Only the Dharma helps at death
46 The Foundation of Buddhist Practice
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 2 The Foundation of Buddhist Practice 
May 22, 2020 Part of an ongoing series of teachings (retreat and Friday) based on the book The Foundation of Buddhist Practice, second volume in “The Library of Wisdom and Compassion” series by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron.
- Review of nine point death meditation
- How we must reach the right conclusions
- Our worldly actions are like ripples in water
- Importance of practicing when we are alive
- Creating virtue and abandoning non virtue by ourselves
- Keeping our mind on dharma moment by moment
- Practice with a pure motivation, without the eight worldly concerns
The Foundation of Buddhist Practice 46: Only The Dharma Helps At Death (download)
Contemplation points
- When you meditate on death, does worldly fear arise? Identify some of the attachments that fuel that worldly fear in you. How might you counteract your attachment so as to come to the place of clarity that the meditation on death is guiding us to?
- Do you have any concerns for the time of death and what are they?
- Take some time to think back on your life. What have you done, motivated by attachment, that has distracted you from Dharma practice, and might lead to regret at the time of death?
- What can you do to remedy these concerns and regrets now while you have still the opportunity to do so?
- What commitment could you make that would support you putting this intention into practice?
Venerable Thubten Chodron
Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.
