Death

The process of dying is explained in considerable detail in the different Tibetan teachings. Essentially it consists of two phases of dissolution: an outer dissolution, when the senses and elements dissolve, and an inner dissolution of the gross and subtle thought states and emotions. But first we need to understand the components of our body and mind, which disintegrate at death. Our whole existence is determined by the elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space. Through them our body is formed and sustained, and when they dissolve, we die. We are familiar with the outer elements, which condition the way in which we live, but what is interesting is how these outer elements interact with the inner elements within our own physical body. And the potential and quality of these five elements also exist within our mind. Mind's ability to serve as the ground for all experience is the quality of earth; its continuity and adaptability is water; its clarity and capacity to perceive is fire; its continuous movement is air; and its unlimited emptiness is space.

The following explains how our physical body is formed. An ancient Tibetan medical text states: The sense consciousnesses arise from one's mind. The flesh, bones, organ of smelling and odors are formed from the earth element. The blood, organ of taste, tastes and liquids in the body arise from the water element. The warmth, clear coloration, the organ of sight and form are formed from the fire element The breath, organ of touch and physical sensations are formed from the air element. The cavities in the body, the organ of hearing and sounds are formed from the space element1 "In short," writes Kalu Rinpoche, "it is from mind, which embodies the five elemental qualities, that the physical body develops. The physical body itself is imbued with these qualities, and it is because of this mind/body complex that we perceive the outside world—which in turn is composed of the five elemental qualities of earth, water, fire, wind and space."3 The Tantric Buddhist tradition of Tibet offers an explanation of the body that is quite different from the one most of us are used to. This is of a psycho-physical system, which consists of a dynamic network of subtle channels, "winds" or inner air, and essences. These are called, respectively: nadi, prana, and bindu in Sanskrit; and tsa, lung, and tiklé in Tibetan. We are familiar with something similar in the meridians and ch'i energy of Chinese medicine and acupuncture. The human body is compared by the masters to a city, the channels to its roads, the winds to a horse, and the mind to a rider. There are 72,000 subtle channels in the body, but three principal ones: the central channel, running parallel to the spine, and the right and left channels, which run either side of it. The right and left channels coil around the central one at a number of points to form a series of "knots." Along the central channel are situated a number of "channel wheels," the chakras or energy-centers, from which channels branch off like the ribs of an umbrella.

Through these channels flow the winds, or inner air. There are five root and five branch winds. Each of the root winds supports an element and is responsible for a function of the human body. The branch winds enable the senses to operate. The winds that flow through all the channels except the central one are said to be impure and activate negative, dualistic thought patterns; the winds in the central channel are called "wisdom winds." The "essences" are contained within the channels. There are red and white essences. The principal seat of the white essence is the crown of the head, and of the red essence at the navel. In advanced yoga practice, this system is visualized very precisely by a yogin. By causing the winds to enter and dissolve in the central channel through the force of meditation, a practitioner can have a direct realization of the luminosity or "Clear Light" of the nature of mind. This is made possible by the fact that the consciousness is mounted on the wind. So by directing his or her mind to any particular point in the body, a practitioner can bring the winds there. In this way the yogin is imitating what happens at death: when the knots in the channels are released, the winds flow into the central channel, and enlightenment is momentarily experienced. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche tells the story of a retreat master at a monastery in Kham, who was close to his elder brothers. This master had perfected the yoga practice of channels, winds, and essences. One day he asked his attendant: "I am going to die now, so would you please look in the calendar for an auspicious date." The attendant was stunned, but did not dare contradict his master. He looked in the calendar and told him that the following Monday was a day when all the stars were auspicious. The master then said: "Monday is three days away. Well, I think I can make it." When his attendant came back into his room a few moments later, he found the master sitting upright in yogic meditation posture, so still that it looked as though he had passed away. There was no breathing, but a faint pulse was perceptible. He decided not to do anything, but to wait. At noon he suddenly heard a deep exhalation, and the master returned to his normal condition, talked with his attendant in a joyful mood, and asked for his lunch, which he ate with relish. He had been holding his breath for the whole of the morning session of meditation. The reason he did this is that our lifespan is counted as a finite number of breaths, and the master, knowing he was near the end of these, held his breath so that the final number would not be reached till the auspicious day. Just after lunch, the master took a deep breath in again, and held it until the evening. He did the same the next day, and the day after. When Monday came, he asked: "Is today the auspicious day?" "Yes" replied the attendant. "Fine, I shall go today," concluded the master. And that day, without any visible illness or difficulty, the master passed away in his meditation. Once we have a physical body, we also have what are known as the five skandhas—the aggregates that compose our whole mental and physical existence. They are the constituents of our experience, the support for the grasping of ego, and also the basis for the suffering of samsara. They are: form, feeling, perception, intellect, and consciousness, also translated as: form, sensation, recognition, formation, and consciousness. "The five skandhas represent the constant structure of the human psychology as well as its pattern of evolution and the pattern of the evolution of the world. The skandhas are also related to blockages of different types—spiritual ones, material ones, and emotional ones." They are examined in great depth in Buddhist psychology. All of these components will dissolve when we die. The process of dying is a complex and interdependent one, in which groups of related aspects of our body and mind disintegrate simultaneously. As the winds disappear, the bodily functions and the senses fail. The energy centers collapse, and without their supporting winds the elements dissolve in sequence from the grossest to the subtlest. The result is that each stage of the dissolution has its physical and psychological effect on the dying person, and is reflected by external, physical signs as well as inner experiences. Friends sometimes ask me: Can people like us see these external signs in a friend or relative who is dying? My students who care for the dying have told me that some of these physical signs described below are observed in hospices and hospitals. However, the stages of the outer dissolution may take place extremely quickly and not very obviously, and generally people caring for the dying in the modern world are not looking for them. Often nurses in busy hospitals rely on their intuition and many other factors, such as the behavior of doctors or members of the patient's family, or the state of mind of the dying person, to predict when someone might be dying. They also observe, but not at all in a systematic way, some physical signs, such as the change in skin color, a certain smell sometimes remarked on, and a noticeable change in breathing. Modern drugs, however, may well mask the signs that Tibetan teachings indicate, and there is as yet surprisingly little research in the West on this most important topic. Doesn't this show how little the process of dying is understood or respected?

THE POSITION FOR DYING

Traditionally the position generally recommended for dying is to lie down on the right side, taking the position of "the sleeping lion," which is the posture in which Buddha died. The left hand rests on the left thigh; the right hand is placed under the chin, closing the right nostril. The legs are stretched out and very slightly bent. On the right side of the body are certain subtle channels that encourage the "karmic wind" of delusion. Lying on them in the sleeping lion's posture, and closing the right nostril, blocks these channels and facilitates a person's recognition of the luminosity when it dawns at death. It also helps the consciousness to leave the body through the aperture at the crown of the head, as all the other openings through which it could leave are blocked.

THE OUTER DISSOLUTION:

THE SENSES AND THE ELEMENTS

The outer dissolution is when the senses and elements dissolve. How exactly will we experience this when we die? The first thing we may be aware of is how our senses cease to function. If people around our bed are talking, there will come a point where we can hear the sound of their voices but we cannot make out the words. This means that the ear consciousness has ceased to function. We look at an object in front of us, and we can only see its outline, not its details. This means that the eye consciousness has failed. And the same happens with our faculties of smell, taste, and touch. When the senses are no longer fully experienced, it marks the first phase of the dissolution process.

The next four phases follow the dissolution of the elements.

Earth

Our body begins to lose all its strength. We are drained of any energy. We cannot get up, stay upright, or hold anything. We can no longer support our head. We feel as though we are falling, sinking underground, or being crushed by a great weight. Some traditional texts say that it is as if a huge mountain were being pressed down upon us, and we were being squashed by it. We feel heavy and uncomfortable in any position. We may ask to be pulled up, to have our pillows made higher, or for the bedcovers to be taken off. Our complexion 256 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYING fades and a pallor sets in. Our cheeks sink, and dark stains appear on our teeth. It becomes harder to open and close our eyes. As the aggregate of form is dissolving, we become weak and frail. Our mind is agitated and delirious, but then sinks into drowsiness.

These are signs that the earth element is withdrawing into the water element. This means that the wind related to the earth element is becoming less capable of providing a base for consciousness, and the ability of the water element is more manifest. So the "secret sign" that appears in the mind is a vision of a shimmering mirage.

Water

We begin to lose control of our bodily fluids. Our nose begins to run, and we dribble. There can be a discharge from the eyes, and maybe we become incontinent. We cannot move our tongue. Our eyes start to feel dry in their sockets. Our lips are drawn and bloodless, and our mouth and throat sticky and clogged. The nostrils cave in, and we become very thirsty. We tremble and twitch. The smell of death begins to hang over us. As the aggregate of feeling is dissolving, bodily sensations dwindle, alternating between pain and pleasure, heat and cold. Our mind becomes hazy, frustrated, irritable, and nervous. Some sources say that we feel as if we were drowning in an ocean or being swept away by a huge river. The water element is dissolving into fire, which is taking over in its ability to support consciousness. So the "secret sign" is a vision of a haze with swirling wisps of smoke.

Fire

Our mouth and nose dry up completely. All the warmth of our body begins to seep away, usually from the feet and hands toward the heart. Perhaps a steamy heat rises from the crown of our head. Our breath is cold as it passes through our mouth and nose. No longer can we drink or digest anything. The aggregate of perception is dissolving, and our mind swings alternately between clarity and confusion. We cannot remember the names of our family or friends, or even recognize who they are. It becomes more and more difficult to perceive anything outside of us as sound and sight are confused.

Kalu Rinpoche writes: "For the individual dying, the inner experience is of being consumed in a flame, being in the middle of a roaring blaze, or perhaps the whole world being consumed in a holocaust of fire." The fire element is dissolving into air, and becoming less able to function as a base for consciousness, while the ability of the air element to do so is more apparent. So the secret sign is of shimmering red sparks dancing above an open fire, like fireflies.

Air

It becomes harder and harder to breathe. The air seems to be escaping through our throat. We begin to rasp and pant. Our inbreaths become short and labored, and our outbreaths become longer. Our eyes roll upward, and we are totally immobile. As the aggregate of intellect is dissolving, the mind becomes bewildered, unaware of the outside world. Everything becomes a blur. Our last feeling of contact with our physical environment is slipping away. We begin to hallucinate and have visions: If there has been a lot of negativity in our lives, we may see terrifying forms. Haunting and dreadful moments of our lives are replayed, and we may even try to cry out in terror. If we have led lives of kindness and compassion, we may experience blissful, heavenly visions, and "meet" loving friends or enlightened beings. For those who have led good lives, there is peace in death instead of fear.

Kalu Rinpoche writes: "The internal experience for the dying individual is of a great wind sweeping away the whole world, including the dying person, an incredible maelstrom of wind, consuming the entire universe."6 What is happening is that the air element is dissolving into consciousness. The winds have all united in the "life supporting wind" in the heart. So the "secret sign" is described as a vision of a flaming torch or lamp, with a red glow. Our inbreaths continue to be more shallow, and our outbreaths longer. At this point blood gathers and enters the "channel of life" in the center of our heart. Three drops of blood collect, one after the other, causing three long, final outbreaths. Then, suddenly, our breathing ceases. Just a slight warmth remains at our heart. All vital signs are gone, and this is the point where in a modem clinical situation we would be certified as "dead." But Tibetan masters talk of an internal process that still continues. The time between the end of the breathing and the cessation of the "inner respiration" is said to be approximately "the length of time it takes to eat a meal," roughly twenty minutes. But nothing is certain, and this whole process may take place very quickly.

THE INNER DISSOLUTION

In the inner dissolution, where gross and subtle thought states and emotions dissolve, four increasingly subtle levels of consciousness are to be encountered.

Here the process of death mirrors in reverse the process of conception. When our parents' sperm and ovum unite, our consciousness, impelled by its karma, is drawn in. During the development of the fetus, our father's essence, a nucleus that is described as "white and blissful," rests in the chakra at the crown of our head at the top of the central channel. The mother's essence, a nucleus that is "red and hot," rests in the chakra said to be located four finger-widths below the navel. It is from these two essences that the next phases of the dissolution evolve. With the disappearance of the wind that holds it there, the white essence inherited from our father descends the central channel toward the heart. As an outer sign, there is an experience of "whiteness," like "a pure sky struck by moonlight." As an inner sign, our awareness becomes extremely clear, and all the thought states resulting from anger, thirty-three of them in all, come to an end. This phase is known as "Appearance." Then the mother's essence begins to rise through the central channel, with the disappearance of the wind that keeps it in place. The outer sign is an experience of "redness," like a sun shining in a pure sky. As an inner sign, there arises a great experience of bliss, as all the thought states resulting from desire, forty in all, cease to function. This stage is known as "Increase."

When the red and white essences meet at the heart, consciousness is enclosed between them. Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, an outstanding master who lived in Nepal, says: 'The experience is like the meeting of the sky and earth." As an outer sign, we experience a "blackness," like an empty sky shrouded in utter darkness. The inner sign is an experience of a state of mind free of thoughts. The seven thought states resulting from ignorance and delusion are brought to an end. This is known as "Full Attainment."

Then, as we become slightly conscious again, the Ground Luminosity dawns, like an immaculate sky, free of clouds, fog, or mist. It is sometimes called "the mind of clear light of death." His Holiness the Dalai Lama says: 'This consciousness is the innermost subtle mind. We call it the buddha nature, the real source of all consciousness. The continuum of this mind lasts even through Buddhahood."

THE DEATH OF "THE POISONS"

What then is happening when we die? It is as if we are returning to our original state; everything dissolves, as body and mind are unraveled. The three "poisons"—anger, desire, and ignorance—all die, which means that all the negative emotions, the root of samsara, actually cease, and then there is a gap.

And where does this process take us? To the primordial ground of the nature of mind, in all its purity and natural simplicity. Now everything that obscured it is removed, and our true nature is revealed. A similar enfolding can happen, as I explained in Chapter 5, "Bringing the Mind Home," when we practice meditation and have the experiences of bliss, clarity, and absence of thoughts, which indicate, in turn, that desire, anger, and ignorance have momentarily dissolved.

As anger, desire, and ignorance are dying, we are becoming purer and purer. Some masters explain that for a Dzogchen practitioner, the phases of appearance, increase, and attainment are signs of the gradual manifestation of Rigpa. As everything that obscures the nature of mind is dying, the clarity of Rigpa slowly begins to appear and increase. The whole process becomes a development of the state of luminosity, linked to the practitioner's recognition of the clarity of Rigpa. In Tantra there is a different approach to practicing during the process of dissolution. In the yoga practice of channels, winds, and essences, the Tantric practitioner prepares in life for the process of dying, by simulating the changes of consciousness of the dissolution process, culminating in the experience of the luminosity or "Clear Light." The practitioner also seeks to maintain awareness of these changes as he or she falls asleep. Because what is important to remember is that this sequence of progressively deepening states of consciousness does not only happen when we die. It also occurs, usually unnoticed, as we fall asleep, or whenever we travel from the grosser to subtlest levels of consciousness. Some masters have even shown that it also happens in the very psychological processes of our everyday waking state.10 The detailed account of the dissolution process may seem complicated, yet if we become really familiar with this process, it can be of great benefit. For practitioners there is a range of specialized practices to do at each stage of the dissolution. For example, you can transform the process of dying into a practice of guru yoga. With each stage of the outer dissolution, you generate devotion and pray to the master, visualizing him or her in the different energy centers. When the earth element dissolves and the sign of the mirage appears, you visualize the master in your heart center. When the water element dissolves and the sign of smoke appears, you visualize the master in your navel center. When the fire element dissolves and the sign of fireflies appears, you visualize the master in the forehead center. And when the air element dissolves and the sign of the torch appears, you focus entirely on transferring your consciousness into the wisdom mind of your master.

There are many descriptions of the stages of dying, differing in small details and in their order. What I have explained here is a description of the general pattern, but it can unfold differently according to the makeup of the individual. I remember when Samten, my master's attendant, was dying, the sequence was most pronounced. But variations can occur owing to the effects of the particular illness of the dying person, and the state of the channels, winds, and essences. The masters say that all living beings, even the smallest insects, go through this process. In the case of a sudden death or an accident, it will still take place, but extremely quickly. I have found that the easiest way to understand what is happening during the process of dying, with its outer and inner dissolution, is as a gradual development and dawning of ever more subtle levels of consciousness. Each one emerges upon the successive dissolution of the constituents of body and mind, as the process moves gradually toward the revelation of the very subtlest consciousness of all: the Ground Luminosity or Clear Light.