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Lama Zopa Rinpoche unveiling the new Liberation Cloth, which has a specified number of mantras that have the power to purify negative karma at the time of death, to students at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, August 13, 2022. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
In Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching on The Four Causes of Unknowing and the Four Dharmakaya Relic Heart Mantras, given on April 9, 2020, Rinpoche recommended that all FPMT centers, projects, services and study groups have cloths covered with beneficial mantras available to help students, friends, and family at the time of death. In the teaching (page nine of the transcript), Rinpoche discusses the intended use of these cloths, which were not yet created. Thanks to generous help actualizing this project by Ven. Tenzin Drachom, we are now delighted to announce that these Liberation Cloths are now available!
Lama Zopa Rinpoche displaying the small version of the Liberation Cloth, Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, August 13, 2022. Photo courtesy of ABC FB page.
Printed on the cloth are mantras most useful for the time of death: the short Chenrezig mantra, Heart Mantra of Secret Relic, Lotus Pinnacle of Amoghapāśha Mantra, long and short Namgyalma mantras, mantra of the Sutra of Great Liberation. Rinpoche regularly advises, citing root texts, that covering the body with these mantras purifies negative karma, prevents rebirth in the lower realms and causes the sentient being to be reborn in the upper realms, to meet the Dharma, and to achieve enlightenment.
The cloth should be placed with the mantras face down on the body or away from it and can either be kept on the body during cremation or burial, or removed to be used again. Some use the Liberation Cloth for sick people but it is mainly for the dying and dead. If it is used for the sick, one must make sure it is not slept on, and kept on top of the body.
We invite you to watch this video of Lama Zopa Rinpoche showing the Liberation Cloth while at Kopan Monastery in July 2022 and explaining the benefits of each of the mantras printed on it.
Additionally, at the beginning of Rinpoche’s Thought Transformation Teaching #131: The Purpose of Living Life as a Couple, given on August 13, 2022 at Amitabha Buddhist Centre, Singapore, Rinpoche discusses the new cloths and the intended uses for the various sizes as well as more details about the various mantras used in the design.
We invite you to rejoice at the availability of these new Liberation Cloths which will be so useful in assisting those we hold dear at the critical time of death.
How to Order
- America Region: Order from Land of Medicine Buddha
- Pacific Region: Order from Chenrezig Institute
- Singapore: Order from Amitabha Buddhist Centre (for local pickups only)
Information on how to order from other regions is forthcoming and we will keep you informed as new outlets become available.
Many centers, projects, and services have ordered Liberation Cloths. They should have received them by now so if you ever need a cloth for a dear one at the critical time of death, do check with your local, center, project, or service to see what they have available.
Additional Resources for Death & Dying
Many of these resources are newly available or recently revised and we highly encourage you to take full advantage of all of this invaluable advice and accessible materials which are so useful for helping others at the time of death, as well as preparing for one’s own death.
- Helping Yourself and Others Die Happily: Instructions and Practices for the Time of Death
Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked that the practices found in this booklet be compiled to make it easy for us students to prepare for our own death, and also easy for us to help other people who are dying or dead. - Liberation Tools to Help the Dying and Deceased
This resource, previously known as the Liberation Box, is a collection of tools to help the dying and deceased has been assembled according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice. It contains powerful methods for ensuring a fortunate rebirth for those who are in the process of dying or have just died. - Practicing the Five Powers Near the Time of Death
As Rinpoche says in Dying Happily with the Five Powers, practicing “the five powers to be applied during life” serves as a preparation for our death. But as the time of our death approaches, we should specifically engage in the practice of “the five powers for near the time of death,” which are what Rinpoche explains in this booklet. - The Array of Sukhavati Pure Land: A Concise Mahayana Sutra – MP3 Download
This album contains Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s oral transmission (*lung) of The Array of Sukhavati Pure Land: A Concise Mahayana Sutra, a prayer that came from Buddha Amitabha. - Holy Objects to Place on the Body at the Time of Death
Contains four sets of holy objects to be placed on the body of the person or animal that is in the process of dying. Cut out one set and place it face down on the dying or deceased person’s chest. Leave it there until the body needs to be moved or washed. - Death & Dying: Practices and Resources homepage
This robust resource page has numerous essential practices related to the topic of death and dying, additional teachings and advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and community service resources.
Through comprehensive study programs, practice materials, training seminars, and scholarships, FPMT Education Services nourishes the development of compassion, wisdom, kindness, and true happiness in individuals of all ages.