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What Happens When You Die? with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche — Transcript

by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche · 2,260 words · 489 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:05So, what happened when we die?
0:09So, normally this topic in my culture
0:14So, my culture, of course
0:16infused with the
0:18lot of Buddhist ideas, experience.
0:23So, we have
0:24elaborate
0:27kind of like
0:29intensive
0:31teachings
0:33and
0:35the view perspective.
0:38And also
0:40how to use
0:42the fear of death and dying
0:46as
0:48helpful
0:49better living.
0:51So, like for example, when I was young
0:55in my hometown
0:57like I tried to make sand castle
1:01and there's a bricks
1:03and my grandmother said, "Oh, this is
1:06impermanent.
1:07Everything's changing.
1:10You one day you will die, too."
1:12>> [laughter]
1:13>> So, she said
1:14"Don't fix.
1:16Don't care too much.
1:20Let it go." But, of course, letting go
1:22is not giving up. So,
1:26normally what we call is all the fear in
1:30our life somehow
1:33related with the death and dying. So,
1:35unconscious level, we don't want to die.
1:38At the same time, what we do is
1:40on purposely we try to ignore the death
1:44and dying. So, when these dilemma
1:47that you don't want to die
1:51and
1:52but you don't want to face it, you You
1:55want to learn.
1:56You try to suppress.
1:59So, you try to pretend that huh
2:04that is not really exist. Then it will
2:07subtle level create that kind of like
2:10fundamental fear.
2:13So,
2:14in our tradition what we call face it
2:18and learn it.
2:19And actually
2:21that
2:23the death and dying actually really help
2:25us
2:27to
2:28to help us to learn better living.
2:30So, what we call bardo. Bardo meaning
2:34intermediate
2:36state.
2:37So, the death is actually what we call
2:41transition.
2:44So, we have
2:46six bardos. This moment
2:50momentary or transition
2:52moment.
2:54So, three related with the living. So,
2:56these are the practice of death and
2:58dying. Three
2:59related with the living
3:01and three related with the dying, the
3:04moment of death and dying. So, total we
3:06have six practices.
3:08So, first important is for the living
3:12is the first what we call the bardo of
3:14living.
3:15So, bardo of living is
3:18to really
3:21learning and growing from ups and downs
3:25of the life.
3:26Because our life always go up and down,
3:28right?
3:29>> [snorts]
3:29>> Maybe one day you're happy and not
3:31happy. Your relationship works well and
3:34then in then relationship become
3:36terrible or you find good job or at the
3:39beginning very happy, promotion, then
3:40sometime after certain level your boss
3:43is not happy,
3:44>> [laughter]
3:44>> you're fired.
3:46Or you are very happy with the family or
3:48you lost somebody, your loved one and
3:52So, life always go up and down. It's
3:54what we call impermanent. Impermanent
3:57nature of the life.
3:59So, actually this up and down
4:03is very good for what we call learning,
4:06growing, and transformation.
4:09Why? Because we all have cocoon. We all
4:12live
4:13in the bubble
4:15that we create by ourselves.
4:18Normally, it's very difficult to go out
4:21of that bubble.
4:22But then when we experience this
4:25transition moment, the down moment, or
4:28the peak of up moment,
4:31there is what we call plasticity.
4:34There is um
4:37in a way the
4:39crack, like um gap of that bubble.
4:44Crack.
4:45So, if you use that moment,
4:50really be with that moment,
4:54and learn from that moment,
4:57and
4:58kind of like accepting that moment, but
5:02transforming
5:04for the next chapter.
5:07So, then actually we can go out of our
5:11own cocoon.
5:13Out of our own
5:16kind of a prison.
5:17>> [laughter]
5:18>> So, actually we really learn and grow
5:20and transform. I think
5:24normally many of us do that naturally.
5:28Maybe when you look back to your life,
5:31oh,
5:32that toxic relationship that
5:36ends,
5:37that somebody leave me, actually that
5:40was the
5:41you know,
5:42one of the best thing that happened to
5:44my life.
5:46Or that lost job.
5:49It turned out actually it really helped
5:51me to
5:52you know, find new job or learn
5:54something new or
5:56something new happened.
5:57So normally it happens.
6:00But the key point here in the bardo
6:02teachings what we call
6:04we need to have willing to learn.
6:07Willing to transform.
6:09And what we call let go, meaning accept
6:13it. But don't give up.
6:16To transform, to learn. Learn from up,
6:18learn from down.
6:20So that's the bardo of living.
6:22And second we have this bardo of
6:24meditation.
6:27So then
6:28second bardo mean bardo meaning
6:31in between moment or intermediate state,
6:33right?
6:35So normally what happen is our mind
6:38always jump between past and the future.
6:42We don't have the present moment. We
6:44lost present.
6:46So sometime we worry about the past,
6:48what that happened, you know, I did
6:50something wrong or something happened.
6:52There's a guilt, shame
6:54>> [snorts]
6:55>> and the blame to yourself or other or
6:57something.
6:58Oh, worry about the future, you know,
7:00what should I do? Tomorrow there's a
7:01deadline or I need to
7:04reply [snorts] all these emails and
7:06tomorrow, you know, I have this projects
7:08and then you cannot sleep even night
7:10time. You're living for tomorrow.
7:12>> [laughter]
7:13>> It's time traveling. So we lost the
7:15present.
7:17So when we lost the present moment
7:20then actually
7:22it is not good for the future.
7:24So the bardo of meditation meaning be
7:27with the present moment. Being with the
7:30present experience.
7:33Maybe you can begin with the
7:35breathing. So
7:36be with the breathing. And when you try
7:38to be with the breathing
7:41the present moment of the breathing now
7:44you might experience thought and
7:46emotion. Let them come. Let them go.
7:50Don't try to stop them.
7:52But don't trouble the lost with past and
7:55future.
7:56Just be with the breathing.
7:59And then feel your body. Relax the
8:01muscles in the body.
8:04Just feel the body now, whatever you're
8:07experiencing in the body, like even the
8:10temperature warm or cold.
8:13>> [snorts]
8:14>> You might feel relaxed or you might feel
8:16tired.
8:18And especially you might feel gravity,
8:20heaviness. Just feel it
8:22and be with that. So this is the bardo.
8:26Bardo meaning being with the present
8:29moment
8:30in between past and the future.
8:33So
8:35bardo meditation
8:37then third
8:38what we call
8:39sleeping and dreaming, bardo of sleeping
8:43and dreaming. So this is
8:46really prepare
8:48that
8:49how you're going to face
8:52the what we call the big day.
8:54>> [laughter]
8:55>> Big [snorts] adventure day, meaning the
8:57moment of the real death
9:01that
9:02one day you will face in the future.
9:05So what we call
9:06the process of sleeping
9:09and the process of dying is very
9:12similar.
9:13So when you really going to die, what
9:16happened?
9:17The dissolution experience. So what we
9:20call the
9:21four element dissolution. And this is
9:24very similar when you go to sleep.
9:26It's very short when we go to sleep.
9:30But uh
9:31the process is same. So maybe I will ask
9:33you, how many of you when you are going
9:36to sleep,
9:38you might feel like you're falling.
9:41Like
9:45or
9:48losing some kind of light.
9:51ground
9:53So anybody experience that? Raise your
9:55hand.
9:56Maybe some of you.
9:57So that is what we call the earth
10:00energy, the earth element
10:02dissolution.
10:04Then after that we feel like melting.
10:08Anybody experience that? That's what we
10:10call the
10:11water element dissolution. Then after
10:14that we might feel a little bit shock
10:16sometimes. Like
10:18like a burning, sparking
10:20shock.
10:22Anybody experience that?
10:24That is what we call the
10:26fire element dissolution.
10:28So normally the falling easy to feel,
10:32melting is less, and the fire also
10:35experience more.
10:37Then after that you feel like
10:40you're blown away,
10:42air element dissolution.
10:44Then become dark. So normally that's
10:46very, very difficult to experience, very
10:49rare. So you become you feel like dark
10:52then become unconscious.
10:55So that's the how we sleep.
10:57So what we going to when we die, similar
10:59thing.
11:01So actually I experience that.
11:04I did the wandering retreat. The
11:06beginning of my retreat
11:09there's no much money, all the money is
11:12gone,
11:13and I have to beg food. I got food
11:15poison, like
11:17stomach diarrhea, vomiting.
11:20Then after five, six days later no
11:23medicine.
11:24So I'm in the process of dying actually.
11:28So I got this dissolution, very clear
11:31experience.
11:35So, then
11:36we have this um
11:38what we call the
11:39the meditation part, all right? Part of
11:41meditation.
11:43Now, we stay in that present moment,
11:46staying with the
11:47awareness.
11:49Then what happened?
11:51Although
11:52dissolves this energy, the elements and
11:55the sensory perceptions also dissolve.
11:57So, for me
11:59I cannot see a person at a certain
12:00level, cannot hear.
12:02And my body become paralyzed.
12:05Then I feel almost going to become
12:09unconscious.
12:10And suddenly
12:12the feeling of open up.
12:16And in that moment
12:19there's no physical sensation.
12:22No thought, like what we are thinking
12:24now. When we think about apple, there's
12:26a image and word, right? These are
12:28disappeared.
12:30It's kind of a non-conceptual, yet
12:33you know
12:34what is happening.
12:36And that
12:38vividness
12:40that
12:41non-conceptual
12:43awakeful experience doesn't have front
12:46and back.
12:48It's beyond time.
12:50Beyond concept.
12:52And it has really feeling of kind of
12:55joyful, not physical bliss
12:58kind of experience, but
13:00joyful contentment.
13:03So, that is what we call the mother
13:05luminosity.
13:07And actually, when we go to sleep,
13:09everybody experience that. Maybe I would
13:11like to ask you, how many of you
13:15when you're joining boring meeting
13:17>> [laughter]
13:18>> boring meeting or uh you're in the car,
13:20but you're not the driver, okay?
13:23Or you are waiting for
13:26the bank
13:27>> [laughter]
13:28>> and then you waiting waiting and then
13:30you dose off you know you you fell into
13:33sleep a little bit.
13:38And you wake up. You you
13:40fell into sleep for few seconds and then
13:44you awake.
13:46So when you awake
13:48your mind feels so fresh.
13:50Awake.
13:52Non-conceptual.
13:54And the higher also gone.
13:57Kind of like
13:59become fresh.
14:00Anybody experience that?
14:03I hope you do.
14:06So that what happened is end of the
14:08dissolution we enter the state of
14:11non-conceptual.
14:12Something like baby mother luminosity.
14:17And we will experience that the moment
14:20of actual death.
14:21Very clear normally.
14:23But the
14:25most of the time what we call we are not
14:27recognized.
14:28Then we become unconscious again.
14:31So
14:32similar when we go to sleep
14:35we experience that
14:37the present awakeful
14:40experience the awareness.
14:43But then we will not recognize normally
14:45if we don't have this practice then we
14:47become unconscious again.
14:51Then what happen? We will wake up in the
14:54dream.
14:55So that's what we call that sleeping
14:57meditation.
14:58And we have the lucid dream practice
15:00recognizing your dreaming as dreaming.
15:03If you recognize your dreaming in the
15:04dream you have freedom.
15:07So
15:08what we call the moment we die after
15:11death you know after you become
15:13unconscious
15:14normally what we call
15:16you will become unconscious
15:19at least half day to three or three and
15:21half days.
15:23Then you will wake up.
15:27So, that is what we call them three
15:30bardo which is related with the death
15:31and time, right?
15:33The the
15:35um
15:36Yeah, three bardo which is related with
15:38the death and time.
15:40The first one
15:42element dissolution
15:43and then become unconscious is what we
15:45call the bardo of moment of dying.
15:49Then you wake up. [clears throat]
15:51That's the what we call bardo of
15:52dharmata.
15:54So, when you wake up, it's just like
15:56dream because you don't have physical
15:58gross body anymore. You have this what
16:01we call the
16:02subtle body, the mental body. You still
16:04have body.
16:05But everything there's a lot of light.
16:09Everything will like whatever you see it
16:10will become like mirage.
16:13And a lot of image.
16:15Sound. So, all the sensor totally open.
16:20If you recognize that time, you are in
16:23that moment in the bardo of dharmata
16:26especially if you meditate
16:29then what we call you will become
16:30enlightened.
16:32Within short period of time, fully
16:34enlightened. If not
16:36it will take some few weeks.
16:38Then you become more gross, more heavy
16:43and then the what we call the imprint,
16:45karmic imprint
16:47that like baggage
16:49that whatever we create this life will
16:51continue.
16:53Then you will look for the next life.
16:55So, that's what we call bardo of
16:56becoming.
16:59So, now all together we have six and
17:02this is just um
17:04that normally we learn
17:06this up and down moment through the gap,
17:09through the transition. So, actually
17:11what we call there is no real thing as
17:15real death.
17:18Death is just transition.
17:21Nobody
17:22really going to die.
17:24So, a death is like
17:26Yeah.
17:27Yesterday, you awake and last night you
17:29have become unconscious for some time
17:31and have some dream and this morning you
17:33awake.
17:34It's like that.
17:35Though this gross body
17:38might not be there,
17:40but it's continued with subtle body.
17:42Subtle body, in the dream you have body,
17:44right? Similar body like that in the
17:48part of the body like in the part of
17:49Dharmata.
17:51And that might change in the next life.
17:54So, in Buddhism
17:57what we call the cycle.
18:00Like when you're being born,
18:02you have that package.
18:04Like
18:0620 years before the developmental
18:08psychology said, when the baby was being
18:11born,
18:12baby has nothing.
18:15Like empty blank sheet and has to learn
18:19everything after the birth.
18:21Now, what the psychologist said, "No,
18:24that is impossible.
18:26The baby has the sense of the world
18:29already.
18:30Maybe even the personality
18:33is pre- set.
18:36And there's huge baggage comes together
18:40with the baby.
18:41So, that is what we call imprint.
18:44And that imprint in the mind together
18:47with the subtle body,
18:49it will change.
18:50But if you really recognize the birth
18:54the moment in the present moment,
18:56if you cut that imprint, then you become
18:59enlightened.
19:01Thank you.

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