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General Buddhism => General Buddhism => Topic started by: icy on February 12, 2014, 11:00:49 AM

Title: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: icy on February 12, 2014, 11:00:49 AM
Mundgod (Uttara Kannada dist), Feb 6, 2014, DHNS:
 
The final rites of senior Buddhist monk, Geshe Lobsang Wangyal Makhampa, 86, who had passed away 16 days ago, were performed as per Tibetan tradition at Gaden Shartse Monastery in Lama Camp 1 of the Tibetan Colony on Thursday morning.

Many Buddist monks had gathered to pay their obeisance to the departed monk. The Buddist religious leaders presided over the rites after offering special prayers.

Geshe Lobsang Wangyal Makhampa had died on January 21. However, the body didn’t decompose. For the last 16 days, the mortal remains were kept in a corner of the monastery where monks lighted hundreds of lamps every day.


The Tibetan monks believe that the soul of the departed leader was present in the monastery. This condition where a monk dies but his body doesn’t decompose due to the presence of the soul is known as Tuktam in Tibetan Buddhism. On Wednesday night, foul smell started emanating from the body which made monks believe that the soul had embarked on its final journey and hence cremation was performed on Thursday.

“This is the first time that the soul of a monk has stayed in the monastery for 16 days,” monk Geshe Tashi.

However, the incident didn’t go unnoticed. A team of doctors and experts arrived from Bylakuppe and Dharmashala to collect details. Another team headed by international scientist David Richardson is already conducting research to bring out the truth about the incident, said Monlyam Makhampa.

Deccan Herald

(http://www.deccanherald.com/page_images/thumb/2014/02/07/384973_thump.gif)

Buddhist monks pay tributes to the departed senior monk, Geshe Lobsang Wangyal  Makhampa, at Gaden Shartse Monastery in Mundgod, Uttara Kannada, on Thursday. DH Photo
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: Manjushri on February 12, 2014, 01:07:59 PM
I've heard about this many times before, highly attained lamas staying in tuktam for a period of time which completely baffles science. Because of the practise, meditation and attainments gained by the monk during his lifetime of practise, he is able to control his own body, and even decide when the consciousness leaves the body. For some, their bodies don't decompose for years and remain in the same state as their body was found, sometimes in meditation posture.

Since monks are able to focus and practise and gain this attainment, as demonstrated by so many in their lifetimes, there is no difference in lay people being able to achieve this attainment/ability. It's just a matter of following our gurus and their advices, if we are so lucky to be able to cross path with one and practise under them.
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: Tenzin K on February 12, 2014, 02:13:06 PM
What happens to us when we die? From the moment of physical conception, the moment of the union of our parents, our body begins to coalesce from the essence of the five elements. It is a gathering of the elements, of warmth, energy, the subtle channels, and so forth. When we die, these five elements gradually separate and dissolve into each other. When this dissolution is complete, outer respiration stops,

and the inner pulses are reabsorbed. The white essence, received from our father and located in the brain, and the red essence, received from our mother and located in the navel, meet in the heart center and mingle. Only then does the mind leave the body.

At this point, what is the fruit of meditation for those of us who practice? It is precisely this so-called dissolution into luminosity, which is pure and untarnished like the sky. It occurs when the inner pulse stops.

If a person has achieved stability in the recognition of luminosity during meditation, then as soon as the experience of untarnished space arises there occurs the so-called meeting of the mother and child luminosities, space and awareness. This is liberation.

At root, this is what lamas and meditators who practice refer to as “resting in tuktam” or meditation, at the time of death. Thukham is nothing more than this. The mother and child luminosities mingle; stability in the phases of creation and perfection is gained. This is liberation.
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: Matibhadra on February 12, 2014, 08:54:32 PM
Quote
At this point, what is the fruit of meditation for those of us who practice? It is precisely this so-called dissolution into luminosity, which is pure and untarnished like the sky.

If this luminosity were already ”pure and untarnished like the sky”, there would be no need to meditate, since the aim of meditation is precisely to purify this luminosity.

Nyingma folks believe we are already and since always completely pure and thus realize everything, although, funny enough, we need to purify ourselves in order to realize it.

This self-contradictory view apparently has its roots in the non-Buddhist Samkhya system, where ”purusha” is already and since always completely pure, but, funny enough, is mixed with and needs to separate itself from ”prakriti”.

It is not unlikely that such Samkhya view filtered into Persia and Central Asia, giving rise to the Zoroastrian and then Manichean idea of a divine spark within human beings, which is since always pure but contradictorily mixed with matter.

Some argue that in Central Asia and along the Silk Route this ideology entered Chinese Ch'an (and then Japanese Zen) Buddhism, which also asserts that we are already Buddhas (someone who realizes everything), just that we do not realize it.

Eventually this idea from the Chinese Ch'an Buddhism entered Tibet through Hashang and others, wherefrom it was officially banned since the famous Samye dabate, but there moulding both Bönpo and Nyingma Dzogchen ideologies.

Of course Nyingmapas do not recognize that their ideology has a Chinese root, let alone Persian, let alone a non-Buddhist one, and claim that it has Indian Buddhist roots, although no Indian school of Buddhism ever asserted that we are already Buddhas just that we don' t realize it.

The political implication of the ideology is quite obvious: we are already Buddhas, but the fact that you ordinary people do not realize it shows the fools you are, not like us lamas and your feudal theocratic lords who see everything. Like the king of the tale, who is ”dressed” for the wise and only foolish people would not realize it.

Nowadays the evil dalai is attempting at forcing down the throats of Gelugpas this childish, self-contradictory Dzogchen ideology. Of course Gelugpas, who have a strong tradition of logic, debate and reliance on reason could not care less about the evil dalai's dogmatic attempt.
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: maricisun on March 23, 2014, 03:18:02 PM
I did heard about high Lamas body will not decompose for a number of days compare to ordinary people. It is the practice that these high Lamas did and keeping to their vows sincerely.
They can actually chose when they want their consciousness to leave their body. These are the highly attained Lamas that have gained Enlightened. We can follow their path too if we practice sincerely and have strong guru devotion.
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: eyesoftara on March 24, 2014, 04:30:22 AM
This is yet another example of the proof of the authentic practice of the Buddhism and Vajrayana in particular. I have read about this a few times and also in a few examples the medical researchers did tests on the body but until now we have got no results from these scientists. Medical science can't explain within its own framework what is happening. It is only through Buddhism that the proper explanations can be offered without fault. Hence, to me Buddhism is the truth.
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: diablo1974 on March 24, 2014, 06:12:29 AM
Not only in Vajrayana tradition but also happens in other Buddhist traditions. Its nothing special or miracle for the sangha community but for lay people its something mysterious about it, i wonder how much can science uncover the'truth' and processed of how and why it happen.
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: bambi on April 15, 2014, 03:57:58 PM
I have heard of such attained masters and one of them would be HH Song Rinpoche. Goosebumps...

Taken from http://www.drophenling.com/our-teachers/h-e-kyabje-zong-rinpoche/ (http://www.drophenling.com/our-teachers/h-e-kyabje-zong-rinpoche/)

Kyabje Zong Rinpoche’s Passing Away
On November 15th 1984, this day marked Buddha’s descent into this world after returning from the Celestial Realm of Indra, would come to strike everyone with immense sadness and grief. Rinpoche normally awoke at three o’clock in the morning and finished his daily meditation before dawn.

Tenzin Wangchuk told Rinpoche that he had called a medical doctor from the Dueguling Tibetan Resettlement Hospital half a mile away to give Rinpoche a check-up. It was shortly after nine o’clock in the morning when the doctor arrived. After the examination, the doctor told the students that he could detect no serious illness, only that Rinpoche was rather weak and could use some glucose. As the doctor didn’t have any glucose with him, he sent his assistant back to his clinic to fetch some. When the students entered the room a few minutes later, their beloved Teacher had left them for another realm. As he had prophesied, Rinpoche did not die in hospital, in pain, or from a serious illness. Those around him were amazed how Rinpoche’s body remained as if in a deep sleep, without losing luster or color. It was clear that their teacher was in a most subtle state of mind, embracing the meditation of clear light. He was eighty years old.

Arising from Clear Light State
On Saturday, the third day after Rinpoche’s passing, Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche and other high lamas gathered to conduct a self-initiation of Chittamani Tara, and the monks of Ganden Shartse, who had completed a Yamantaka retreat, conducted the self-initiation of Yamantaka. From the day Rinpoche had passed away the air had remained so still that barely a single leaf had rustled in the garden, but around three o’clock the weather suddenly changed and a strong wind came up, violently blowing the dust from the ground into the sky. When the wind subsided, word spread that Zong Rinpoche had arisen from the Clear Light state and had ascended into the enlightened realm. Residents of Mundgod also reported feeling land tremors before and after Rinpoche’s passing. Countless numbers of people, including abbots, high-ranking lamas, and geshes from all three monastic universities, came to pay their respects and take an active part in the rituals.

Auspicious signs
Those who were present during these days witnessed many unusual signs. On the third day, just before the cremation hearth was lit, seven Indian ascetics clad in new saffron robes and leading a loaded elephant walked into the compound. When asked what they were doing there, they replied that this day marked a very auspicious occasion, and asked for an offering. Tenzin Wangchuk offered them bananas and money, and they left, satisfied. It was an unprecedented event, and everyone remarked that it was a very auspicious sign. Later, when monks asked the local villagers about the elephant, they couldn’t find anyone who had seen it.

In Tibetan tradition, the elephant is often compared to a bull. When the reincarnation of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche was born on May 27, 1985, in the year of the Bull or the Ox. It became clear that the appearance of the elephant and the ascetics had had a definite significance.

Completely intact unburned holy skull
The twenty-fourth of November was the night of the full moon. It was one of the days that Rinpoche had circled in his diary before his death, and so it was on this morning that the members of Zong Labrang opened the cremation hearth. Lying among Rinpoche’s ashes they found his skull unburned and completely intact. Zong Rinpoche’s previous incarnation, Zongtrul Tenpa Chopel, who had died in 1899, had also left his skull intact. That relic, which bears the Tibetan syllable AH, is kept to this day at Zong Rinpoche’s residence as a treasure of faith and honor.

Kyabje Zong Rinpoche’s Swift Return
When the cremation hearth was opened, a large quantity of relic pills were found between the two pans. Finally, when the lower pan was removed, everyone present saw in the sand mandala two unmistakable footprints of an infant, complete with heels and toes. The discovery of these extraordinary signs made everyone feel great peace, reaffirming their faith in their Teacher, and assuring them that his return would be swift.

Kyabje Zong Rinpoche circled the dates in his diary!
Some time before his passing, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche had circled three dates in his diary. The first was the date that he rose from the Clear Light state. The second was the day of the cremation. The third was the day the cremation hearth was opened. This made it very convenient for the disciples to plan and conduct the traditional arrangements, but the real message is of course, that Rinpoche had gone beyond ordinary death and rebirth. His last extraordinary deeds demonstrated a fully controlled, fearless death. They teach us that one day, everything must come to an end. Those present were indelibly impressed with the knowledge that practice and effort can enable one to completely transcend death. Thus, the life of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche became a teaching on how to live meaningfully and die well.
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: Midakpa on April 19, 2014, 03:43:25 AM
Tukdam is a term for meditative practice that is used to refer to the period following the death of a great master. During this time, they are in a state of what is called "ground luminosity".  The following explanation is provided by Sogyal Rinpoche in his book, "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying":

"A realized practitioner continues to abide by the recognition of the nature of mind at the moment of death, and awakens into the Ground Luminosity when it manifests. He or she may even remain in that state for a number of days. Some practitioners and masters die sitting upright in that state for a number of days. Some practitioners and masters die sitting upright in meditation posture, and others in the “posture of the sleeping lion.” Besides their perfect poise, there will be other signs that show they are resting in the state of the Ground Luminosity: There is still a certain color and glow in their face, the nose does not sink inward, the skin remains soft and flexible, the body does not become stiff, the eyes are said to keep a soft and compassionate glow, and there is still a warmth at the heart. Great care is taken that the master’s body is not touched, and silence is maintained until he or she has arisen from this state of meditation."
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: Big Uncle on April 19, 2014, 07:29:17 PM
When a monk enters clear light or thukdam at the point of death, it is very clear that the monk is no ordinary monk. He has high realizations from Tantric practice. In the monastery like Gaden Shartse, it is incredible because there are so many of them and a great number of them are secret bodhisattvas and attained beings. Hence, making offerings to the Sangha and also it is important to sustain the monasteries to ensure that the living traditions of tantra and its adherents within the monastery is sustained.
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: cookie on April 20, 2014, 09:18:06 AM
Even at the point of death these highly attained practitioners use their  bodies to teach Dharma. How compassionate they are ! When ones practice is pure and have reached high levels of realizations, one is able to take control of their life and death. They do not experience anymore the sufferings of samsara. They are not controlled by samsara. They become free beings totally in control of their future. Some may choose to be reborn as humans just to assist others to enlightment. It would be a great fortune for us to have an opportunity to learn the Dharma from such compassionate beings.
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: pgdharma on April 25, 2014, 06:15:19 AM
Thukdham, is a stage in which a highly attained lama is able to meditate on the ‘Clear Light Stage’, an ultimate process of inner dissolution of five elements and consciousness and are able to control his body from decomposition and to maintain the internal body heat. While in this meditation, he sits in full meditation even though his heart and breath had ceased but his chest remains warm and there's no sign of decomposition until the meditation ends.

The end of the meditation is signified when his head leans forward and a drop of blood flows out from one of his nostrils and the warmth in the chest is gone. The purpose of the meditation is to prepare the mind to leave the body at will. Meditation masters like these passed away with full control.  The former Ganden Tripa stays in Thukdam for 18 days. http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=3031.0 (http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=3031.0)
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: Kim Hyun Jae on April 25, 2014, 02:47:12 PM
Before reading about Thukdham, ordinary unattained beings would just pass into clear light in ordinary ways, either peacefully on their death beds or in sicknesses and misery.

To be able to enter meditation at death for days is clearly attainable by examples of these great attained beings who practice it their whole lives. It proves we can choose when we enter clear light if we practice well.
Title: Re: Ganden Shartse Buddhist Monk Cremated After 16 days
Post by: Galen on May 04, 2014, 01:58:45 AM
Thank you for the story on Zong Rinpoche. I am amazed with it. So many signs were shown from Zong Rinpoche that he is coming back. Very obvious that he chose this time to enter into clear light and come back to help more people. It clearly shows that high attained lamas can control their birth and death. It is also evidence that e can do so if we maintain our practice well.


I have heard of such attained masters and one of them would be HH Song Rinpoche. Goosebumps...

Taken from [url]http://www.drophenling.com/our-teachers/h-e-kyabje-zong-rinpoche/[/url] ([url]http://www.drophenling.com/our-teachers/h-e-kyabje-zong-rinpoche/[/url])

Kyabje Zong Rinpoche’s Passing Away
On November 15th 1984, this day marked Buddha’s descent into this world after returning from the Celestial Realm of Indra, would come to strike everyone with immense sadness and grief. Rinpoche normally awoke at three o’clock in the morning and finished his daily meditation before dawn.

Tenzin Wangchuk told Rinpoche that he had called a medical doctor from the Dueguling Tibetan Resettlement Hospital half a mile away to give Rinpoche a check-up. It was shortly after nine o’clock in the morning when the doctor arrived. After the examination, the doctor told the students that he could detect no serious illness, only that Rinpoche was rather weak and could use some glucose. As the doctor didn’t have any glucose with him, he sent his assistant back to his clinic to fetch some. When the students entered the room a few minutes later, their beloved Teacher had left them for another realm. As he had prophesied, Rinpoche did not die in hospital, in pain, or from a serious illness. Those around him were amazed how Rinpoche’s body remained as if in a deep sleep, without losing luster or color. It was clear that their teacher was in a most subtle state of mind, embracing the meditation of clear light. He was eighty years old.

Arising from Clear Light State
On Saturday, the third day after Rinpoche’s passing, Kyabje Zemey Rinpoche and other high lamas gathered to conduct a self-initiation of Chittamani Tara, and the monks of Ganden Shartse, who had completed a Yamantaka retreat, conducted the self-initiation of Yamantaka. From the day Rinpoche had passed away the air had remained so still that barely a single leaf had rustled in the garden, but around three o’clock the weather suddenly changed and a strong wind came up, violently blowing the dust from the ground into the sky. When the wind subsided, word spread that Zong Rinpoche had arisen from the Clear Light state and had ascended into the enlightened realm. Residents of Mundgod also reported feeling land tremors before and after Rinpoche’s passing. Countless numbers of people, including abbots, high-ranking lamas, and geshes from all three monastic universities, came to pay their respects and take an active part in the rituals.

Auspicious signs
Those who were present during these days witnessed many unusual signs. On the third day, just before the cremation hearth was lit, seven Indian ascetics clad in new saffron robes and leading a loaded elephant walked into the compound. When asked what they were doing there, they replied that this day marked a very auspicious occasion, and asked for an offering. Tenzin Wangchuk offered them bananas and money, and they left, satisfied. It was an unprecedented event, and everyone remarked that it was a very auspicious sign. Later, when monks asked the local villagers about the elephant, they couldn’t find anyone who had seen it.

In Tibetan tradition, the elephant is often compared to a bull. When the reincarnation of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche was born on May 27, 1985, in the year of the Bull or the Ox. It became clear that the appearance of the elephant and the ascetics had had a definite significance.

Completely intact unburned holy skull
The twenty-fourth of November was the night of the full moon. It was one of the days that Rinpoche had circled in his diary before his death, and so it was on this morning that the members of Zong Labrang opened the cremation hearth. Lying among Rinpoche’s ashes they found his skull unburned and completely intact. Zong Rinpoche’s previous incarnation, Zongtrul Tenpa Chopel, who had died in 1899, had also left his skull intact. That relic, which bears the Tibetan syllable AH, is kept to this day at Zong Rinpoche’s residence as a treasure of faith and honor.

Kyabje Zong Rinpoche’s Swift Return
When the cremation hearth was opened, a large quantity of relic pills were found between the two pans. Finally, when the lower pan was removed, everyone present saw in the sand mandala two unmistakable footprints of an infant, complete with heels and toes. The discovery of these extraordinary signs made everyone feel great peace, reaffirming their faith in their Teacher, and assuring them that his return would be swift.

Kyabje Zong Rinpoche circled the dates in his diary!
Some time before his passing, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche had circled three dates in his diary. The first was the date that he rose from the Clear Light state. The second was the day of the cremation. The third was the day the cremation hearth was opened. This made it very convenient for the disciples to plan and conduct the traditional arrangements, but the real message is of course, that Rinpoche had gone beyond ordinary death and rebirth. His last extraordinary deeds demonstrated a fully controlled, fearless death. They teach us that one day, everything must come to an end. Those present were indelibly impressed with the knowledge that practice and effort can enable one to completely transcend death. Thus, the life of Kyabje Zong Rinpoche became a teaching on how to live meaningfully and die well.