The Dalai Lama represents the voice of moral authority. He is a compassionate human being capable of integrating expanded spiritual, religious heart and mind. Tenzin Gyatso (religious name) is the 14th Dalai Lama, currently the spiritual and secular leader of Tibet which now only exists in exile.
Tibetans have been able to embrace the non-violent principles of Buddhism and become a society devoted to producing enlightened beings. For centuries Tibet was ruled by successive reincarnations of their god King, the Dalai Lama. In 1932, Tibet’s 13th Dalai Lama prophesied that his peace loving country will soon come under attack and that he would have to die sooner than he needed so that when this attack happened he could be of an age that would be of greater help to his people. After his death on December 17th, 1933, clues from dreams and oracles of what they were looking for in the reincarnation were revealed and the search for the 14th Dalai Lama began.
Lhamo Dondrub born on July 6th, 1935 was discovered in 1937 at age 2 ½ by senior monks in disguise scouring the country side looking for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. One of the senior monks wanted a closer look at the boy and upon placing him in his lap the boy started to play with the rosary around the monk’s neck and proceeded to say to the monk in Central Tibetan dialect which was unknown in his village and family, “That’s mine, give it to me!”.
Intrigued, the monks spread a collection of items, including toys, some of which had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama and some of which had not, to see if he recognized anything from a former life. Without any hesitation the child picked out the possessions of the 13th Dalai Lama (several rosaries, a walking stick, and a drum). He played the drum in the same characteristic as the 13th Dalai Lama had. Interestingly he picked up one of the walking sticks and held it for a second but then immediately put it back and picked out another which he held onto as his choice. It turned out that the first walking stick he picked out had been given by the 13th Dalai Lama to somebody. Even more astonishing, the boy was able to name each monk by their first names, something he could not have known. After a few more tests the monks decided that they have found the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
On February 22, 1940 the 4 year old boy was officially proclaimed the 14 Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet and was given a new name, Tenzin Gyatso (ocean of wisdom). From a young age the Dalai Lama was put into a rigorous system of Buddhist education where he had to memorize mountains of texts and later lead his country through the trials and aggression of the communist Chinese.
Shabkar Tsodruk Rangdrol (1781-1851), was a great Tibetan Yogi famous for his affection and concern for animals. His attitude was an expression not only of personal sympathy and aesthetic appreciation but was also rooted in his understanding of Buddhist teaching.
“The Life of Shabkar – The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogi“, composed 14 years before his death in 1837, relates the story of his life and practice as he wandered through Tibet and Nepal. As Shabkar wandered from place to place, practicing meditation, receiving initiations, taking on disciples of his own, he sang spontaneous songs of realization, and these songs make up a large part of the text.
The following is an excerpt of a dialog between Shabkar and a flower revealing an important teaching on death and impermanence.
Another day, I went out for some fresh air to a meadow covered with flowers.
While singing and remaining in a state of awareness, I noticed among the profusion of flowers spread out before me one particular flower waving gently on its long stem and giving out a sweet fragrance. As it swayed from side to side, I heard this song in the rustling of its petals:
Listen to me, mountain dweller:
I don’t want to hurt your feelings,
But, in fact, you even lack awareness
Of impermanence and death,
Let alone any realization of emptiness.
For those with such awareness,
Outer phenomena all teach impermanence and death.
I, the flower, will now give you, the yogi,
A bit of helpful advice
As a flower born in a meadow,
I enjoy perfect happiness
With my brightly colored petals in full bloom.
Surrounded by an eager cloud of bees,
I dance gaily, swaying gently with the wind.
When a fine rain falls,
My petals wrap around me,
When the sun shines I open like a smile.
Right now I look well enough,
But I won’t last long,
Not at all.
Unwelcome frost will dull these vivid colors,
Till turning brown, I wither.
Later still, winds-
Violent and merciless-
Will tear me apart
Until I turn to dust.
You, hermit,
Are of the same nature.
Surrounded by a host of disciples,
You enjoy a fine complexion,
Your body of flesh and blood is full of life.
When others praise you, you dance with joy;
Right now, you look well enough.
But you won’t last long,
Not at all.
Unhealthy aging will steal away
Your healthy vigor;
Your hair will whiten
And your back will grow bent.
When touched by the merciless hands
Of illness and death
You will leave this world
For the next life,
Since you, mountain-roaming hermit,
And I, a mountain-born flower,
Are mountain friends,
I have offered you
These words of good advice.
Then the flower fell silent and remained still. In reply, I sang:
O brilliant, exquisite flower,
Your discourse on impermanence
Is wonderful indeed.
But what shall the two of us do?
Is there nothing that can be done?
The flower replied:
Among all the activities of samsara
There is not one that is lasting.
Whatever is born will die;
Whatever is joined will come apart;
Whatever is gathered will disperse;
Whatever is high will fall.
Having considered this,
I resolve not to be attached
To these lush meadows.
Even now, in the full glory of my display,
Even as my petals unfold in splendor,
You, too, while strong and fit,
Should abandon your clinging
Meditate in solitude;
Seek the pure field of freedom,
The great serenity.
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. He joined a Zen monastery at the age of 16 where he studied Buddhism as a novice, and was fully ordained as a monk in 1949. His teachings and practices aim to appeal to people from various religious, spiritual, and political backgrounds, intending to offer mindfulness practices for more Western sensibilities.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s approach has been to combine a variety of traditional Zen teachings with methods from Theravada Buddhism, insights from Mahayana Buddhism, and ideas from Western psychology – to offer a modern light on meditation practice.
One of his most inspiring poems “Please Call Me by My True Names” has become a liturgy in Western Buddhism. Aimed at division, the root cause of wars and differentiation; Thich Nhat Nanh brings to our awareness how it’s all to easy to separate ourselves from everybody else. To see yourself in others can bring a sense of understanding of them and their situation.
Please Call Me by My True Names
Do not say that I’ll depart tomorrow
because even today I still arrive.
Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, whose wings are still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, in order to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death of all that are alive.
I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,
I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time to eat the mayfly.
I am the frog swimming happily in the clear water of a pond,
and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to Uganda.
I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving.
I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my hands,
and I am the man who has to pay his “debt of blood” to my people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.
My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom.
My pain is like a river of tears, so full it fills up the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart can be left open,
the door of compassion.
“The Tibetan Book of the Dead” refers to the “Bardo Thodol” which translates to Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State, a funerary text intended to guide one through the experiences that the consciousness has after death, during the interval between death and the next rebirth. These texts also includes chapters on the signs of death, and rituals to undertake when death is closing in, or has taken place. It has been handed down through the centuries in several versions covering a wide range of subjects, including the dzogchen view (innate intelligence or intrinsic awareness which all beings possess), meditation instructions, visualizations of deities, liturgies and prayers, lists of mantras, descriptions of the signs of death, and indications of future rebirth, as well as those that are actually concerned with the after-death state.
The Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State is recited by Tibetan Buddhist lamas over a dying or recently deceased person. These texts differentiate the intermediate state between lives into six bardos:
1. The “bardo of the moment of death”, which features the experience of the “clear light of reality”.
2. The “bardo of the experiencing of reality”, which features the experience of visions of various Buddha forms.
3. The “bardo of rebirth”, which features karmically impelled hallucinations which eventually result in rebirth.
4. The “bardo of life”, or ordinary waking consciousness.
5. The “bardo of dhyana”, meditation.
6. The “bardo of dream”, the dream state during normal sleep.
Together these six bardos form a classification of states of consciousness into six broad types. Any state of consciousness can form a type of “intermediate state”, intermediate between other states of consciousness. Indeed, one can consider any momentary state of consciousness a bardo, since it lies between our past and future existences; it provides us with the opportunity to experience reality, which is always present but obscured by the projections and confusions that are due to our previous unskillful actions.
One can perhaps attempt to compare the descriptions of the Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State with accounts of certain “out of the body” near-death experiences (NDE) described by people who have nearly died in accidents or on the operating table. These accounts sometimes mention a “white light”, and helpful figures corresponding to that person’s religious tradition.
Death is real, it comes without warning and it cannot be escaped. An ancient source of strength and guidance, The Tibetan Book of the Dead remains an essential teaching in the Buddhist cultures of the Himalayas. Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this enlightening series explores the sacred text and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to its profound wisdom.
The Great Liberation follows an old lama and his novice monk as they guide a Himalayan villager into the afterlife using readings from The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The souls 49-day journey towards rebirth is envisioned through actual photography of rarely seen Buddhist rituals, interwoven with groundbreaking animation by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Ishu Patel.
The Dalai Lama represents the voice of moral authority. He is a compassionate human being capable of integrating expanded spiritual, religious heart and mind. Tenzin Gyatso (religious name) is the 14th Dalai Lama, currently the spiritual and secular leader of Tibet which now only exists in exile.
Lhamo Dondrub born on July 6th, 1935 was discovered in 1937 at age 2 ½ by senior monks in disguise scouring the country side looking for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. One of the senior monks wanted a closer look at the boy and upon placing him in his lap the boy started to play with the rosary around the monk’s neck and proceeded to say to the monk in Central Tibetan dialect which was unknown in his village and family, “That’s mine, give it to me!”.
Shabkar Tsodruk Rangdrol (1781-1851), was a great Tibetan 
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. He joined a Zen monastery at the age of 16 where he studied Buddhism as a novice, and was fully ordained as a monk in 1949. His teachings and practices aim to appeal to people from various religious, spiritual, and political backgrounds, intending to offer mindfulness practices for more Western sensibilities.
“The Tibetan Book of the Dead” refers to the “Bardo Thodol” which translates to Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State, a funerary text intended to guide one through the experiences that the consciousness has after death, during the interval between death and the next rebirth. These texts also includes chapters on the signs of death, and rituals to undertake when death is closing in, or has taken place. It has been handed down through the centuries in several versions covering a wide range of subjects, including the dzogchen view (innate intelligence or intrinsic awareness which all beings possess), meditation instructions, visualizations of deities, liturgies and prayers, lists of mantras, descriptions of the signs of death, and indications of future rebirth, as well as those that are actually concerned with the after-death state.
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