissolve. It begins with the coarser mind and then the subtler mind. Conceptuality is the first to cease, dissolving into a mind of white appearance. This is followed by its dissolution into a heightened mind of red appearance, which then dissolves into a mind of black appearance. At this point, the mind becomes unconscious. Eventually, this clears away, leaving a totally clear emptiness (the mind of clear light). This is the final vision of death and is the Bardo of Luminosity. It is said that a person can remain in this state of lucid vacuity for up to three days. When the clear light vision ends, the consciousness leaves the body and passes through the other stages of dissolution in reverse order. As soon as this reverse process begins, the person is reborn into an intermediate state between lives, with a subtle body that can go instantly wherever it likes, move through solid, etc. in its journey to the next place of rebirth. This is the Bardo of Becoming and is the stage before rebirth. How, where and what one is reborn as is propelled by one's karma and is uncontrolled. There is no guarantee that we will be reborn as a human being again as we can also be reborn into any one of the other five realms of hell, hungry ghosts (peta), animal, the jealous gods (asura) or the gods (sura). Since being reborn into any of these realms is unsatisfactory and is subjected to continuous suffering, a Buddhist practitioner would aspire to overcome this continuous cycle of death and rebirth by practicing diligently in this very life.
Understanding this dying process is important as it will motivate us to live a good and full life, and to practice meditation diligently. Living a good and full life would mean we need not have fear or regrets at the time of our death. We need to cultivate good mental habits and get rid of the negative ones so that at the time of death, our good habits will become an asset in facing the dying process. Conversely, if we have been cultivating bad mental habits such as fear, doubts and anger, we are more likely to continue with these mental habits as we approach death. It would be too difficult for most people to change their mental habits by then. We will also meditate diligently because we know that not only how we have lived our lives but also our state of mind at death will greatly influence our future lives. With constant meditative practice, we'll be in a better state of mind to face death.
Furthermore, contemplating on these three truths may be useful.
Knowing that our time of death is uncertain and that it can happen at any moment should convince us to practice now, without delay. We know that the only thing that can help us at the time of death is our spiritual practice because all that goes on to the next life is our mind, with all its karmic positive and negative imprints. Worldly possessions such as wealth, position and money cannot help. Neither can our relatives or friends. In fact, we must learn not to be attached to all these, including our own physical body. Thus, we must learn non-attachment.
In providing spiritual care for the dying, the most important thing to remember is to keep the mind of the dying person happy and calm. Nothing should be done, including certain spiritual practices or rituals, if it causes the dying person to be annoyed or irritated. Ven. Pende Hawter, in his article on Death and Dying in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, wrote:
When a person is dying, his mind becomes much more subtle, and he becomes more open to receiving mental messages from those people close to them. Silent communication and prayer can therefore be very helpful. It is not necessary to talk much. The dying person can be encouraged to let go of his attachment to his previous life and move on. Practicing breathing meditation is also helpful. The dying person is encouraged to let go of the thoughts and concentrate on the movement of the breath. This helps in developing calmness, in pain control, and in removing fear. It allows acceptance and helps the dying person to get in touch with his inner stillness and peace, and comes to term with death. Obviously, this is easier if the dying person has been a regular meditator before. According to Sogyal Rinpoche, the author of The Tibetan Book of the Living and Dying, for up to 21 days after a person dies, he is still more connected to his previous life than to his next life. So, for this period in particular, the loved ones can be encouraged to continue their silent communication with the deceased person - to say their good byes, finished any unfinished business, reassure the dead person, encourage him to let go of his old life and to move on to his next life. It can be reassuring just to talk to the dead person and at some level to know that he is probably receiving your message. The mind of the deceased person at this stage can still be subtle and receptive.
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