When studying a culture or a religion,
analyzing their death related rituals in relation to their myths gives
aetiological insight to the non-practitioner. To understand the worldview of
Tibetans Tantric Buddhists, it is useful to examine and reflect upon the
reading of the Bar do thos grol, which literally means “liberation from the
intermediate state by means of hearing this lore”. (Neumaier-Dargyay 94) The
purpose of reading this text rests in the fact that it instills confidence coupled
with trust so that at the moment one faces organic death, it may lose some of
its frightening appearance. (Neumaier-Dargyay 101) If the family of the
deceased and monk that is appointed to perform this ritual cannot aid the dead
in achieving liberation though, they attempt to help the body of aggregates
reach a favorable rebirth. Just like any other ritual, it communicates in
several forms, two of which are regulative and constitutive.
Regulative communication
in ritual
The
regulative manner in which the reading of the Bar do thos grol communicates is evident
for the deceased so much as for the living. The family that has provided the
reading to the departed feels a sense of empowerment considering that they are
guiding the lost and confused “soul”, for lack of a better word, of their loved
one that is still lingering near its desolate body. “The other members of the
community who have properly participated in the process have accumulated
important soteriological gains as well.” (Reynolds
165) By doing so, they provide a sort of spiritual support. This life-cycle
ritual has helped the Tibetans divide life up and implant patterns to live in
an ordered society. “These strategies have involved the participation of the
entire community in ways that – from the Buddhist perspective at least – have
redounded to the benefit of all concerned.” (Reynolds
166) In the documentary film The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Tuptin Sering, a 13 year old
novice monk, is taken to the village of a Tibetan man who has just faced
organic death. He is present during the ritual of the reading of the Bar do in
order to learn and there is no better way of learning than active
participation. “Participation itself […] can be considered a powerful form of
moral education; it gives people a lively sense of communal lore.” (Bird 35) By
taking part in the death related ritual, Tuptin can effectively develop his
liturgical skills, understand his culture as well as his religion, and tie in
closer to the Tibetan Buddhist community. Frederick Bird asserts this claim, “As
children participate they become aware of the beliefs and standards of their
elders.” (35) Furthermore, witnessing this death related ritual and reading as
well as listening to the Bar do prepares the young Tibetan to face death one
day himself. Another benefit is possessing the adequate formal education to later
have the psychological strength that is needed to surpass this organic
phenomenon. Reading this text and knowing it will serve at the moment of death,
when its instructions should be remembered and followed to reach illumination
and realize that all of death’s daunting characteristics are merely a
projection of one’s own mind. In the end, the Bar do thos grol serves both the
living and the deceased since they are both one in the same for this culture.
It is useful for the “self” in whichever phase of life it finds itself.
Constitutive
communication in ritual
The
Tibetan death related ritual of reading the Bar do thos grol also communicates
in a constitutive fashion. One of its specific goals is to feel a sense of “Tibetaness”.
It does not only assert and call attention to the fact that they are Tibetan
Tantric Buddhists, but also reconstitutes them as a community. The “ritual
invokes the social membership shared by all participants”. (Bird 29) In order
to not just be a “religious tourist”, one must take part in this death related
ritual. Knowing the text and understanding it does not possess any higher
meaning to those Tibetans who reside in the sacred world, “Without this action,
[…], one has philosophy but not religion”. (Bird 29) The reading of the Bar do
affirms their place in the religious community since without this action,
something would feel terribly wrong. Bird also claims, “To participate
regularly in these rites is to hear of, recognize and reaffirm these stories
and the beliefs they embody.” (35) As a result, their reaction to, treatment of
and rituals related to death support and are supported by their worldview.
Their myth supports their way of carrying out their life; moreover, their
actions advocate their belief in their myth. A fine example to illustrate the
constitutive nature of the reading of the Bar do would be their belief in
reincarnation. Tibetan Buddhists adhere to the notion of the “self” or five
skhandas (physical state, emotional state, sensory perceptions, response to
sensorial perceptions, and consciousness) being reborn repeatedly. To facilely
demonstrate this concept,
it would be useful to envision the paradigm of a beaded bracelet (see ANNEX I).
It is constituted of certain beads and once broken it can be reassembled on a
new string in a different order. We can regard the beads as the conscious
tendencies of a person building up a persona. Therefore, upon death when the
bracelet breaks apart, the skhandas burst and can then be reorganized as the
collection of tendencies is reborn. The result is as follows: same beads,
different bracelet. Accordingly, reading the Bar do and guiding the deceased
towards Nirvana or a favorable birth confirms their faith in a cyclic
existence. In the words of Frank E. Reynolds, “All those who were
involved have once again confronted, in a direct vivid way, the basic Buddhist
truth.” (165)
Cause of the
problematic
The
Tibetan Buddhist worldview holds that the cause of the problematic in the human
condition is the tendency to cling on to the corporeal desire for permanence. This
appetence brings forth attachment which in turn results in agony. The cause of
the problematic in the human condition for the Tibetan Buddhist is therefore
the attempt to make the temporary ever-lasting. Human beings “grasp after the
pleasures and satisfactions of this-worldly life” (Reynolds 159), and hence get
attached to impermanent tangible items, feelings, and situations. After the
death of a loved one, they experience a disruption in their homeostatic life and
are confronted with the problematic in the human situation. This rip in the
cultural fabric can only be woven by participating in the reading of the Bar do
thos grol. This ritual supports their worldview since when a member of the
community dies, Tibetans aren’t encouraged to feel that they have lost
something or someone since nothing was there to begin with. Nothing died or has
vanished from existence because everything is transformative; death is just
another phase of the ongoing process. According to Frederick Streng, an “aspect
of the problematic character of human existence is the tendency towards
disorder”. (47) We as a species are always chasing after a goal and strive
towards perfection when in fact even when you find the perfect thing it does
not remain perfect permanently. In such, adherents to the Tibetan Buddhist
religion believe that all life is suffering caused by the hunger for that which
is permanent.
Ultimate transformation
Tibetan
Buddhists acknowledge the human problematic by firstly accepting that life is
indeed suffering. The cause of the problematic is then identified to be due to the
desire for permanence in a world in flux marked by continuous change. If one
has the power to detach from all bodily desires and attachments and thereafter
realize that reality is relative since every phase of cyclic existence is a
liminal period (or a bardo) he would inhabit the ideal world. This would thus
consist of putting an end to all the inevitable suffering by attaining Nirvana.
Lastly, the means to this ultimate transformation lie in the following of the
Buddhist eight fold path.
They
regard ultimate transformation as snapping out of this earthly trance. One must
live in what is defined as “suchness”. To fully apprehend this idea, one can
think of the “runner’s trance” This connotes grasping the moment, doing
everything like it is the first time, every time. The objective is to reach a
sense of bliss rather than oblivion. For a Tibetan Buddhist, in order for one
to relieve himself from a headache, he would have to remember and picture
himself without it, extrapolate from that idea and detach from the physical
pain. This is true for any other facet of life. Their aim is breaking free from
the cycle of transmigration by means of detachment.
Also,
in response to the Buddhist belief that life is an ever-changing but endless
process, where death is only one of its recurring phases (Neumaier-Dargyay 87),
time is regarded as perpetual; therefore, numerous chances are given to achieve
liberation through Nibbanic release. Ergo, the possibility of actualizing
Nirvana is not contingent to the present life the person in question is
currently living.
SUMMARY
In
conclusion, with Tibetan Buddhists’ belief in reincarnation within a cyclical
existence, it is of no shock to see that their culture has sprouted a death
“guidebook”, which teaches the living about the world hereafter. Its clear
instructions are to be studied and extracted from one’s mind at the moment the
body of aggregates successfully exits it’s physical decaying state. Finally, it
is a regulative and constitutive communicating ritual that handle’s and
attempts to heal those encountering the human problematic being the desire for
permanence.
Beaded bracelet example
WORKS CITED / BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bernard, Elisabeth The Tibetan Tantric View of Death and Afterlife from Obayashi (ed.) 1992. 169-180. Print.
Bird,
Frederick Ritual as Communicative Action
from Ritual and Ethnic Identity A Comparitive Study of the Social Meaning of
Liturgical Ritual in Synagogues, Jack N. Lightstone and Frederick Bird (eds)
Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1995. 23-38. Print.
Neumaier-Dargyay,
Eva K. “Buddhism.” Life After Death in World Religions. Ed. Harold Coward.
Maryknoll: New York.
1997. 87-103. Print.
Reynolds, Frank E. Death as Threat, Death as Achievement: Buddhist Perspectives with Particular Reference to the Theravada Tradition from Obayashi (ed.) 1992. 157-167. Print.
Streng,
Frederick Creation
of Community through Sacred Symbols from Understanding Religious Life
(third edition) Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company
1985. 43-60. Print.
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