Category Archives: Death and Transitions

Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri



Manjushri bodhisattva is the highest manifestation of being, the embodiment of all knowledge.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The Ārya-mañjuśrī-nāma-saṅgīti (Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri) consists of 160 verses and mantra sentences, condensing an enormous tantric lore. Listen to Lama Zopa Rinpoche reciting the Ārya-mañjuśrī-nāma-saṅgīti in Tibetan. Rinpoche recorded this recitation in 2006, and asked for the recording to be made available for anyone to listen at any time during their day. Rinpoche also suggested to play it loudly so that animals and others nearby can hear it, and thereby benefit from it as well.

Recently His Holiness the Dalai Lama has offered us all the precious advice to recite Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri continuously for a few months, for the swift return of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s reincarnation. Thus all students of Lama Zopa Rinpoche are requested to please recite Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri as much as you can, continuously, starting now. You can download the English translation of Chanting the Names of Noble Manjushri and read His Holiness’s letter of advice on the FPMT website.


The Urgency of Realizing Lamrim



So we’re going to destroy, to totally cease, make it completely non-existent, this enemy, this inner enemy, this delusion, this demon, this self-cherishing thought that harms, that has been harming you, torturing you, and all the time, giving you problem all the time, even this life.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gives this introductory teaching during a lamrim retreat at Vajrapani Institute in 2006. In this session Rinpoche impresses upon us the urgent importance of concentrating all our efforts on realizing the stages of the path to enlightenment for ourselves and all sentient beings. Read along with the transcript on our website.


The Transference of Consciousness



“From the Buddhist point of view, human life and death are equally important events. There’s no reason to think that life is important and death is bad, unimportant. You should not think that way. Both are important.”

Lama Yeshe’s teachings on the transference of consciousness at death are particularly poignant as these were from the last teachings Lama gave in the West; he passed away some five months later.  These teachings have been published by LYWA as “Life, Death and After Death” and are drawn from teachings given by Lama in London, 1982 and Geneva, 1983. You can also read along to the transcript of this podcast at http://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/6-transference-consciousness


Transference of Consciousness



Teachings given by Lama Yeshe on po-wa, the transference of consciousness at the time of death, given in London in September, 1982.  These teachings were edited into the book Life, Death and After Death.

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