Lama Yeshe - Life, Death and After Death

Lama Yeshe

With an Introductory Teaching byLama Zopa Rinpoche

Edited by Nicholas Ribush

May whoever sees, touches, reads, remembers, or talksor thinks about this book never be reborn in unfortunatecircumstances, receive only rebirths in situations conducive to theperfect practice of Dharma, meet only perfectly qualified spiritualguides, quickly develop bodhicitta and immediately attainenlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.

Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive Boston
www.LamaYeshe.com

A non-profit charitable organization for the benefitof all sentient beings and an affiliate of the Foundation for thePreservation of the Mahayana Tradition
www.fpmt.org

Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive
PO Box 636, Lincoln, MA 01773, USA
Please do not reproduce any part of this book by any meanswhatsoever without our permission.
Copyright Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche 2011

Cover photograph by Ueli Minder Cover line art byRobert Beer
Interior photographs, Geneva 1983, by Ueli Minder
Cover designed by Gopa & Ted2 Inc.

Ebook ISBN 978-1-891868-44-3
LDAD-2018

Bringing you the teachings of Lama Yeshe and LamaZopa Rinpoche

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LIFE, DEATH AND AFTER DEATH

Part 1: Lama Zopa Rinpoche

For Lama Yeshe, 1983 was a typically busy year oftravel and teaching. Tragically, it was also his last. Italy,Spain, Italy again, India, America, France, Sweden, back to Italy,Switzerland, and finally, India and Nepal. The teachings in thisbook were Lamas last in the West; poignantly, a weekend seminar ondeath in Geneva.

For years, Lama had been telling us he would diesoon, but he didnt, and his seemingly boundless energy and joie devivre in the face of his serious heart disease and theunthinkability of his no longer being around lulled most of us intoa state of denial. So when he would say things like his final wordsat this seminar, you can write me; Im not going to disappearimmediately, those were the statements we liked to rely on. Well,five months later Lama gave us his most direct teaching onimpermanence when he did disappear once and for all. But at leasthe lives on in his books, audio and video, and we at the LYWA aredoing our best to preserve Lamas wisdom and make it available toall.

The organizers of the Geneva seminar videoed theevent and we have issued this footage on a DVD also entitledLife, Death and After Death. And as we had a video of Lamateaching on transference of consciousness at the time of death inLondon the previous year, we have included that in this book and onthe DVD as well. Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave a general talk during theGeneva seminar; we open the book with that.

Hence this book has three parts: Rinpochesintroductory lecture, Lamas teaching on the death process, andLamas 1982 talk on transference of consciousness.

I would like to thank Wendy Cook and Jennifer Barlowfor their kind editorial suggestions. We hope you enjoy this freebook and will also get the DVD to derive even more benefit fromthese teachings.

Introductory Teaching: Finding Peace in EverydayLife
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Geneva 1983

The happiness we desire, the suffering we do notwant, the happiness we try to get, the suffering we try toeliminate all come from the mindnot from somebody elses mind butfrom our own.

For example, how does the everyday, unwantedsuffering that we try to prevent come from our own mind? It arisesbecause our mind is not under our control; were under the controlof our mind, which in turn is under the control of our disturbingthoughts. This is the mistake we make. We allow our mind to becontrolled by the inner enemy; we offer the victory to thedisturbing thoughts, we always give liberation to the disturbingthoughtsignorance, dissatisfaction, anger and selfishness. Insteadof defeating and trying to get freedom from them we give themcomplete freedom and take defeat upon ourselves. Thats the wholeproblem. Thats it. Thats our everyday life.

If we make an effort to put our disturbing thoughtsunder the control of our mind, well find happiness and peace inour everyday life and our unwanted suffering will cease. But aslong as we allow ourselves to be controlled by our disturbingthoughts, well always experience problems and suffering.

If we want peace of mind in our everyday life, theneven if we cant renounce ourself and completely single-pointedlycherish other sentient beings, if we cant change that much, atleast we should practice equanimity, understanding that we andother sentient beings are exactly equal in not desiring even theslightest discomfort and not being happy and satisfied. In this,were exactly equal.

The tantric teaching, Guru Puja, explains thatsimply knowing or understanding the words of the teachings is notenoughthe purpose of the words is that they be put into practice.If we dont practice what we know, we will not experience peace ofmind. So here, if we cant practice exchanging ourself forothersrenouncing ourself and completely cherishing other sentientbeingswe should at least try to practice equanimity.

Its very logical. If you check carefully, you willsee that you yourself, your family, friends and workmates,everybody in the country and indeed all sentient beings are allexactly equal in wanting happiness and not wanting suffering.Therefore theres not the slightest reason that your own happinessand freedom from suffering are more important than anybodyelses.

First, think of your spouse and somebody you hate,your enemy: theyre exactly equal. You cant find a single reasonto prove that the freedom from suffering and happiness of theperson you love are more important than those of the person whodisturbs you. Then think in the same way about the rest of yourfamily, your workmates, the people in your society, your country,the whole earth, and then all the other sentient beings. Theyreall exactly equal, even though they speak different languages,dress differently and have different colored skins. Howeverdifferent they are, theyre exactly the same in this.