One of my main teachers, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, used to stress with us that we should develop an aspiration to die professionally. People have ribbed me about this title, because it might read as if dying is a new career opportunity. But, I think you get the drift. Rinpoche wanted us to approach the dying process with mindfulness and grab the opportunity to blossom spiritually that in inherently present if we do.
If you are approaching death in the near future, you may find the next post more to the point. This one is primarily geared to people who have some time to work with. Don’t let it stress you by making you think the only proper way to do things takes longer than you have. The past is gone, and right now you have met with the sublime teachings of the Great Tibetan masters distilled down to their essence. Hardly anyone in their whole lives has a chance to meet with something so profound as the refined yet practical advice of the great lamas of the Tibetan tradition. Think like that. Keep a positive mind.
Now, if you are over sixty, a health care worker in a pandemic, someone in fragile health, someone who is going in and out of cancer remission: listen up.
Outer Aspects:
You need to simplify your living situation by clearing out excess stuff that you aren’t going to use again. I recommend Marie Kondo’s The Magic Art of Tidying Up. There is an audio version on audible. That will guide you through a swift process to rid of your baggage. You can’t take it with you. Recruit help from your family and loved ones. If you are alone in this world, like I am, consider apps that can bring you hourly workers to help, such as Task Rabbit.
If you can afford it, get with a lawyer and write a will, advanced directives, and possibly Power of Attorney for health and finance.
Talk to your loved ones about your wishes for your dying process. Especially if they are followers of another religion, you need to enlist their support for you need. For example, it is desirable to leave the body untouched for a period of time, ideally three days, after passing. This is called Lying in State in western parlance. But, also, if you are dying or old and you are a practitioner who has fully accepted impermanence, it is usually better to take a hospice or comfort care approach to the process and sign Do Not Resuscitate orders. You really don’t want paramedics doing CPR and rushing you to the hospital when you trying to concentrate on your practice. I’m a nurse, trust me on that. It’s terrible.
Put it all in writing. I recommend the TLC Manual from the Transitional Life Care group to walk you through everything that needs doing in an easy-to-follow way.
Tomorrow we will talk about the inner aspects of setting the stage for dying professionally.
