Как выполнять ежедневную практику 15 — Медитация в помощь недавно умершим (1999, Нью-Йорк), занятие 1

[Speaker 1]
So we'll go through the normal preliminaries. We'll just be doing a normal meditation session, okay? It's fine to be in a chair, okay?

You don't have to worry about it. Just sit up straight. And put your left hand down first on your lap, then your right hand down on top of that.

Join the thumbs like that. Sit up very straight. If you prefer to close your eyes, it's okay.

If you want to keep them open, that's okay. If you can, it's good to close your eyelids halfway and sort of gaze downwards like that. And that's a good position also.

That has the advantage of keeping you a little bit awake because you still see some light. But you're not distracted because your eyes are down. So we'll start our breath meditation, which is a good way to start.

And focus your mind on your breath, on the touch of the air as it comes out of your nose. It'll touch the tip of your nose here. And focus your mind right there on the feeling of the air hitting your nose, okay?

This meditation is going to take about 40 minutes. And after that, if you have any questions, we'll talk about it. If you feel uncomfortable, just shift around a little bit.

It's okay. But just to let you know, it's going to be a while. Okay, so watch your breath, which means just to watch the feeling of the air as it comes in and out of your nose.

How it feels at the end of your nose. A little bit cold coming in, a little bit warmer coming out. Then we'll do the preliminaries to meditation, the warm-up for meditation.

And the first step is to take refuge. In taking refuge tonight, we can think about that there are beings who have reached enlightenment, and we can't see them right now. They are aware of us.

They are around us. And take refuge in the fact that there are beings who are not caught up in the normal world that we are, that there are beings who are in a different place, and that we can become that kind of being. So just think about the possibility that there are such kinds of beings, and that they're always there, and they want to help us.

Next step is to think about compassion. Think about specifically someone you know who's having trouble mentally or physically, and pray for them. Think about them.

Think that you would like to be further along your own spiritual path, so that you could know how to help them better.

[Speaker 2]
It's important to meditate with a guide, a spiritual guide.

[Speaker 1]
At this point in the meditation, you think of some very, very holy being, the most holy being that you can imagine, and invite them to come and sit with us and meditate together in front of you.

[Speaker 2]
Imagine a perfect being coming. Now you think of some...

[Speaker 1]
What is it that makes them a holy being? What's the thing about them that you most admire? What's the thing about them that you would most like to be yourself?

And then think about that clearly. And in your mind, honor them for that quality.

[Speaker 2]
What's the one thing about a holy being that you like the most? Now think of some gift you'd like to give them.

[Speaker 1]
Imagine some beautiful sunset or some other beautiful ocean. And the highest gift you can give them is to think about something good you've done today, and offer that to this holy being as a gift. Now the next step is to purify your mind so it can be ready for meditation.

And you think about the most negative thought or the most negative thing you said or did to someone in the last 24 hours, and play it back clearly in your mind, and try to see how unhelpful it was and how much it disturbed things, and purify your mind of it. Then you'll be able to meditate better. Be specific.

What time of day was it? Who were you with? What did you think or say or do to them?

[Speaker 2]
And purify it.

[Speaker 1]
And next think of the very best thing you've done today, the thing that you're most proud of, the nicest thing you thought about someone or you said to someone or you did to someone.

[Speaker 2]
And the next step to prepare for meditation is to think about a teacher and ask for teachings. Ask for good teachings, spiritual teachings. And the last step in the preparation for meditation is to think about the great teachers in the world, like His Holiness, and ask them to live a long life and stay with us.

[Speaker 1]
And then we start the actual Chang Chok meditation. If you need to move something, like your leg, do it now.

[Speaker 2]
Take about one minute and get ready. The first step is to visualize.

[Speaker 1]
You close your eyes and you think of the person who died or the being who died. And the nature of a bardo being is that they can see you, even though you can't see them right now. And the experience for a bardo being is something like they're trying to communicate with you and they're trying to reach you, but you're not aware of them.

And it's very frustrating to them. And it's almost as if there was a pane of glass between them and you. They can see you.

They try to draw your attention. And it's like banging on some very strong sheet of glass between you and them. And they're banging on it and they're trying to get your attention.

And you don't hear them and you don't see them. So they do have the power to perceive you. It's almost like they're floating around a little bit above you and they can see you.

And they're trying to attract your attention and they can't. And it's very frustrating for them. And it's very painful for them.

And they try to make noise and bang on the glass. And you don't hear them. You can't see them.

You're just acting normally. They get very upset. They don't understand why you can't see them.

They're not aware exactly that they're dead and that you can't see them. So imagine a person that you know who's died recently, especially. Or especially someone who might have died today or the last week.

And think of them that way, that they're watching you, very frustrated, almost angry. And the next step in the chang chok is to attract them, make them stay. And you start to bring their mind down, start to calm their mind.

And it's a double process of attracting them to you and calming their mind down. So it's important now to imagine yourself as some kind of holy being, like Avalokiteshvara in Tibetan culture. There's some kind of a bodhisattva, very beautiful, very white, shining skin, and almost like a white light coming off of their skin.

And a very beautiful bodhisattva. Sometimes you can't tell if it's a male or a female. Just very, very beautiful, very, very attractive to the person who died, the being who died.

And try to picture yourself that way, as this very, very beautiful being, this holy, enlightened being. And in front of their eyes, in their eyes, you change, you begin to change. And their mind becomes calm, and they're still watching you, and you are changing into something more beautiful and more holy.

The next step is to do some mantras. And there's a mantra which is not secret in the Tibetan tradition that you can say and that people can be taught. It's a very famous mantra, OM MANI PADME HUM.

The meaning of it is summarized in the first word, OM, and OM consists of three sounds, A, U, and M. And they have many special meanings, but the most important meaning is that A means to act like an enlightened being, that you always act gently and with love and peacefully with the people around you. And that's the meaning of the A, that you always act like this very holy, pure being with the people around you.

And then U represents the speaking like a holy being, and always being pure in your speech. And when you talk to people, that you speak like a holy being, you say holy things to them. You're always being careful what you say and always talking about something meaningful.

And that's what the U means, to speak like an enlightened being. And then the MA, the MA part is in the letter, in the syllable there's a dot, a circle over the A and the U, and it represents the holy mind of a Buddha. And that you should think like a Buddha and think like an enlightened being, always peaceful, always holy, always pure thoughts.

So the OM represents the fact that you will one day be the combination of all three. You will think like a Buddha, you will act like a Buddha, you will talk like a Buddha. And so they say if you say the mantra thinking about that meaning of the mantra, then it's very powerful.

Even just the OM is very powerful. If you say the mantra, imagine yourself as a holy being, as a bodhisattva, then the mantra has a very powerful effect. And the person who has died can understand that, even if they were not a Buddhist and even if they were not even a human.

During the bardo, during the state after death, they have special powers to understand. They have greater intelligence and almost clairvoyance during that time. They can understand the meaning of the words.

And they understand that OM means enlightenment, and the way enlightened people think and the way enlightened people speak and do things. So it has a great effect on them. So now get comfortable and quietly, under your breath, say the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM and say it over and over.

And imagine that that being is hearing it and it's helping them and it's calming their mind even further and attracting them even more. So say as many as you can. It should be loud enough that you can almost hear it yourself so that they can hear it, but not loud enough to bother the person next to you.

Here we go.

[Speaker 2]
And then just keep going. Keep your mind on the meaning of the OM and keep visualizing yourself as this beautiful, holy being.

[Speaker 1]
And imagine that the dead person is watching you and hearing you and their mind is becoming more and more happy and their thoughts are becoming more and more spiritual as they watch you and as they hear you. The next step of the meditation is that you imagine that you can actually go behind the glass and you can sit with them. And at first you explain to them quietly, gently, that they have died and that they are now in the Buddha and try to comfort them and try to get them to admit it, that they are dying, and see that they have died.

And speak gently to them and softly with them. And then you talk to them about what it's going to be like. They will take a new birth.

They will come back to some part of this world. And ask them to come back close to you. Promise them that you will help them and be with them and that they should try very hard to come back and be someone who is close to you and make this bond with them.

And then you do some more mantras. So again, the step here is that you speak to them. Even if it's an animal or something like that, they can understand human speech during the Vādo.

And you talk to them and you explain to them that they have died. Explain to them where they are. Tell them that you will guide them and be with them.

And think of them often in the next 49 days after they die. And then that they must try to come back and be born around you. And that you will help them and teach them and guide them, especially spiritually, when they come back.

And this is a great release for them and great happiness for them. So go through those steps and then start the mantra again.

[Speaker 2]
Start the mantra again. Then come back to where you're sitting.

[Speaker 1]
And then the conclusion of the meditation is to remember that we had a holy being sitting with us. And it's very auspicious if you can bring them into you. So you ask them if they would come inside you.

And they say yes, very happily. And then they start to rise up in the air. And they get smaller and smaller.

And then they settle down on top of your head, facing the same way that you are.

[Speaker 2]
They're very small now, maybe two, three inches high. And then they melt down into your body.

[Speaker 1]
And we say they stay at a little place at the level of your heart, closer to your backbone. Like a little capsule there. It's a golden color light there.

And they're sitting there on a flower, like a huge rose flower. And they're very, very happy to be inside of you and blessing you. And then the very last thing we do in the meditation is to dedicate.

It's a very good karma to think about the dead. And it's a very good karma to be able to help them. Very few people know how to do it.

Very few people want to do it. And today we did a very good karma. And we dedicate that good karma, I think, to all the humans and other creatures on this planet who have died today.

Most of them, almost all of them, are in great confusion right now. Very great pain. Very great, very upset.

Not understanding what's going on with them. Not even aware that they're dead. Very confused.

Almost frantic. Almost insane with the worry and pain. So dedicate this good karma to all the people and other creatures who have died on this planet today.

[Speaker 2]
We'll do a prayer.

[Speaker 1]
I'd like to leave it like that. It's very auspicious. And take that home and remember.

And try to remember how to do it. And do it when the time comes. Okay.

Ready?

[Speaker 2]
Om Namah Shivaya.