April 2012

As soon as we are born we embark upon a journey that leads inevitably to death. It would be in ones best interest to educate oneself in order to be prepared for that experience. Considered in this teaching are the necessary conditions and resources that will enable us to ensure that the journey to death will be the best possible one we can make it. The entire transition between an individuals death and their being reborn is comprised of three phases. The interval from the time the outer breathing ceases until the inner breathing ceases is the first phase of The Intermediate State of the Death Experience. Once the inner respiration has ceased and all breathing has stopped, the ensuing phase is called The Intermediate State of Reality. Approximately twenty one days later begins The Intermediate State of Rebirth. To provide full treatment for these instructions, the first and second phases are addressed in this weekend teaching, with the third phase on rebirth to be given in a subsequent teaching in the near future.
 Khenpo Ugyen Tenzin guides us through an exploration of what happens in the death process and how the after-death experience manifests for every individual. Drawing from Guru Rinpoches Great Liberation Through Hearing In the Intermediate States, known in modern times as The Tibetan Book of the Dead, he gave a complete overview of the key instructions from this famous cycle of treasure teachings--the very instructions that reveal how we can discover the potential for liberation and awakening within the death experience itself.
Translation by Jigme Nyima. Edited in the Mainly English format. Five talks on one MP3 CD.