Six Realms

  I have been writing many entries lately about Dzogchen Ponlop's wonderful text, Mind Beyond Death. I think part of my fascination with this book initially came from wanting to understand a narrative of death that seems meaningful from the perspective of Buddhist philosophy. Before I can even think about how palliative care is done in Buddhist settings, it seems that I have a lot of reading to do to know all the ways that Buddhists understand death and its stages. But the other driving reason is that Dzogchen Ponlop has given me many reasons to invest my energies more into practice, with a view to what could go on when a person journeys to another life.
    I could sit here in front of this screen and relate the stages of death according to Tibetan Buddhist practice, but perhaps this would not be valuable when I die. It might or it might not be, but one can never know what kinds of situations one is going to face in that journey. Although Dzogchen Ponlop has superbly traced out a road map for this journey, many such as Joan Halifax have pointed out that each journey from life to after-life is going to be unique. What I am trying to say is: a map is precious, but it doesn't predict exactly what response will happen when the moment of death arrives. That gives me a certain kind of humility to realize that I may be quite helpless when faced with this situation. However, at least, I would like to describe some things I learned from Dzogchen Ponlop which has had an impact on me.
       Dzogchen Ponlop describes how, if consciousness is unable to return back to original mind at the time of death, it incarnates into one of 6 forms: God, Jealous God (asuras), human, animal, hungry ghost and hell being. Each of the realms that these beings inhabit correspond to dazzling circles of light which the being is said to experience at the end of life, each with a different color: white (God realm), pale red (jealous god), blue (human), green (animal), yellow (hungry ghost) and a foggy grey (hell realm) (For further description see p.210-217, Mind Beyond Death). Dzogchen Ponlop describes how each realm corresponds to a particular mental taint: pride, jealousy, attachment, ignorance, greed and hatred respectively. And where consciousness is most attracted via the 'winds of karma' depends on their proclivities in this life. For instance, if I cultivate the seeds of extreme desire, I may be born either in a hungry ghost realm or a human realm, depending on where I place my energies in this life. If I am extremely self-attached and protective, I may be reborn in the Hell realm. If I have achieved high merit, I may be reborn in the heaven realm, etc. But please note that this "I" is not literal, because in fact there is no consistent, permanent identity that is moving between these states of being.  Nor is there a strictly linear classification among the different realms. Dzogchen Ponlop notes that one can instantly be transported to a hell realm just by planting seeds of hatred in one's mind.
    From what I understand of this text, much of what Dzogchen Ponlop relates is about psychological states more than physically tangible realms. For instance, although I might associate the animal realm with a physical form such as a cat or a snake, the real mind that goes through these forms is the same as Buddha nature. It is just Buddha nature that is hidden behind the form itself.
    Reading the descriptions from this text, I have to say that many emotions arise from it. The first initial emotion is a kind of fear: I have no idea where consciousness will go after this life, and what kinds of projections will arise from it. There is a sense that, with all these 6 possibilities, I could potentially enter into any one of them, knowing that all these propensities exist equally inside me. I have pretty much known intimately all the states that Dzogchen Ponlop describes. The other feeling that arises is a strange sort of tenderness, almost like a solicitude. I don't quite know why it is, but when I reflect that I might not have so much control over my birth, I begin to think that all beings undergo the same sort of confusion as they journey across lifetimes. That tenderness is the feeling that even though beings appear to be different, they are all interwoven in a kind of enmeshed place. For example, an animal may have such a consciousness that it lives in continual fear, without much capacity for self awareness (at least, according to Dzogchen Ponlop). Yet, what creates the fear but a kind of shared existential struggle to survive? The sense of death lifts the sense of struggle a bit, for me. It reminds me that even if a creature is spared through the death of another, not one being can escape from death, and very few escape from rebirth in samsara.
    I believe the third aspect that comes to mind is that as long as other being suffer in many lifetimes, I too am part of that suffering. It is not enough for me to find a way to know my true nature. In fact, 'my' is only an illusion, and to say "my nature" is already off the mark. When I start to see that all beings suffer equally as part of this inseparable interbeing, it makes sense to me that I would only seek relief in order to train myself better to help all beings. This is really the only way to stop the round of suffering that comes from attachment.