The Butterfly of Compassion
How does the word “compassion” and the meaning of “compassion” pertain to The Tibetan Book of the Dead? In this paper I will show expressions of compassion through carefully formulated thoughts and through the content of The Tibetan Book of the Dead, also known as the Bardo Thötröl.[1]
The purpose of The Tibetan Book of the Dead is to be a guide for the living and the dying and/or dead. The book is designed to help one find freedom from confusion, fear, strength, guidance, and to be used as a preparation-aid for death, rebirth and existence after death. Since we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch physical things on our planet, we simply do not go beyond ourselves to obtain wisdom and harmony. Therefore, if human beings practice the ways of the Tibetan Buddhists then they are able to recognize that the world has more to offer than what other people really think. If we do not recognize the qualities of life and death in our world and the afterlife then we are essentially blinded by our own illusions and our samjñā;[2] which becomes so tainted that we are unable to see dharma.[3] In the Tibetan Buddhist religion, many practitioners believe that when a physical body dies, the mind and spirit carry on to the next world and feasibly to the next new life. Through compassion by other human beings and Deities, one may reach liberation and perhaps enlightenment. In order to clear one’s body from one’s mind or one’s mind from one’s body, one must understand the value of compassion from another human being and/or deity.
According to The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, the word “compassion” is defined as the “[p]articipation in another’s suffering, [and] [p]ity inclining one to show mercy or give aid.”[4] This definition conveys the meaning of the word and how the meaning relates to the certain human situations for the living and the dying and/or the dead. When compassion is present in human beings and/or entities, they are opening themselves up to others, in order to help alleviate any further or unnecessary sufferings. Everyone longs for compassion and therefore, we should develop a genuine compassion and extend it out to others. If one is compassionate, then the heart is open and ready to receive and understand dharmakāya.[5]
In the text, one who reads the Liberation by Hearing in the Other World which is “whispered into the ear”[6] of the dying and/or dead person is performing a selfless act by coaching the dying and/or the dead to accept death as a part of life. The closeness allows the dying and/or the dead to feel comfort between each other without distracting the dying from choosing the correct path to rebirth, while entering each of the bardos from death to rebirth. This way of compassion also helps one to recognize the bardo[7] between the living and the dead which is one of the most difficult transitions one can experience. The text demonstrates to the reader and the listener that there is the realization of no such thing as an impure act of compassion. Chögyam Trungpa uses the analogy of compassion as a flower and how that flower “could grow in mud or dirt but the flower is completely perfect and clean.”[8] This illustrates an important component of compassion by describing how ugly our world can get but yet the world can never affect the realm of compassion built in human beings and deities. It is both compassion and truth that leads to liberation, therefore, without truth there is no compassion.
This idea of truth and wisdom draws a parallel with an ancient text called the Bhagavad Gītā. The character of Krsna realizes that “there is nothing like wisdom which can make us pure on earth. The man who lives in self-harmony finds this truth in his soul.”[9] A modern day person who “lives in self-harmony” is Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a well-known psychiatrist and hospice[10] worker, once said[11] that “Death is simply a shedding of the physical body like the butterfly shedding its cocoon. It is a transition to a higher state of consciousness where you continue to perceive, to understand, to laugh, and to be able to grow.”[12] It is with this belief that she devoted her life to caring for the dying. In her guidebook On Death and Dying, she explains how “developmental progression − from denial to acceptance − that [her five stages of grieving to a dying person] serve[s] as a map not only for the personal experience of dying but also for a greater acceptance of the reality of death in the larger society.”[13]
Bodhisattvas[14], Lamas and Gurus, who devote their lives to assist people in dying and the bardo stages are much like Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and the people who work at The Living/Dying Project in San Fransisco.[15] This hospice centre is designed to help the dying to cope with death. This draws a parallel to the Bardo Thötröl except, the Tibetan ways that are read for forty-nine days[16] are to help others achieve liberation and a good rebirth. In turn the gratification which these noble people receive is knowing that there has been an act of compassion carried out.
For one to show compassion is to demonstrate how one enjoys helping people through specific hardships in life, bardos, after life, and rebirth. Human beings, such as the bodhisattva who have been enlightened, vow to help people reach enlightenment instead of selfishly stashing away the state all to their selves. There are compassionate people called Lamas and Gurus who have not reached enlightenment but they are completely devoted to the Tibetan Buddhist religion and they enjoy reading the bardo to prepare the dying and/or dead for the afterlife. The Lama’s and the Guru’s jobs are solely to benefit people of the Tibetan culture as well as those who reach out for guidance in order to ensure a good rebirth. The jobs are one of the highest forms of compassion which one may have.
The Bardo Thötröl is like “a road map to the other world, it was an instruction manual for liberation”[17] which draws on themes concerning compassion throughout life and the after life. The notion of compassion gives rise to the spirit of the dying and/or the dead, which allows them to face their fears in the transition from living to dying to dead. Compassion is a concern with the truth and therefore, if the self becomes the focus between what is real and unreal, then we are living a life full of illusions. However, if there is enlightenment, those same illusions we had would be overcome by a realization. Compassion and the meaning of compassion are essential to The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The notion that compassion is able to alleviate suffering from the living and the dying and/or dead is quite remarkable in itself. “By being prepared, a person would be less likely to be overwhelmed by the powerful sights and sounds experienced in the passage through death.”[18] It makes the nature of life, dharmatā (luminosity), prāna[19] and death beautiful because of one’s quest for the truth while practicing compassion much like hospices, Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, and The Living/Dying Project. Theses people allow compassion to be the driving force that steers the dying and/or the dead down the righteous pathway in order to enhance one’s rebirth.
Bibliography
Chidester, David Patterns of Transcendence: Religion, Death, and Dying, 2nd ed. Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2002
Guru Rinpoche, according to Karma Lingpa The Tibetan Book of the Dead translated with commentary by: Francesca Fremantle & Chögyam Trungpa, Berkeley: Shambhala Publications Inc., 1975
“Hospice”Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 7 June 2005 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospice >
Oxford University Press Inc., The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1993
The Bhagavad Gītā translated by: Juan Mascaró, London: Penguin Books Ltd., 1962
The Official Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Web Site, 7 June 2005. <http://www.elisabethkublerross.com/pages/Quotes.html>
VIDEO
[1]David Chidester Patterns of Transcendence: Religion, Death, and Dying, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2002), p. 122. The Bardo Thötröl is also known as the Liberation by Hearing in the Other World, which is one of six guides to liberation.
[2] Guru Rinpoche The Tibetan Book of the Dead, (London: Shambhala Publications Inc., 1975), p. xix. “Samjñā” is the Tibetan word for “perception”.
[3] Guru Rinpoche The Tibetan Book of the Dead, (London: Shambhala Publications Inc., 1975), p. 165.
In the Glossary of the text, the word “Dharma” is referred as truth and/or the basic elements or realities.
[4] Oxford University Press Inc., The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: Thumb Index Edition, Vol. 1, A-M (New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1993), p. 458
[5] Guru Rinpoche The Tibetan Book of the Dead, (London: Shambhala Publications Inc., 1975), p. 55. In the Glossary of the text, the word “Dharmakāya” is referred as ‘“the body of truth”, the absolute Buddha nature.’”
[6] David Chidester Patterns of Transcendence: Religion, Death, and Dying, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2002), p. 122
[7] David Chidester Patterns of Transcendence: Religion, Death, and Dying, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2002), p. 124. The word “Bardo” means the gap between the living and the dead. In the text, the word “Bardo” is referred to as “any state of consciousness that was other than the reality experienced by ordinary waking consciousness”.
[8] Guru Rinpoche The Tibetan Book of the Dead, (London: Shambhala Publications Inc., 1975), p. 30.
[9] The Bhagavad Gītā (London: Penguin Books Ltd., 1962), p. 25.
[10] “Hospice”Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 7 June 2005 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospice > “Hospice care most often occurs in the dying person’s home. It is also provided in free-standing hospice units, and (more rarely) within regular hospital units. More than a place, hospice care is a philosophy. It is characterized by concern for symptom relief, general well-being, and spiritual/existential comfort for the dying”.
[11] I use the past tense because Dr. Kübler-Ross pasted away on August 24th, 2004.
[12] The Official Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Web Site, June 2005. http://www.elisabethkublerross.com/pages/Quotes.html (7 June 2005).
[13] David Chidester Patterns of Transcendence: Religion, Death, and Dying, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2002), p. 248
[14] Guru Rinpoche The Tibetan Book of the Dead, (London: Shambhala Publications Inc., 1975), p. 73. In the Glossary of the text, the word “bodhisattva” is referred as “a future buddha who has vowed to help all sentient beings rather than enjoy the state of enlightenment for himself alone.” (p.165)
[15] Video in class (I’ll get the Name)
[16] David Chidester Patterns of Transcendence: Religion, Death, and Dying, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2002), p. 123.
[17] David Chidester Patterns of Transcendence: Religion, Death, and Dying, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2002), p. 124.
[18] David Chidester Patterns of Transcendence: Religion, Death, and Dying, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2002), p. 123.
[19] Guru Rinpoche The Tibetan Book of the Dead, (London: Shambhala Publications Inc., 1975), p. 52. In the Glossary of the text, the word “dharmatā” is referred as “the essence of reality”. (p.166) On page 167 in the Glossary, the word “prāna” is referred to as the “energy or life-force, the bearer of mind and consciousness.
