How My Karma at Death Will Propel Me Into a New Life [1] Posted 28 Jan 2020
Venerable Thubten Dondrub, former Resident Teacher at Hayagriva Buddhist Centre, recently explained how it is that when your death comes and you have virtuous thoughts at that moment, you will be reborn into a happy life; but if at the time of death you have a non-virtuous mind, you will be reborn into a place of great suffering.
Geshe Lhundub Sopa, in his book Steps on the Path to Enlightenment, also goes into the role of karma at the time of death in some detail.
When we commit actions of body, speech or mind with a clear and strong intention, strong karmic imprints, good and bad, are planted on our mind. These are called ‘throwing karma’ because if one of them ripens at the point of death they have enough power to throw or propel us into the next life.
That is why it is so important to guide the mind to the side of virtue as one approaches death. For example, as long as the dying person can still hear, his spiritual teacher or a close friend, or a relative, can gently recite the practices or mantras or sayings that the person is familiar with.
This is one way we, as trained volunteers, can help when The Pure Land is up and running. How amazing and wonderful it would be if our guidance enabled the dying person to have a more peaceful death and a happier rebirth!
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[1] Extracts selected by Len Warren from Steps on the Path to Enlightenment A Commentary on Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, by Geshe Lhundub Sopa, with David Patt, Volume 2, Wisdom Publications, 2005, page 306
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