Pang Mipham Gönpo, the 80-year-old man who didn’t give up
Pandit Vairochana and Pang Mipham Gonpo the old man
A tale of Vairochana (aka Berotsana བཻ་རོ་ཙ་ན་, bai ro tsa na) and Pang Mipham Gönpo (spang mi pham mgon po)
After returning to Tibet, the learned pandit Vairochana was eventually sent into exile to East Tibet; there he taught Yudra Nyingpo, Sangtön Yeshe Lama and the old man Mipham Gönpo before the Buddhist Tibetan King Trisong Detsen summoned him back to Lhasa. Vairochana was a great translator and contemporary of Guru Padmasambhava. Pang Mipham Gönpo became a student of Vairochana when he was already eighty (80) years old. Although 80 years old, Mipham Gönpo’s mind was very determined to use the rest of his life to gain higher states of realisations before his death. He was not going to let his ageing body become an obstacle toward his spiritual goals. Mipham Gönpo realised he had wasted most of his life on ordinary secular affairs and now, only death awaited. But he was not going to wait for death empty-handed. Now at the precipice of death, he was going to do something meaningful. Upon meeting his famous teacher pandit Vairochana, Mipham Gönpo requested for Dharma sincerely and decided to practise strongly and consistently.
Due to his age and his weak body, he couldn’t keep his back straight and his head upright for many hours. But still, he was determined to do so with the help of a wooden stick to support his chin. The stick extended to the ground in order to keep his head up during meditations and chanting. While practising diligently for many hours every single day with a wooden stick as a ‘meditation support’, he gained realisation and ultimately attained the rainbow body. He attained the realisation of emptiness and bodhicitta, thus securing his freedom from death, bardo and the endless rounds of rebirths. His faith in his teacher, his determination to practise and not allow physical obstacles like old age affect his resolution to practise, resulted in him attaining the highest level of concentration. He released himself from samsara and thus, he would never take rebirth again in suffering.
Mipham Gönpo did not use old age, pain or weakness of the body as an excuse not to practise dharma and engage in meditation. He diligently found ways to pursue his meditations even though physically, it was extremely difficult for him. He knew that if he lost this chance, he would not meet this opportunity again because an uncontrolled rebirth does not guarantee a happy rebirth of meeting the Dharma again. We need to realise that as long as we don’t have control of our rebirth, whatever we have done in this life (including the little Dharma practice we did) is not enough and therefore, we should not rest in the mind of laziness of not doing more. Laziness can manifest by telling ourselves we are too old to practise or that it’s too painful or too inconvenient and we end up wasting our time doing nothing. This is because we are using old age to express laziness. We have to realise this truth. But whether you practise or not, you will still get old, be in a situation you are in pain or inconvenienced, or that all you do is to just eat, sleep, sit up or walk around. What’s one more activity that adds to our inconvenience but has much higher benefits? So why don’t we do an extra favour to ourselves by practising the Dharma (chanting, meditation, watching Dharma videos, listening to audio Dharma books, circumambulations, prostrations, cleaning temples, reciting the sutras, mantras, prayers, offerings, taking vows, being vegetarian, giving up intoxicants, etc.)?
Another depiction of Pang Mipham Gonpo. Click on image to enlarge.
After all, what is left in our old age but to waste more time being ‘comfortable’ for our withering bodies while we wait for death and then we experience further suffering in future rebirths? We shouldn’t do that. Instead, we should be determined regardless of how old we are and how difficult it is to practise the Dharma, because with Dharma we are ultimately ensuring less difficulties for the future.
Old age can be an inspiration for a realisation that we are near death and that we must do as much meaningful preparation daily by Dharma as we can with great determination, and that is true wisdom. Old age can be used to further our habituated lazy minds not to do more because we are inconvenienced and we are weak. That is pure laziness and wrong view. Maybe we cannot do as much as a younger person, but we still can do what we are capable of, which is still beneficial. When we were younger, most of us made excuses not to practise the Dharma. By not practising the Dharma, our body discomforts did not become less, so why not practise the Dharma as shown to us by Mipham Gönpo?
When we are children, we should make preparations to be good adults; when we are adults, we should make preparations and provisions for our old age. When we are old, we should make preparations for our future lives. We should use the last phase of our life to be determined to do even more Dharma. Tell ourselves, “No matter how old, slow or sick I am, I will still do Dharma because Dharma can be done with the mind. Even if it is just reciting thousands of mantras each day, I will do so.” Being vegetarian, giving up intoxicants, watching more Dharma videos, reciting more mantras, giving up anger, generating patience and being an inspiration to people around us can be done even if we are very old and sick because we use our minds for these thoughts most of the time. Our mind does not need the body to be determined because determination is a state of mind and nothing to do with the body. We can still do plenty of Dharma with our minds. By giving up these attachments before death, we prepare ourselves to have less attachments in our next immediate life and have less to battle with. It’s a head-start!
Think, “I will use my mind to control my body and not the reverse.” When we are old, we are nearer to our next rebirth so the more attachments we let go of, the easier it is not to have them in our immediate future rebirth because we don’t carry these attachments over. They are left behind. This is logical because we are nearer to our next rebirth when we are old, so it is better to let go and not carry over these attachments to the next life and battle the same attachments again. Let go of the baggage before our big journey and at our next destination, we will have less to deal with. We can really benefit ourselves that way.
Do not use old age as an excuse to be comfortable and laze around because death, bardo and rebirth is around the corner literally. In fact, since we are of advanced age, we should lessen or eradicate most of our attachments and put all of our energies into our sadhanas, meditations, Dharma reading, audio Dharma books, mantras and purification practices. In this way when we die, we go out with a ‘positive bang’, as the saying goes. Then we know death will be without fear. As we die, we will chant our mantras and focus on the Buddha or our teacher because our samaya is clean and ask them to bless us. We will enter bardo and not take rebirth in the three lower realms (hungry ghosts, animal and hells) because of the blessings of our Dharma practice. When we enter the bardo or the intermediate state between death and rebirth, it will not be a frightening experience. We may even see our meditational deity or protector come to us in the bardo to assist us towards a good rebirth. Then, when we are finally entering a womb to take rebirth, we will be entering a new strong body and be ready to continue our spiritual journey. In our new body, we will have less attachments, we are aware, we are spiritually prepared and we, immediately at a young age, will know what we want and look for the Dharma, a teacher and to practise. We won’t have to waste decades till we find the Dharma again. We are born a powerfully spiritual person ready to continue on towards enlightenment and relieving the sufferings of others.
That is how we should be inspired by Mipham Gönpo. We should never use old age or be of any age to procrastinate or waste time indulging in the senses because nothing positive will come of it.
The 80-year-old Mipham Gönpo listened to his teacher and achieved the highest meditative realisations at the last stage of his life and we can too. We definitely can.
Tsem Rinpoche
84 Mahasiddhas: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=23941
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This is a very inspirational article. Most people will always find excuse not to practise dharma. But what we didn’t realise is that excuses are in fact our negative habit of laziness. Mipham Gonpo showed us that even at his old age of 80 and with fragile physical body he can still practice dharma and achieve realisation. It is because of his determination and trust to his Guru. While sometimes we may think that we need to endure difficulties through the practise but if we can think at a bigger picture and far sighted, we are not doing it for this life but for future lives, then the level of importance is very different and in fact it become very necessary for us to practise dharma now. Thank you Rinpoche for this teaching and reminder.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thanks for sharing such beautiful and inspiring article with us and keep on remind us the important of practicing Dharma. Many of younger peoples are saying they are no much time to do Dharma works, practicing Dharma, chanting, meditating ect; they always say this things only can do after they retire or at the old age. From the article we know that actually during our old age, there will me more physical obstacles to us to practicing Dharma.
Salute to Pang Mipham Gönpo who never give up even in age 80 years old. His determination make all things happen by using many ways to support his chanting and meditation. Hence Pang Mipham Gönpo finally he attained the realization of emptiness and bodhicitta, thus securing his freedom from death, bardo and the endless rounds of rebirths even at the age 80 years old.
The trust and faith to his Guru is the key, hence through the faith to his Guru he get the blessing to continue his practice and last get the results.
Thanks Rinpoche again for keep on reminding us to practice Dharma to improve our current life and the most important to prepare our future life times.
It is amazing to read about how the weak 80-year-old man, Mipham Gönpo achieved his highest spiritual realizations before his death.
His achievement has inspired all of us. His following strong qualities of life have motivated and shown us the right way to achieve our spiritual goal.
INITIATIVE:
With Mipham Gonpo’s karma and blessing, he met the great teacher, pandit Vairochana and he has taken this opportunity to request to be his student and upon being accepted he has practiced his Dharma sincerely, strongly and consistently without any excuse. He knew that if he lost this chance, he may not have another anymore because an uncontrolled rebirth does not guarantee a rebirth meeting Dharma again.
TRUST & FAITH
As pandit Vairochana’s student he has shown his full trust and faith in his teacher.
The 80-year-old Mipham Gönpo did not use age and body weakness as an excuse, but listened and followed his Guru’s teachings until he achieved the highest meditative realizations at the last stage of his life.
DETERMINATION & PERSEVERANCE
Although at the age 80 with physical weakness, Pang Mipham Gönpo’s is determined to use the rest of his life to gain higher states of realization.
It is very inspiring reading about the hardship he has gone through to achieve his spiritual goal. Because of his weak body, he used a wooden stick to support his chin in order to keep his back straight and head upright during meditation and chanting and practicing diligently for many hours every single day. Laziness does not exist in him. It is not easy to achieve this unless you have full determination and perseverance.
With his determined mind, Pang Mipham Gönpo has successfully achieved his goal.
His never-give-up attitude and perseverance have finally help him to gain his realization and ultimately attained the rainbow body. He released himself from samsara and would never take rebirth again in suffering.
There are so much that I have learned and to follow. Never use age, body pain and weakness as an obstacle and excuse.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this inspiring article on Mipham Gönpo’s highest attainment of his spiritual path.
Pang Mipham Gonpo story really is true aspiration for many of us don’t find excuss not practicing dharma even in the old age. His acheivement inpire people by putting effect and never give up dharma practice.
Realiasing old age is closer to death, we should give up all the wordly attaäment and focusing for our future life. Wise using our life and not wasting time create more suffering trap in the samsara life after life. I am gladful to meet Rinpoche has giving precious dharma to help me for my spirhtual practice.
“But he was not going to wait for death empty-handed. ” I find this sentence most impactful to the reason why whatever our age it is imperative for us to use our days being alive to prepare for the inevitable, DEATH. Everyone knows and affirms that on death we can take nothing that we have gained in solid material forms during our time alive. What we take along with us is our KARMA. The only inheritance which each of us will carry through our lives past, present and future.
The only positive development of this inheritance which is our KARMA is to practice the Dharma within the framework of our current Human Life in order to purify existing negative Karma and accumulate positive karma.
As shown by an 80 Year old Man, Pang Mipham Gonpo, let there be more excuses for us to create peace and happiness now and purify as much of our negativities now to have a better rebirth to continue our quest for enlightenment.
It is with great appreciation to my Root Guru, H.E. Tsem Rinpoche for teaching me constantly on the urgency of my spiritual practice.
While reading this article, it came to my mind that if we did not prepare ourselves well for the next journey(next life) from the beginning of the life, old age will be last chance for the preparation provided we are still alive the next minutes, next day, next week and next…… sound scary. Started to realised mind training is so important. We always let laziness to control us instead of we control it, such a dangerous stage.
We think we can’t do much because of old age but actually was the last time for us to put everything aside and only focus on spiritual practive all the way to enlightenment and this move is the most powerful one with realised that death is certain and no notification given. Get ready to go on this for all those you think you are old.
Thank you Rinpoche for your compassionate and wisdom teaching.
This is a very good article to remind us to practice Dharma no matter what age we are. Pastor Henry gave a very good example in our previous discussion, saying: “We are happy and nervous when there are big event coming, like holidays, wedding, birthday celebrations, and we prepare for it. Isn’t death big enough? Why don’t we start preparing it now?” How? Only through practicing Dharma we can prepare for our death. No matter what age we are at, we don’t know when we will die. Of course, as age gain, we are steps closer to death, that is without sickness and accident. But as a human, when do we know when there is accident and sickness strike us? Always be prepared and always practicing Dharma is a good solution. We human, always believe and tend to listen to good news only, but always refuse to listen to bad news. But bad news always strike us without giving notice, it’s because we are not prepared.
Such an inspiring article and yes I agree that old age is not an excuse for us to not learn and practise the Dharma which we very well know the benefit of it. Learning and practising the Dharma will only bring us goodness and better future lives and eventually gain enlightenment which is our ultimate goal.
It is always inspiring to learn from all the great masters. Such dedication and persistency in order to gain higher attainments and get out of samsara. This story shows that nothing can stop what you want to achieve when we have great determination of the mind. And how embarrassing it is to learn that even an 80 year old can do it. The mind doesn’t age, only the body hence we should stop giving stupid excuses in order to feed our lazy mind which in the long run only lead to more unwanted habituations. Walk, talk, breath, sleep, think only Dharma!
Practicing dharma had no boundaries when we show care, concern in our heart towards others without any expectation or purpose. As we know, death is always near us like a timing bombs, hence we must always prepare ourselves when the day have come. Therefore, we shouldn’t give excuses on our failure for it will become habits and later imprint into our mind. Being failure is not big deal, as long as you learn, change, retry and transform.
Thank you, Rinpoche for your kind advice and reminding. ??
This exemplary result reflects one’s determination is the most important ingredient for success, not the body or age. Although being old and weak does play a part but the most important aspect of one’s success and failures really depends on one’s mind. I must say the inspiration Pang Mipham Gönpo brings to many is massive. Thank you Rinpoche for this inspiring post.
Inspiring read of a 80years old man…Pang Mipham Gönpo . Realising death is near , he decided to make use the rest of his life meaningful to gain higher states of realisations. He met the learned pandit Vairochana and become his student. Wow …so determined with his weak body and the aid of a stick to support him , he gained realization by practising diligently and having faith of his teacher. Mipham Gönpo has show us an example that we should not use old age, pain or weakness of the body as an excuse not to practise dharma and engage in meditation. Regardless of our age and how difficult it is to practise the Dharma we must not give up, go all the way. By letting go our attachments before death, learning and practicing Dharma is the right choice.
I am glad coming across Rinpoche’s blog about Buddhism , learning and practicing ., spending my time meaningfully before my time is up.
Thank you Rinpoche for this inspiring article and profound teachings not to waste our time .
“Old age can be an inspiration for a realisation that we are near death and that we must do as much meaningful preparation daily by Dharma as we can with great determination, and that is true wisdom.”
The above sentence is spot on and truly inspirational and it sums up everything in this article. Thank you, Rinpoche, for your compassionate teaching and in sharing your great wisdom.
???
If not now, WHEN? – Tsem Rinpoche
This quote from Tsem Rinpoche strike me strongly since the very first day when I’ve read it & registered in my mind.
I’ve started my journey to the path of enlightenment with the guidance of H.E.Tsem Tulku Rinpoche at Kechara since 2016, when I’m 23 years old, when I’ve just graduated from university.
I’m truly grateful & I’ve no idea what great deeds I’ve done in my previous lives that allow me to tap into Dharma in such a young age and able to accept many concepts of Buddha’s teachings without difficulty compared to many other individuals. Many of my friends and individuals who are at my age are now hunting for many life goals that are moulded by the society & enforced by our culture and it seem odd when I’m standing among them as I’m “different”.
Death is certain but WHEN is not. – Tsem Rinpoche
What are we chasing & striving to achieve now DAILY are going to suck us into the whirlpool deeper & deeper. Status, wealth, power, fame, sex, fun and many other desires are going to chain & lock us up silently and control us.
Through these years of engaging & practicing the teaching of Buddha, I’ve gradually released part of my attachment & understand the consequences of not letting go of whatever within the samsara. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible..
I wish many people who are going to read this article to be inspired by Pang Mipham Gönpo, the 80-year-old man who didn’t give up, free from suffering and its causes, never be separated from sorrowless bliss, and abide in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger.
Thanks for Rinpoche ‘s sharing. This is really inspiring story. Physical limitations should not be the excuse of our spiritual growth and practice. We should always be alert death are around corner, we need cherish the opportunity by guided by our guru to do Dharma activities to get preparation of our next rebirth. Just as per Pang Mipham Gonpo mention “if miss this chance, we cannot guarantee will meet the Dharma again due to uncontrollable rebirth “.
This is an inspiring article of Pang Mipham Gönpo realise the important to spend his remaining time to practice dharma for his future life. Even though at the age of 80 Mipham Gönpo just work it out to pursue all the way. He finds ways to do his practice instead of excuse not to do it. His motivation is pure and his determination is strong. He really shows a great example of what we should focus in our life especially when it comes to old age. Regardless of our age, what important is our mind as it carry along to next life and from next life we continue with the same mind. Our body will betray us, just the matter of time. But our mind will move on with us. It’s important to nurture our mind in the right way so in our future life we will continue to do the right thing again.
They will never a right time because we always find reason not to do. The only right time is NOW and the earlier we start our Dharma work the earlier we benefited and the more causes we created for our future for us to be easier and faster to continue from. If now we keep running from doing Dharma work, we are not creating the cause to meet it again instead we created the cause to be away in future.
It’s easy to say than do but Mipham Gönpo shows what he can do and how much he values Dharma. We will come to his age and do we want to follow his footstep to start doing Dharma at the age of 80 or to start earlier as we know the benefit and we can learn more and transform more if we start early.
This is a beautiful and truly inspiring story. It is a powerful example of what our minds can achieve, if we are resolute enough. Pang Mipham Gönpo’s determination to obtain realization is truly inspiring. Really makes one put our pillow higher and think twice why we keep saying cannot regardless of age. Thank you Rinpoche and writers for this very motivational and beautiful story. ??????
This story indeed puts me to shame. Mipham Gönpo became a student of Vairochana when he’s 80 and yet because of his determination to gain higher states of realisations before his death, he attained the rainbow body. Recently, a minister said he dares not lax because his boss, Tun Mahathir, the 93-year-old Prime Minister of Malaysia works hard even at his age and arrived early in the office, they have no excuse not to follow suit. This is what these examples are, solid proof that I cannot refute, and no excuses not to practise or being indolent.
Due to my wrong view and having heard the Dharma, words that are supposed to scare me, such as lower realms, death have lost their effect in semantic satiation. However, witnessing the passing away of few close relatives in the past few years alerted me about my own end. There are many many things that I need to fix and time is short and I don’t know how short is short.
Kadampa Geshe Kamaba said:
How good that old age comes bit by bit!
It would be impossible to take if it came on all at once.
I am not ready for old age, definitely not ready for death. I had a dream that I am old once, and when I woke up, it scared me to think about the loss of mobility, declining faculties, and it will be harder to do any Dharma practice, especially those involving physical activities. I can imagine the mantal anguish if I were to suddenly pass away.
My Lama has kindly reminded many of us of our end, and regularly send us reminder through quotes, short video clips, and real-life examples of people we know, yet my mind, hard as rock, inched very little, living in ignorance that there’s time. Rinpoche has counselled me and many others countless hours, sharing from holy texts, told stories about great masters of the past, narrated his experience with the attained masters of Gaden that Rinpoche lived with and many more. I am very grateful to my Lama, who tirelessly, with various creative methods, think of ways to lead a horse to the water, and then try to make it drink. Sometimes, I think the sheer stubborn, ego-clinging mind of mine leaves my Lama exasperated, but Rinpoche doesn’t give up on anyone. However, that doesn’t mean I can live in the false pretense that I will be ok because even my Lama cannot take away my karma, and I have to work on it.
Rinpoche has kindly reminded me of where I am going if I do not work hard to change my negative habituation, as it doesn’t take a psychic or clairvoyant master to see how little merit I accumulate compared to the store of negative karma waiting to tsunami over. Self-preserving attitude does not serve me well, and definitely won’t serve me at my time of death. Masks that I wear to build a facade of a nice person cannot escape the mirror reflecting the deeds and misdeeds I have done. My greatest enemy is not outside, it is within, and I have been lazy. There is only one thing that I must tell myself, that is the decision and determination to make a change, and this is the only thing that will make a difference, and the only way to “account for” all the kindness that I have received and not to waste the opportune condition that I still have right now to mere complacency of staying alive, without really living.Thank you again Rinpoche for this great example, and another wake up call.
Pang Mipham Gönpo is someone who had given us the reality that it is possible to practice no matter what age as long as we are determined and believed in what we do. At eighty, that is if people lived to that nowadays, most would be just filling their days with food, sleep, chasing tv programmes or maybe help to look after their grandchildren. Very few would pursue further learning such as Mipham. He really serves as an inspiration that as long we are really determined and focused, time is not a factor. I still remember Rinpoche asking us to memorize these quote daily that if we really want to, we can overcome anything but if we don’t then we will find excuses. Even suffering from old age of not able to keep his body straight, he thought of ways to succeed instead of giving up. Hence the walking stick to hold his chin and head up.
Reading stories like Mipham shames me that I don’t even have half his resolve that despite obstacles, he gains his way out of sufferings. It really shows my lack in real Dharma practice and how much I need to contemplate on the positive rather than the negative. Also, Mipham reminds me of the other practitioner who was also 80 who had sought Buddha after he was told he does not have the merits to practice. Buddha looked into his past and saw that he did have a minute amount as a fly who accidentally circumambulated a Stupa on a cow dung during a rainstorm. He too, gain realizations with perseverance and faith.
When we have such a precious Guru with us, we really need to contemplate and never see anything ordinary but as the Buddha that Rinpoche is. No one really has the luxury of time when it comes to practice, to gain the attainments to bring us out of samsara. To be able to practice is a state that we put ourselves in and not waiting for others to create it for us. There will never be a good or perfect time to practice. Death could just come at any time and once that happens, it will be too late, which is why to practice with urgency is so important for how can we be sure to be ready for death? Even at my age, many are facing health issues and so why do we always think we have the luxury of time? Thank you, Rinpoche for your constant care although I am a nobody to you. It would have been simpler to just let me go when I am nothing but trouble for Rinpoche and a constant creation of problems for Rinpoche’s family. This is the compassion that Rinpoche has for us. May we all practice as Mipham did in not wasting our lives but instead to give ourselves the chance to succeed. May Rinpoche live long in good health.
Mipham Gönpo is already 80 years old when he met with his guru. He had lived his live chasing on ordinary secular affairs and now he is only waiting for his death. Fortunately, he has the merit to meet with his Guru, Pandit Vairochana who taught him the Dharma. He was determined to use the rest of his life to practice and gain higher realisations. His old and weak body was giving him problems and because he could not straighten his back and keep his head upright for many hours. Hence, he resorted to having a stick extended from the ground to his chin to support his head during meditations and chanting. He used the stick as a meditational support. His hard work and determination paid off when he gained realisation and attained the rainbow body. He did not let obstacles to be his downfall in his practice and this led him to attain the realisation of emptiness and Bodhichitta.
It is very inspiring to see examples from these beings because they had proven that anything is possible if we are determined enough to work for it.
Being here in Kechara especially the last few months had changed my perspective of Dharma practice greatly. I used to think that I was practising Dharma with the mantra recitations and the ringing of Vajra and Bell. Little that I know, I had not even start true Dharma practice until the last few months in my spiritual journey. Dharma practice is to change our self-destructive ways into something that can benefit ourselves and others that are around us. The way that we truly love ourselves and respect ourselves. I used to not understand when Rinpoche told me I should love and respect myself more. I understand it now. The way I was is very destructive and I am totally oblivious of it. I have hurt many people around me and most importantly my Guru. I deeply regret my harmful past actions and I wish to repent and “bounce back”. Rinpoche once told me that everyone makes mistakes, but the most important thing is to “bounce back“ fast and not stay the way we are.
A powerful teaching in this article is where Mipham Gonpo realise that death is near and he does not have much time left to practice and perhaps to make a change to his future lives. I need to think like him too. What separates me from Bardo is just one breath away. It is very scary to think about it because I will be helpless and subject to my karma without my Guru, H.E Tsem Rinpoche and Dorje Shugden. I am very fortunate to meet with a very qualified Guru and a very compassionate protector that will guide me well if I do my practice well. Rinpoche advised us to do a short death meditation every single day and we will be able to see a change in our actions. When we visualise it that we are laying in that coffin and dirt is being thrown on top of us, we will start to think about our actions and the life that we had. What is important and what is not important cannot be clearer at that time. All the samsaric pleasures that seem to be so important last time suddenly meant nothing and the spiritual practice that we keep procrastinating suddenly became utmost important. That is why Rinpoche said this meditation that can transform our mind.
Everything in samsara will not help when I draw my last breath. This I must realise and contemplate it over and over again. Thank you, Rinpoche for sharing this inspiring story to remind all of us what we can achieve with our spiritual practice if we put our whole heart into it.
This story actually puts me to shame and makes me realise how lazy I am. An 80-year-old man can be so determined to practice the Dharma but someone half his age can’t even control her own reaction from something she does not like. It makes me realise how selfish I am because Rinpoche once explained that laziness is another form of deep-rooted selfishness and this selfishness comes from the ignorant mind that is extremely stupid. I say this because instead of making merits, I self-sabotage and burn up my merits daily from my misdeeds, for basically being too lazy to control my reactions. Instead, I allow it and I allow outside factors to control my moods, my reactions, my mind. Hence, the results of no peace of mind which I actually yearn for.
When I was young and unexposed to the Dharma, I used to think that death was nothing to be afraid of because in Christianity when we die, we get to go to heaven as long as believe in Jesus and take him as our saviour and ta-dah, you basically got yourself a ticket to paradise. What huge ridiculous wrong, ignorant view I had and I am in a way very very blessed to have actually crossed path with Rinpoche and met the Dharma. And it happened to during the time I was questioning about the subject of life and death and a part of me really thought that life sucks and I wanted that ticket to paradise. Little did I know, I would have gotten a one-way ticket to the three lower realms sooner than I could blink! So, I’m glad after discovering Buddhism, paradise is not something you will be guaranteed to enter. And in both Christianity and Buddhism, taking one’s life is a huge no-no, because one will go straight to hell. So even if you wanted to cut corners with death, you’re only fooling yourself. Luckily for me, I was never into that form of dying, Too big a chicken and there was this big “WHAT IF” at the back of mind and I know I cannot do it unless I for sure what will happen after I close my eyes. So, this big WHAT IF actually brought me to question the meaning of life and death.
So when I read this article, it made me realise that I seriously do not have much time left. I may think I’m only in my 40s but the truth is we can all go at any time, so how old a person may be, actually really does not make any difference when it comes to experiencing death. It can happen anytime and without any warning. Some can even be painful without us realising how painful we may go through death. The worst is to go with a negative state of mind. So this post is very inspirational because it tells us to wake up and stop being a lazy bump and start taking our dharma practice seriously because if an 80-year-old can do dharma, who are we to give any excuses that we cannot.
Now that I am in Dharma and when I see old folks who are not in Dharma and especially those in old folks home who are in a depression and some just waiting for death, it makes me realise how all the frivolous things we did in our life did nothing good for us. And when we are old, we are empty. Imagine if these old folks had the dharma and are surrounding by dharma environment, they would be so different. So when we see the elderly in old folk’s home versus those living in Kechara Forest Retreat, there is such a huge difference. Like what Rinpoche said before, even when you are old we can and we should still do dharma, “No matter how old, slow or sick I am, I will still do Dharma because Dharma can be done with the mind. Even if it is just reciting thousands of mantras each day, I will do so.” Because dharma is really the only thing we can take with us to our future lives. Much time has been wasted in this life, it is high-time if we truly care about ourselves and this would be the right way to if I may say so “love” ourselves instead of self-sabotaging ourselves all the time. This story is truly inspirational, I can only hope and pray that I may have enough merits to sustain and ensure that I do Dharma till the day I die.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing with us this article. Below are what I learned from Pang Mipham Gonpa’s story:
1. How an 80 years old man could still make use of his remaining short life to gain attainment is very encouraging. We always think we are old or it is too late to do something so we choose not to do it at all. But Pang Mipham Gonpa proved to us it is not true. With determination and if we strongly believe we can do it, we can achieve. We have to train ourselves to be determined and not to give up easily. Giving up easily is because of laziness, we prefer to stay in the comfort zone than going through the hardship to become better or to benefit other. We are always very self-centered but we hardly notice it.
2. Laziness is the biggest enemy of our spiritual practice. Laziness does not mean we sit around and not doing anything but just eat and sleep. Laziness is when we prefer to stay in the comfort zone and refuse to improve ourselves and to do more. Doing more does not mean we have to double the amount of the work we are currently doing but it means to do other things that can help us to gain more skill or to take on more responsibility. Not willing to take on more responsibility is also a type of laziness.
3. Pang Mipham Gonpo believed in karma and rebirth, that is why he was so eager to practice even though he was old. Knowing that he was old and was running out of time, Pang Mipham Gonpo practiced even more diligently. He pushed himself to do the practice even though it gave him a lot of discomforts. He found ways to overcome his weakness so he could practice. This is the kind of determination and strong will we must have if we want to be a real Buddhist practitioner. Since we are still a human being, it means we still have negative karma and a lot of flaws (downfalls). When we practice Dharma, we will find it difficult if our attachment to secular life and activity are very strong, there will be a constant fight within ourselves. However, we must not give up, we have to work hard until the fight within ourselves is over. Dharma is a proven solution to all our problems. If we practice Dharma the right way, we will be able to save ourselves from a lot of problems and be free from sufferings. Sometimes we are in a bad situation because of our past actions, we might think this is the end, there is no more hope but it is not. Because we are creating karma every day, so if we start to create good karma, eventually things will change for the better. We must not give up if we don’t want to end up in an extremely bad situation.
4. Pang Mipham Gonpo’s story also tells us how important it is to have a qualified guru. He was a very good student following the instructions of his guru diligently. The way he overcame his physical problem showed how sincere he was to practice. This must also have pleased his guru very much. How can a guru not giving more guidance, love, and care if the student shows such sincerity and determination? Therefore, when we are not able to challenge ourselves to step out from our comfort zone, we are actually not a sincere practitioner, even if the guru wants to give more, it will not be possible. We are stopping ourselves from getting something very good from our guru by always refusing our guru’s advice. Our guru has only one intention, i.e. to guide us in our spiritual path until enlightenment. Whatever instructions our guru gives to us is never to make us worse but to make us a better person.
5. There are always 2 choices we can make in our lives, either we want or we don’t want. In Pang Mipham Gonpo’s case, he chooses to practice Dharma despite the discomfort. Most of us when we are at his age will prefer to stay at home, watch the TV or waiting for the grandchildren to come to visit. We tend to think we have worked so hard in our whole life now it is time to relax. This wrong view is due to our ignorance, not accepting the existence of karma and rebirth. It is very easy to be born in 3 lower realms but not easy to be born in human form again. Therefore, instead of using our human lives to self-indulge, we should make use of our human life to do Dharma practice until we are free from suffering, out of Samsara.
I also remembered reading that and old man, during the time of the Mahasiddhas, was somewhat senile too. Yet he found his guru at an advanced age, and practiced diligently as a result he transformed into a 16 year old youth. He eventually became Guru Tantipa and benefitted many sentient beings.
It is also very true that uncontrolled rebirth is a dangerous existence, one can fall down into the 3 lower realms and will be very hard for one to climb up again.
Dear Rinpoche,
The Pang Mipham Gönpo’s determination to obtain realization is truly inspiring. He persevered in his effort despite his physical limitation. Please find below the points that I learned from the story:
– Although aging comes with a physical limitation, it should not be the reason for one not to practice Dharma. Pang Mipham Gönpo is an evidence that older practitioners can attain realization and free themselves from uncontrolled rebirth through perseverance and the realization of emptiness and Bodhicitta.
– Old age should be the reason to realize that our death is near, and therefore, we should use our remaining days to do meaningful preparation and eradicate our lazy minds and attachments so we don’t carry them to our future rebirth.
– To be born as a human gives precious opportunities to practice Dharma. if we do not use this opportunity to practice because we may not get this opportunity again for a long time since uncontrolled rebirth does not guarantee a happy rebirth of meeting the Dharma again.
– Faith in the teacher and determination regardless of our age are essential to obtain the result in our practice. In Pang Mipham Gönpo’s case, his faith and determination had resulted in Mipham Gönpo attaining the highest level of concentration which released him from samsara.
Thank you
Valentina
Death has been my fear since young. Not knowing dharma, I was told there were only two choices at the time of death based on Chinese culture: heaven and hell. Heaven is promised for those who never did any wrongdoing, while hell is where we go for punishments of our wrong deeds. I’ve lied and done many bad deeds and so it seems hell was my destiny. To make things worst, in the Chinese folklore religion, there is a ritual performed for the death by a practitioner where he or she will decide where the deceased would go, mostly, it was to hell. I have no control over my death nor my destiny and that made me very worried.
Since meeting the dharma, the fear of death has been replaced by the fear to be born in the three lower realms because unlike Pang Mipham Gönpo, my practice is shallow and it was just to make samsara more bearable. It was not until I get to be trained by my respected Spiritual Guide, His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche, that I realised dharma is very necessary to be put into practice wholeheartedly for the mind to be trained for the better. All the negative traits including avoidance, fear of the unknown; lack of trust, determination, conviction, consistency in the teacher and the dharma; anger, arrogance, sense of entitlement, sneakiness and etc. all surfaced very quickly for me to face, to accept, to deal with and then to let go of. It was real time dharma practice with a lot of suffering within the narrow mind that I have possessed. And these suffering is what my venerable Guru wishes to eradicate from me.
It was apparent to me that only the Guru who truly cares and sincerely wish the best for us would put the students through such intense training, intense in the sense to have to take off layers of masks we put onto ourselves for decades and to deal with our negativities and ugliness within. The first step for dharma to take its effects is when we start to willingly face ourselves honestly. We have to acknowledge that we have been living with wrong views (strive to perform non-dharma/spiritual activities), wrong sets of values (material over spiritual), wrong teachings (killing and eating animals are encouraged) and we must be ready to change and let go of them simply because they are the source of our unhappiness and suffering.
It was an overwhelming experience to first examine how my mind works and I gave up almost immediately because laziness came into play. Just like old age, laziness told me it is impossible to train the mind so why bother. Either I can train my mind quickly without efforts or I don’t train it at all. This kind of thinking comes from an extreme laziness that yields for failure and a waste of this precious human life. However, to Pang Mipham Gönpo, there is no way to fail in practising dharma.
Time is short regardless of whether we are in our childhood, early or late teens, mid-life or old age, we wake up each day heading towards death. Every birthday is a reminder that we are 1 year closer to death. While death is uncertain, we can be sure that we will reach there soon. Looking for excuses to stay the way we are, guarantee us hell and three lower realms because these are the places we go when our mind is untrained, attached and full of negativities. We do not know anything better apart from what we do in this life which we have to leave behind when we die. Instead of fearing to be reborn in the three lower realms, dharma lead us to a happier and lighter state of mind when our activities focus mainly on helping others. Through helping others, we heal ourselves. Through the guidance of our Spiritual Guide, we fearlessly walk the path to Buddhahood because we have a walking dharma who shows us the results of actualising dharma.
Buddha Shakyamuni has long gone into nirvana over 2,500 years ago. Although the dharma texts remain, we need a guiding light to show us the correct way to actualise them. We have only our Guru whom we have a strong affinity with to rely solely upon to eradicate all the roots of our sufferings and unhappiness. He is the same as the Buddha who has walked the path and reach the higher state of mind we all longed for, one that is trained, stable, determine, fearless, kind, compassionate, full of wisdom, love unconditionally, honest, light, cheerful and the list goes on. He shows us that it is definitely possible to achieve a higher state for our mind. He guides us to experience our nature and to realise our potential to become enlightened.
The formula, therefore, to completely eliminate the fear for death or to the three lower realms is clearly demonstrated by Pang Mipham Gönpo, to rely on the Guru, not the excuse we made due to laziness. It is simple, yet profound. I am grateful I am granted with this formula by my supreme Guru and had him by my side while I work towards the potential he sees within me. How fortunate I am!
Thank you Rinpoche for this timely reminder of how precious our human life is and how easy it is to let laziness take over in one of its many forms. We are getting older with each passing day and with it comes more illnesses, aches and pains and distractions. Pang Mipham Gonpo’s example shows us that age is nothing but a number and if we firmly set spirituality as the priority in our mind, we can definitely engage in some form of practice even if if our bodies are weak.
I liked the example of how he used a stick to prop up his chin so that he could spend more time in meditation than his body alone would allow. In the same way, the limitations that shackle so many of us today can be overcome if we are intent on using what remains of our lives to further our practice. As Rinpoche has succinctly put it, as we get closer to death, we should let more attachments go because there is nothing we haven’t tried, experienced or done in the world, and we should be preparing for the big new journey ahead rather than filling our minds with more of the same distractions that have occupied us for so many years.
Thank you once again Rinpoche for a most inspiring and encouraging post. For anyone meeting with the Dharma and the teachings of the Buddha later in life, they need not worry, but instead confidently and diligently practice, regardless of obstacles arising from the inevitability of our old age, sickness and pending death. May others find hope in The Story of Mipham Gompo and may they arrive at the realization of their true nature, that of compassion and wisdom to liberate themselves and all beings from suffering. A wonderful read, many thanks to all who work so hard to bring these posts to fruition. Be well friends. Long life and well wishes from Canada. ???
The picture of 80 year old Mipham Gönpo, determinedly keeping his bent back straight and drooping head upright for the many hours of daily meditation and chanting he put his body through , using a wooden stick that extended from the ground up to his chin, is very compelling and inspiring and is deeply etched in my mind.
The most powerful lesson I have learnt from the story of Mipham Gonpo is that the mind should be trained to be in control . We should never let our laziness, our attachments, and our weak and aging body “control” us. When the mind is trained to be 100 percent in control as in the case of 80 year-old Mipham Gonpo,and the body is “bent to its will”, and we have full devotion to our Guru, and work consistently for the benefit of others, then we can progress steadily , with our focus on attaining the full realisation of emptiness and bodhicitta, and with that , secure our liberation from death, bardo and uncontrolled rebirths.We must work determinedly towards achieving control of our rebirths.Otherwise, we will be just propelled uncontrollably towards sad rebirths by the force of our karma and delusions.
Even as we are in our last stage of life, we should work determinedly towards freedom from suffering and samsara by letting go of our attachments . Once we have freed ourselves from the stranglehold of our grasping and our attachments, we can channel our energies toward positive , peaceful , healing thought and action that stem from a peaceful and compassionate mind and towards Dharma practice to attain this mind. Even if our bodies are old and frail, we can still practice the Dharma strongly with our mind, as Mipham Gonpo has shown us . Be a vegetarian, recite thousands of mantras, perform intense purification practices, give up anger, generate patience and the like.
In this way,as our mind is a mental continuum, we will begin our new life, as a highly spiritual being,with a strong body, and with a strong yearning for the Dharma . We will seek the Dharma and a spiritual guide and begin to practice from young!
Rinpoche’s previous incarnation , Kentrul Thubten Lamsang ,accumulated immeasurable merits through his highly meritorious deeds of studying the Dharma, teaching and proliferating the Dharma , and founding and establishing monasteries, and through his great compassion and wisdom ,as well as his Guru Devotion. Thus, the young Tsem Rinpoche was able to unwaveringly find his way to his Guru, the Dharma and Dharma practice, despite all the huge obstacles in his way.
This is a timely post and I am grateful for the reminder and inspiration. There are a few points I would like to share:
1. Firstly the message in Rinpoche’s post doesn’t only apply to older people but to everyone who has the great fortune to meet the Guru and the Dharma. For people of more advanced age, the message is simply more urgent. Having said that, the urgency is not related to age per se but to that unknowable minute when Yama comes calling. And we all know death can come at any time and does not require our permission nor does it have to wait for us to be old and ready. ‘Age’ refers to that ever approaching event of death which is not merely a function of time.
2. Mipham Gonpo’s ‘stick’ that he uses to hold up his chin reminds us that we will not always have the conditions to practice Dharma. This is one of the biggest mistakes that people make – to assume that when we are finally ‘ready’ to practice Dharma, than we can still do so. In Mipham’s case, he was only unable to lift his head for prolonged periods. In many cases, the faculties are no longer there even if we are desperate to practice Dharma. Hence we should never take the presence of the Guru, and therefore the Dharma, for granted. The Guru is much more than the source of the information; he or she is the method and the blessing we need to practice fruitfully. Recently when I was ill and in hospital it occurred to me that there is nothing worst than for the mind to be incapacitated and no longer able to absorb the Dharma. It is ok for the body to be reduced in capacity but if we have a practice and a mind that is still conscious and sincere, then we need not be denied.
3. A very profound phrase in the post is that Mipham did not want to wait for death ‘empty handed’. In truth we are all waiting for death and most people will enter bardo completely empty handed because we cannot take anything with us other than the karma we create and the merits we accumulate. If we enter the bardo without realisations then we are empty handed. Most of us even those in Dharma, would only accumulate good karma in our practice and ‘dharma work’ because the ego and self-grasping is ever present even as we perform good works. To enter bardo with negligible merits and having to face a mountain of latent negative karma is as good as dying empty handed. I find it inspiring that for all the stubbornness and determination mankind display in chasing useful samsaric goals, Mipham enlists these traits to chase after realisations and ultimately achieves it. It truth we all have Mipham’s ‘stick’ already which we use to prop us up as we chase after useless things. Our bodies are already weak with poison and our heads overly heavy with ego and we prop us this heavy ego with a waning life force, which is supposed to be used to practice Dharma and free ourselves.
4. I can relate to the ‘physical obstacles’ as I age quickly and this aches and pain and limitations are already here regardless. Instead of taking them as obstacles those of us who are older have the opportunity to use these physical obstacles as reminders of the urgency of our sincere practice. Whilst it is better to have met the dharma earlier in one’s life, age does have its advantages. For one, if we are honest with ourselves we will admit there is nothing left to do with life, which we have not already done repeatedly. This does not only apply to old people but middle-aged people as well. However we keep doing the same thing giddy with the unrealistic hope that if we keep doing it we will get different results somehow. As we get older time becomes short and we should now think honestly what we would be taking with us into death. It should scare us to realise that we will enter bardo as paupers.
5. Looking forward to death should not be deemed bizarre or morbid. When we were children we did childish things. When we became adults, we do not hang on to our childish thoughts and actions. Similarly as we age we should prepare for death and a good rebirth that is a non-negotiable certainty and especially for those of use who have a wise and loving Guru, we should also set aside our spiritually childish ways. This is only logical and a natural flow of things. A teenager does not return to infancy and a mature adult who can make his own decisions and determine the course of his life does not seek to return to an age which he is still helpless and fully dependent on others. Similarly as we age we should not seek to hang on to our spiritually childish ways and behave like we have not met the Guru and the Dharma and the Protector. I think often we forget that we are powerful when we are self-determining in the correct way and when we embrace karma and set our minds and bodies to Dharma thoughts and deeds that create merits. Mipham’s case is proof of that.
6. “I will use my mind to control my body” is another profound line. Dharma teaches us to recognise and relate to our Mind that takes rebirth over and over again. If we do not know the Dharma we are trapped within this ailing body and aging and death becomes a great suffering. When we know for sure that we are not our physical body and we relate and identify with our innate mind instead, and we treasure it instead of treasuring our body, our attitude changes and fear of death is reduced. When we relate only to our physical body we experience the suffering and limitations of an ailing and diminishing body. When we learn progressively to relate to our mind that abides in the Dharma, the body is merely a tool. Laziness is when we blame the imperfect tool instead of the reluctant tradesman.
Dying and rebirth should not be some random and scary thing but can instead become a steady and blissful process. We may not know the precise outcome but we can trust the process and the Guru’s guidance. Mipham’s story displays this well and like him, we should demand that we do not enter bardo empty handed.
7. Those of us who have a Guru and Dorje Shugden have a great advantage already. If we can practice sincerely no matter how simple or rudimentary our practice is, if we have devotion in our Guru and if we are always catching ourselves and refusing to succumb to our ego and samsara, we can reasonably expect to meet our Protector in bardo, who will secure us and take us to a good rebirth.
8. Mipham’s old age is in a sense an analogy of imperfect conditions. And it says that one can have a fruitful practice despite not having ‘perfect conditions’. Whether that imperfect condition is age, or sickness or the environment or language or financial and emotional circumstances, we look for out ‘stick’ and keep practicing.
I have found Mipham Gompo’s story to be very useful and beneficial and I thank Rinpoche kindly for this. It is also useful to realise that at Kechara, Rinpoche keeps handing out ‘sticks’ to help prop up one self imposed incapacity after another just so that we don’t go empty handed.
Dear Martin,
I didn’t know you were admitted to hospital for health problems until mum read your comment just now. I sincerely hope your karma will improve by doing Dharma work to purify our karma, as we are all very fortunate to have this opportunity to do Dharma work with the instructions given by our beloved Lama which many do no realize or even want to accept.😘😘💜💜💜☸️🕉
I like this story of Pang Mipham Gönpo a lot.
Gone unnoticed because of decades of acting out of habit, we have forgotten that we are in FULL CONTROL of our destiny and leave things to repetition and habits (preferences some call it).
Repetition and habits that will only ensure that we carry on this miserable life, die, and end up even worse when we continue on to our next one.
We fail to take note of the never-ending chain of cause and its effect, before and after, action and result, in our lives. Maybe some of us do but do not know how to go about turning it around.
Something must have caused us to be born into this life and in the environment that we are in now and if this is not due to our actions in this life and the ones before, what would have determined it? I mean if I were to buy a ticket and move to Hawaii, I would be in Hawaii. So to have been born here and now must have had its causes too.
Have we ever thought about this and wonder what our next lives will be like? Just dreaming about it will not produce results. There is no free lunch, there is only action and effect and Pang Mipham Gonpo did take charge of his destiny once his teacher Vairochana alerted him to these facts, these truths.
Once he knew these truths, like what Rinpoche said about Pang Mipham Gonpo, he used his mind to control his body and not the other way around. To raise his head, he thought to use a stick, simple and effective.
If we think about it, we must agree that whatever action that we carry out comes from the mind. Thought precedes the action. Action will give rise to results. No action, no results.
So if we want the results of a good rebirth, then there must be some action to be put in place to get that the results we want. Who wants to be miserable?
To generate some action for the results, we would need to have to correct thoughts beforehand. What are these thoughts and actions? How should we think to generate these actionable thoughts?
Rinpoche put it this way: “When we are old, we are nearer to our next rebirth so the more attachments we let go of, the easier it is not to have them in our immediate future rebirth because we don’t carry these attachments over. They are left behind. This is logical because we are nearer to our next rebirth when we are old, so it is better to let go and not carry over these attachments to the next life and battle the same attachments again. Let go of the baggage before our big journey and at our next destination, we will have less to deal with. We can really benefit ourselves that way.”
Hence I like to know about truth – knowing truth empowers you to do something about it. Pang Mipham Gonpo did and we can too.
Age is not a hindrance to knowledge. This is what H.E. Tsem Rinpoche teaches and this is what the Buddha taught more than 2,500 years ago. Whenever I feel discouraged by my age, I would read the Mahasiddha Tantipa’s story and I would feel better. Now I have another inspiring story which I can read to encourage myself to practise. I’d like to share a teaching of the Buddha who, by example, shows us that we are never too old to practise because the mind can remain lucid although the body is old and worn. He was 80 when he gave this teaching.
The Buddha said to Sariputra:
There are some recluses and Brahmans who speak thus and are of this view:
“So long as this good man is young, in his early prime, so long he possesses of the utmost lucidity of wisdom. But when this good man is worn, old, stricken in years, then he falls from that lucidity of wisdom.”
“But this is not to be regarded in this way. I, Sariputra am now worn, old, being about eighty. I might have four disciples here each of a hundred years life span, and possessed of the utmost mindfulness and attentiveness, and resolute energy, and with the utmost lucidity of wisdom. If they were to ask me again and again a question about the four applications of mindfulness, and if I were to explain to them, and if they were not to question me about any secondary and further matter, still unfinished, Sariputra, would be the Tathagata’s teaching of Dhamma, when these four disciples of mine, would pass away at the end of one hundred years. Yet, if you should have to carry me about on a litter, Sariputra, verily, there is no change in the Tathagata’s lucidity of wisdom.” (M.I.: 83; MIS.I:109-110)
There is also a quote from Rinpoche inspired by Shantideva. I’d like to share this as it really opens up my mind. Here it is:
“According to Shantideva our mind is one stream life after life, so don’t look at our current age as limitation to do dharma.”
Many of us have this notion that we will be healthy all our lives and live to 100. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case given how much pollution we subject our bodies to, by delusionally thinking that it is what we need. We keep feeding all our 5 senses with pleasures that are in reality detrimental in the long run.
Most of us are closer to death than we realise and instead of living it up through more travelling, shopping, parties and exotic food, we should instead be preparing for our next life and focusing on our spiritual practices. This is not to sound morbid but this is the reality that many try to run away from or turn a blind eye all together.
This post is a good wake up call to the many of us who have used excuses to not go all the way with our Dharma work and practice. Old age, sickness, career and other excuses we use to do less Dharma is actually our laziness manifesting and it these these seemingly “valid reasons” that will, at the end of it all, pull us away from a fortunate rebirth.
Reading about Mipham Gönpo has allowed me to reflect on my own self and inspired me to not let my shortcomings ruin my chance at enlightenment. After all, it is mind over matter as at the end of the day, it is our minds that will matter, to project us to enlightenment.
Thank you for this insightful read.
This is a beautiful and truly inspiring story. It is a powerful example of what our minds can achieve, if we are resolute enough.
It is true that as our bodies age, we will tend to reduce physical activity and rest more. Pang Mipham Gonpo shows us that even while the body is at rest, it is not necessary that the mind must rest along with it. To be aware that the mind has lived countless lives over countless aeons, should teach us that our mind, in it’s true nature, is free from our physical constraints, our bodies, and the physical environment around us.
The practice is both the challenge and the technique for our liberation. Personally, I often think of my age (I’m 46) and how late I was getting into Dharma (barely 2 years), and question how much I can achieve with the time I have for practice. That’s because in my doubt (or is it my self-cherishing manifesting in laziness?) I have forgotten that the mind, our bodies and environment are all distinctly separate, meaning that although conditions like aging and the natural elements may not be under our control, we can have full control of our minds. That is what Buddhism teaches.
The technique is applying the Buddha’s teachings so we can regain control of our minds.
The challenge is to be aware and not forget that we do have mastery over our own minds, something we tend to forget when we are distracted by illusion’s net of worldly concerns. The desire to fulfil our material and physical needs makes us forget what is truly real — our mind and its spiritual nature.
I love reading this and all the stories Rinpoche has and finds to share with us that what we perceive to be real is only an image projected from our delusioned mind preserving an empty ego.
Thank you Rinpoche.
“We were born alone and we will die alone. Yet even while alone we still have our shadow with us; and alone after death, our consciousness will still have with it the shadow of our actions, good and bad. By the time we are just about to enter the bardo, the intermediate state between death and birth, it will be far too late to begin our Dharma practice. But if we have already prepared ourselves, if we feel confident in our practice and know how to go to a Buddha-field, there will be no suffering in death.”
~Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche – The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones – Collected Works Vol II pg 248, Shambhala
Thank you for this and your kindness in thinking of us all Rinpoche.