The Tibetan Book of the Dead — ed. W. Y. Evans-Wentz

Be not distracted. The line of demarcation between Buddhas and sentient beings lieth herein.! This moment is one of great importance; if thou shouldst be distracted now, it will require innumerable aeons of time for thee to come out? of the Quagmire of Misery.

A saying, the truth of which is applicable, is:

‘In a moment of time, a marked differentiation is created ;
In a moment of time, Perfect Enlightenment is obtained.’

Till the moment which hath just passed, all this Bardo hath been dawning upon thee and yet thou hast not recognized, because of being distracted. On this account, thou hast experienced all the fear and terror. Shouldst thou become distracted now, the chords of divine compassion of the Compassionate I‘yes will break, and thou wilt go into the place from which there is no [immediate] liberation, Therefore, be careful. Even though thou hast not recognized ere this—despite thus being set face to face—thou wilt recognize and obtain liberation here.

[Instructions to the Officiant]: If it be an illiterate boor who knoweth not how to meditate, then say this:

O nobly-born, if thou knowest not how thus to meditate, act so as to remember the Compassionate One, and the Sangha, the Dharma, and the Buddha, and pray. Think of all these fears and terrifying apparitions as being thine own tutelary deity, or as the Compassionate One.* Bring to thy recollection the mystic name that hath been given thee at the time karmic, act as divine tests, and so, being for the good of the deccased, ought even to be visualized as such, i.e, as the tutelary deity, or as Chenrazee.

1 In virtue of knowing the true nature of sangsarvic existence—that all phenomena are unreal—Buddhas, or Perfectly Enlightened Ones, are beings quite apart from unenlightened sentient beings.

2 Lit., ‘there will be no time when thou canst get out’.

3 This is a literal rendering, meaning that the rays of grace or compassion of Chenrazee will cease to dawn.

* The idea meant to be conveyed is that trials and tribulations, although

PART I] THE INITIATORY NAME 169

of thy sacred initiation when thou wert a human being, and the name of thy guru, and tell them to the Righteous King of the Lord[s] of Death.) Even though thou fallest down precipices, thou wilt not be hurt. Avoid awe and terror.

[THE ALL-DETERMINING INFLUENCE
OF THOUGHT]

[Instructions to the Officiant]: Say that; for by such setting-face-to-face, despite the previous non-liberation, liberation ought surely to be obtained? here. Possibly, [however,} liberation may not be obtained even after that setting-faceto-face ; and earnest and continued application being essential, again calling the deceased by name, speak as follows:

here. Possibly, [however,} liberation may not be obtained even after that setting-faceto-face ; and earnest and continued application being essential, again calling the deceased by name, speak as follows:

O nobly-born, thy immediate experiences will be of momentary joys followed by momentary sorrows, of great intensity, like the [taut and relaxed] mechanical actions of catapults? Be not in the least attached [to the joys] nor displeased [by the sorrows] of that.

If thou art to be born on a higher plane, the vision of that higher plane will be dawning upon thee.

Thy living relatives may—by way of dedication for the benefit of thee deceased—be sacrificing many animals, and performing religious ceremonies, and giving alms. Thou,

1 This revealing of the initiatory name is for the purpose of establishing occult connexion between the deceased and the King of Death—i.e, between the human and the divine in man—in much the same way as a Freemason will make himself known to another Freemason by giving some secret password.

2 Lit., ‘ will be obtained’.

8 That is to say, at one time good karma will be operative and raise the deceased to a spiritual state of mind, and at another time, bad karma becoming predominant, the deceased will be pulled down in mental depression. The operator of the catapult is Zara, who stretches out the catapult to its limit and then relaxes it, alternately.

4 Each time an animal is sacrificed—presumably to be prepared for food afterwards—the deceased is said to be unable to escape the karmzc result, the sacrifice being done in his name, so that horrors come upon him directly. He calls to the living to cease, but, they not hearing him, he is inclined to grow angry; and anger he must avoid at all costs, for if allowed to arise on the Bardo-pliane, like a heavy weight, it forces him down to the lowest mental state called Hell.

Animal sacrifice to the dead, in Tibet as in India, originated in ancient times, far prior to the rise of Buddhism, which, of course, prohibits it, Survivals of it

3069 Zp. 170 because of thy vision not being purified, mayst be inclined to grow very angry at their actions and bring about, at this moment, thy birth in Hell: whatever those left behind thee may be doing, act thou so that no angry thought can arise in thee, and meditate upon love for them.

Furthermore, even if thou feelest attached to the worldly goods thou hast left behind, or, because of seeing such worldly goods of thine in the possession of other people and being enjoyed by them, thou shouldst feel attached to them through weakness, or feel angry with thy successors, that feeling will affect the psychological moment in such a way that, even though thou wert destined to be born on higher and happier planes, thou wilt be obliged to be born in Hell, or in the world of prezas [or unhappy ghosts]. On the other hand, even if thou art attached to worldly goods left behind, thou wilt not be able to possess them, and they will be of no use to thee. Thercfore, abandon weakness and attachment for them; cast them away wholly; renounce them from thy heart. No matter who may be enjoying thy worldly goods, have no feeling of miserliness, but be prepared to renounce them willingly. Think that thou art offering them to the Precious Trinity and to thy guru, and abide in the feeling of unattachment, devoid of weakness [of desire].

have persisted in Tibet, but without the approval of the /amas, as our text clearly proves; and, if practised nowadays, it is only rarely, and by the rude folk of remote districts, who are Buddhist merely in name.

Save for the yogi or lama eager for the highest spiritual development—with which flesh-eating is said to be incompatible —Tibetans, being confirmed eaters of animal corpses, like the Brahmins of Kashmir (who are, consequently, not recognized as Brahmins by the pure-living Brahmins of India), excuse their meat-eating on the grounds of climatic and economic necessity. Although Tibet is poor in cereals and vegetables and fruits, this seems to be chiefly an unconscious attempt to cover up a racial predisposition, inherited from nomadic and pastoral ancestors, for a flesh diet. Even in Ceylon, where there can be no such excuse for Buddhists to disobey the precept prohibiting the taking of life, flesh-eating has already made rapid progress since the advent of Christianity, which, unlike Buddhism, does not, unfortunately, teach kindness to animals as a religious tenet, St. Paul himself being of opinion that God cares not for oxen (see z Cor. ix.g), And yet on Ceylon’s Sacred Mount of Mihintale still stands, as witness of a purer Buddhism, the ancient edict, cut on a stone slab, prohibiting—as the Edicts of Asoka prohibit—the slaying of any animal, either in sacrifice or for food.

rae!) TEE DIRECTING OF THOUGHT rj