Helping Yourself and Others Die Happily: Instructions and Practices for the Time of Death Ebook

By FPMT

Out of his infinite compassion for sentient beings, Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked that the practices found in this booklet be compiled to make it easy for us to prepare for our own death, and also easy for us to help other people who are dying or have died.

As Rinpoche says in Dying Happily with the Five Powers, practicing “the five powers to be applied during life” serves as a preparation for our death. But as the time of our death approaches, we should specifically engage in the practice of “the five powers for near the time of death,” which Rinpoche explains in this booklet.

When dictating the instructions for this booklet Lama Zopa Rinpoche said that we should also make use of the instructions, mantras, and images found in Liberation Tools to Help the Dying and Deceased. Rinpoche concluded his instructions by saying that scientists from universities like Harvard and Oxford, no matter how famous they are, don’t know how to help the dying and the deceased. We, on the other hand, have many methods available to us to help them. We should keep this in mind.

2022 edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: FPMT
• Release date: Dec 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005119157

FPMT

The FPMT is an organization devoted to preserving and spreading Mahayana Buddhism worldwide by creating opportunities to listen, reflect, meditate, practice and actualize the unmistaken teachings of the Buddha and based on that experience spreading the Dharma to sentient beings. We provide integrated education through which people’s minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility and service. We are committed to creating harmonious environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of infinite wisdom and compassion. Our organization is based on the Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught to us by our founder, Lama Thubten Yeshe and our spiritual director, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.

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Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, Inc.

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www.fpmt.org

© 2022

Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, Inc.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system or technologies now known or developed, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The Lama Zopa Rinpoche Practice Series is a special collection of practice materials that serves to present and preserve Rinpoche’s lineage of practice, oral instructions, and translations.

Contents

Editor's Preface

Dying Happily with the Five Powers

Reciting King of Prayers

King of Prayers

Amitābha Pure Land Prayers

Homage to Tathāgata Amitābha and Buddha Amitāyus

A Brief Prayer [to Be Reborn in Amitābha Pure Land]

Reciting The Array of Sukhāvatī Pure Land

The Array of Sukhāvatī Pure Land: A Concise Mahāyāna Sūtra

Dedication Verses

Notes

Editor’s Preface

Out of his infinite compassion for us sentient beings, Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked that the practices found in this booklet be compiled to make it easy for us students to prepare for our own death, and also easy for us to help other people who are dying or dead.

As Rinpoche says in Dying Happily with the Five Powers,¹ practicing the five powers to be applied during life serves as a preparation for our death. But as the time of our death approaches, we should specifically engage in the practice of the five powers for near the time of death, which are what Rinpoche explains in this booklet. The explanation of these five powers can also be read aloud to someone who is dying, to help them generate a positive state of mind and, in this way, take a good rebirth.

As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says in regard to King of Prayers, we can recite this prayer at the end of the day, and ideally every day, as an extensive way to dedicate our merits. We can also recite it to benefit those who are dying and the deceased, whether we are in their presence or not. If we are with them, Rinpoche emphasizes that it is very important to recite the prayer loudly and clearly so that the person can hear the words.

Rinpoche says that while King of Prayers can be recited the moment someone dies, if there is not much time it is best to immediately recite Array of Sukhāvatī Pure Land three times and, at the end, to tap the sūtra on the person’s head three times. In this way, they will, without doubt, be reborn in Sukhāvatī, the Blissful Realm of Amitābha Buddha.

Amitābha Pure Land Prayers, a favorite of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s mother, and Array of Sukhāvatī Pure Land can also be recited on a daily basis in preparation for our own death. Doing so creates the cause for us to be reborn in