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Lama Zopa Rinpoche blessing a patient of Shakyamuni Health Clinic in 2017.
Helping someone pass away in the most auspicious way possible is one of the greatest gifts we can offer at the most critical time of a person’s life. The FPMT Death and Dying Heart Practices and Advice webpage is a compilation of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice and materials on death and dying, available for all to use
In 2017, Lama Zopa Rinpoche shared important advice at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, when the center was considering starting a hospice. We are happy to share this guidance with the broader community, as it carries significant meaning for those who wish to support others at the time of death.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with ‘How to Enjoy Death,’ Osel Labrang, Sera Monastery, India, December 2015
- Have Dharma books available, such as How to Enjoy Death: Preparing to Meet Life’s Final Challenge Without Fear, Practicing the Five Powers Near the Time of Death, and other books on tonglen, Eight Prayers to Benefit the Dead, and anything else that supports at the time of death. Keep not just one copy of each book, but many.
- Have prayers and mantras available for recitation, such as the Namgyalma mantra, and also prayers such as The Three Principal Aspects of the Path, Calling the Guru from Afar, and similar texts. Have all relevant prayers on hand so that those present can recite them.
- Have recordings playing throughout the day — such as Calling the Guru from Afar, The Confession of Downfalls to the Thirty-Five Buddhas , A Hymn of Experience by Lama Tsongkhapa, and different mantras, such as Namgyalma, Medicine Buddha, Chenrezig Mantra and Request, and others. These should be played approximately 6 times a day, for about 10 to 20 minutes each time. Recordings of mantras by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and Khandro Rinpoche are especially beneficial for those who are dying to hear them. Additional recordings may include mantras from the dying person’s own guru, verses about bodhicitta, the Vajrasattva mantra, and so forth.
- Have thangkas depicting different pure lands — such as Padmasambhava Pure Land, Amitabha Pure Land, Chenrezig Pure Land, and Tara Pure Land. Choose beautiful thangkas and arrange the space so that it is uplifting and beautiful, bringing joy rather than depression to those who are there. If thangkas are not available, large framed images of the pure lands may be used instead.
- Affix large printed versions of mantras such as Namgyalma mantra, the Takdrol, and the Pema Ushnisha mantra, on the ceilings of the rooms, so that those who are dying can see them and may be protected from rebirth in the lower realms.
- Have powa pills available, so when breathing stops, the pills can be mixed with honey and butter and placed on the crown of the head.
- Have a copy of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, present in the room.
- Have many copies of the Liberation Card — the card Rinpoche compiled for people to look at when dying.
- Have Mantra Water blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Khandro Rinpoche.
- Have prayer wheels and stupas.
- In each room, have holy statues — ideally from Nepal.
- On the roof of the house or center install a statue of Kṣitigarbha — ideally beautiful and newly made, not an old one. The aspect should be the standing form, holding a monk’s staff. The statue could be commissioned from Chinese craftspeople or obtained from Vietnam. The ideal size is one story tall. This is so that those in the house may be guided by Kṣitigarbha. The statue could be blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. A smaller Kṣitigarbha statue may also be placed inside the house.
Scribed by Ven. Holly Ansett at Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy, 2017.
As a reminder Wisdom Publication’s 2025 release, How to Live and Die: The Transformative Power of Meditating on Impermanence by Lama Zopa Rinpoche offers an overview of meditating on death and impermanence. From the book:
“A complete education about death is the most important education we can have. What death is, how we die, what minds we need at death, and what happens after death—only by knowing about death and rebirth can we actually fully understand what life is and so learn how to live fully.”
In July 1990, Lama Zopa Rinpoche composed this poem to be displayed in the office of Karuna Hospice in Australia. It can be downloaded and displayed at any hospice.
Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.