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Lama Zopa Rinpoche offering teachings at Thekchen Choling, Singapore, September 1, 2022. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche continually stresses the importance of remembering impermanence and death, preparing for our own deaths, and helping others at the time of death. In this teaching, given at Thekchen Choling in Singapore on September 1, Rinpoche reminds us how unbelievably rare it is to receive this perfect human rebirth. Since we have been so fortunate to receive this, and we cannot say for certain when we will die, we must make the most use of the opportunity we have as human beings, in the most beneficial way—by practicing Dharma.
Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching “The Importance of Remembering Impermanence and Death”:
Supplemental Materials for Death & Dying
Many newly available or recently revised practice materials are available for students wishing to help others at the time of death, as well as prepare for our own dying and death.
- Liberation Cloth to help others at the time of 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.
This summary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching is by Carina Rumrill. This summary is meant to highlight key topics presented by Rinpoche in the recorded video and is not intended to serve as a full representation of Rinpoche’s teaching, which is best received through watching the video.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.