中阴略说

During his week-long visit to Sukhavati care centre in the summer of 2018, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche was requested to speak about the bardos (transitional states) which are a unique feature of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings. The explanation that he shared was interspersed with instructions on the practice of Sur (burnt offering), which is particularly directed towards bardo beings. The actual Sur practice that Rinpoche makes reference to is that of Jigme Lingpa’s ‘White Sur Offering that Pervades all the Buddhafields’, which appears in quotes. Within the talk, Rinpoche raised some particularly interesting points that we can all benefit from.

2018年夏天，乌金督佳仁波切访问 极乐照护中心一周期间，受请讲解中阴，即过渡状态，这是藏传佛教教法的独特内容。他的解释穿插了烟供，即焚烧供施的修持指导；烟供尤其针对中阴众生。开示中所引的实际仪轨，是吉美林巴《遍满一切佛土的白烟供》，以引文呈现。仁波切在开示中提出了一些特别有意思、大家都能受益的要点。

I’ve been asked to talk today about the bardos. I believe everyone nowadays has heard something about this topic, but I don’t think I can talk about them in any great detail here.

今天有人请我谈中阴。我相信，如今人人都听说过一些这方面的内容，但我想，无法在这里讲得很详细。

In his famous work, the Abhidharmakosha, the Acharya Vasubandhu presented teachings that the Buddha himself gave on the bardos, contained within the sutras. In the Tibetan tradition, we also have a lot of information about the bardos from ‘déloks’, people who have returned from death and reported all the experiences that they have been through. There are also extensive teachings on the bardos found in the tradition of Dzogpachenpo. As it is said in those teachings, “Those of superior capacity are liberated in the bardo of this life, those of middling capacity are liberated in the bardo of the moment of death…” and so on. The different traditions of Dzogchen present the bardos in slightly different ways, for example some speak of four bardos, while others talk of six.

世亲阿阇黎在名著《俱舍论》中，阐述了经中佛陀亲自宣说的中阴教法。西藏传统也从“还阳者”那里得到大量中阴信息：他们从死亡中返回，讲述所经历的一切。大圆满传统同样有广大的中阴教法。如其中所说：“上根者于此生中阴解脱，中根者于临终中阴解脱……”等等。不同大圆满传统，对中阴的说明略有差异；例如，有说四种中阴，也有说六种。

Our main source of knowledge about the bardos, however, comes from the Karling Shyitro tradition, the cycle of teachings on the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities revealed by Karma Lingpa. These teachings include the Bardo Tödrol, popularly known as ‘The Tibetan Book of the Dead’, but more accurately translated as, ‘The Great Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo’. Personally, I don’t know how to explain those teachings. As I’ve told you many times before, I don’t know how to teach Dzogchen. If you really want to hear more about them you need to ask a ‘Dzogchen master’. I am not a Dzogchen master! But still, to humour you, and since you’ve made this request to me, I feel I’d better say something about the bardos here.

不过，我们关于中阴的主要知识来源，是噶林寂忿传统，也就是噶玛林巴所取寂静、忿怒尊法系。其中包括《中阴闻解脱》，通常被称为《西藏度亡经》，但更准确的译名是《中阴闻大解脱》。我个人不知道如何解释这些教法。如以前多次告诉你们，我不知道怎样传大圆满。若真想多听，就须请问“大圆满上师”；我不是大圆满上师！不过，为顺你们的意，既然向我提出请求，我觉得，还是谈一点中阴为好。

Right now we are in the bardo of this life, which lasts from the moment we take birth to the moment we abandon our body at death. This is followed by the bardo of the moment of death which lasts from the moment we die—when all appearances associated with our past life dissolve—up until the appearances of the next bardo manifest. This is the time that we are told to practice phowa (transference), if we know how to. In the Dzogchen tradition, there are many instructions to guide a dying person during this bardo, especially to point out the nature of their mind. If you are able to actualize those instructions, if you can recognise the nature of mind when it is pointed out to you, you can be liberated.

现在，我们处于此生中阴，从出生那一刻开始，直到死时舍弃身体。随后是临终中阴，从死亡、与过去一生相关的一切显相消融之时，直到下一中阴的显相出现。教法说，若懂得颇瓦迁识法，这就是修持的时候。大圆满传统有许多在这一中阴引导临终者的教授，尤其直指心性。若能落实这些教言，在被直指时认出心性，就能解脱。

During this bardo, the elements of your body dissolve one by one through different stages and the instructions that you are given follow this sequence. If, while you were alive, you practiced meditation and gained some familiarity with the nature of your mind, you can be liberated at this time.

在此中阴，身体元素依不同阶段逐一消融，所给予的教授也依此次序。若生时修过禅定，对心性有所熟悉，就能够此时解脱。

At the moment of death, the appearances of the dharmakaya manifest naturally. If you can recognize the nature of your mind in that moment—the very nature of mind that was introduced to you by your master and that you familiarised yourself with and stabilised through practice—then that recognition will merge with the appearances of the dharmakaya and become one. In that moment, you can be liberated.

死亡之际，法身显相自然现起。若当下认出心性，也就是上师曾向你直指、经修持而熟悉并稳固的心性，那么，这一认知便与法身显相相融为一。就在那一刻，能够解脱。

Here the example of a vase is given. The space inside the vase is likened to the recognition of your nature of mind. Outside the vase is vast, limitless space. In the bardo, this outer space is the unchanging wisdom expanse of the dharmadhatu which can be realized at the moment of death. Right now, the nature of mind that we recognize feels separate from that greater space because of the shell of our body and consciousness. At death it is like the breaking of the vase—the space inside the vase and the space outside merge and become one. The moment our consciousness separates from our body at death is like the vase being broken. The nature of our mind will then merge indivisibly with the expanse of the dharmadhatu. It’s like pouring water from this glass into the ocean—the water mixes and becomes one with the ocean.

这里用瓶作比喻。瓶内虚空，喻认出自心本性；瓶外，是广大无边虚空。在中阴，这外在虚空，就是死时能够证悟的、不变的法界智慧广境。现在，由于身体与意识的外壳，我们所认出的心性，仿佛与更广大的虚空分隔。死时，如瓶破碎，瓶内外虚空相融为一。死亡时，意识离身那一刻，就如瓶碎；自心本性继而与法界广境无别相融。也像将杯中水倒入大海，水与海混合为一。

How can you take advantage of this opportunity at the moment of death? You need to have been introduced to the nature of your mind by your teacher and to have practiced and gained some stability in that. If you haven’t practiced and stabilized that recognition, it won’t be possible for you to find liberation at this time. That’s why even though we first talk about recognition, we then emphasize training, so that we can develop some stability in the recognition. If you have recognized the nature of your mind and have trained at least to some extent in stabilizing that recognition, this will be sufficient for you to be liberated. It’s like there’s a crowd of a thousand people—if your mother is somewhere amongst them, you’ll immediately be able to recognize her. This is what we call, ‘liberation of the meeting of the mother and child luminosities’. As it is said, “May I be liberated, as naturally as a child running into its mother’s lap!”^[1]

如何利用死亡之际的这个机会？必须曾由老师直指心性，并修持而得到一定稳固。若不曾修习、令此认知稳固，就不可能此时解脱。因此，虽然最初谈认出，随后便强调训练，使认知稳固。若已认出心性，并至少一定程度地训练、稳固此认知，就足以解脱。如一千人聚在一起，母亲若在其中，立刻就能认出。我们称此为“母子光明相会的解脱”。如所说：“愿我解脱，如孩子奔入母亲怀中般自然！”^[1]

This prayer continues,

此祈请文接着说：

In this great secret Mantrayana path of luminosity—Dzogpachenpo—the summit of all,
Enlightenment is to be sought nowhere but in the face of the dharmakaya.
If I'm not liberated into the primordial state by actualizing this…

此光明大秘密真言道——一切之顶大圆满，
觉悟不应别求，唯于法身本面；
若未由现证此义而解脱于本初状态……

This leads us to the next bardo, the bardo of dharmata. Generally we say that the bardo of the moment of death lasts three days. In the bardo of dharmata, all the peaceful and wrathful deities start to manifest. How they appear, and how long the appearances last, can vary a great deal. To gain liberation during this bardo you need to have practiced the generation phase (kyerim), otherwise it is very difficult. For some people, these appearances flash by just for a split second.

这就来到下一中阴，即法性中阴。一般说，临终中阴持续三天。法性中阴中，一切寂静、忿怒尊开始显现。如何出现、显相持续多久，差异很大。要在此中阴解脱，须曾修生起次第，否则极难。对有些人，这些显相只是一刹那闪过。

According to the Abhidharmakosha, in the following bardo, the bardo of becoming, we assume a mental body, similar to the body that we have in a dream.

依《俱舍论》，接下来的有中阴中，我们具有意生身，类似梦中的身体。

“[A body] with all the sense organs yet immaterial…”

“[此身]诸根具足，却无形质……”

In the Sur practice this is described in these lines:

烟供仪轨以这些句子描述：

“…all the beings dwelling in the intermediate state,
Who have abandoned their previous bodies years, months, or days ago—yesterday, this morning, or last year—
And who have not found a physical support for their next lives…”

“……一切住于中间状态的众生，
数年、数月或数日前——昨日、今晨或去年——已舍前身，
尚未找到来生的身体所依……”

Since bardo beings only have a mental body, they are unable to settle in one place for any length of time and instead travel restlessly through all six realms of existence. According to the Yeshe Lama, there are only two places that bardo beings cannot travel to: the Vajra Seat, the place of Buddha’s enlightenment, and the mother’s womb. Some Sakyapas question this statement and ask, “What’s the problem with them going to the Vajra Seat? If you go to Bodhgaya these days, it’s full of tirthikas, so why can’t bardo beings go there too?” But the Vajra Seat that Jigme Lingpa was referring to is the ultimate vajra seat of the primordial purity of basic space. If you reach the vajra seat of the primordial purity of basic space it means that you’ve attained enlightenment, so of course you’re not a bardo being anymore! And if you enter the mother’s womb and take birth, then you’ve also ceased to be a bardo being.

中阴众生只有意生身，无法长时间安住一处，而在六道间不安地流转。依《智慧上师》，只有两个地方不能去：佛陀觉悟的金刚座，以及母胎。有些萨迦派人士质疑：“去金刚座有什么问题？如今菩提伽耶满是外道，中阴众生为什么不能去？”但吉美林巴所说的金刚座，是法界本初清净的究竟金刚座。若到达这个金刚座，就已觉悟，当然不再是中阴众生！若入母胎受生，也就不再是中阴众生。

Still, the Sakyapas maintain that bardo beings cannot travel to the actual Vajra Seat in India. They argue that the Vajra Seat lies some distance below the surface of Bodhgaya, in a place that is endowed with the seven qualities of a vajra^[2] . Consequently it is impenetrable, and even the subtle mental body of a bardo being cannot enter there. They give the example of an extremely hard stone—no matter how much water you might pour onto the stone, the water cannot penetrate inside.

不过，萨迦派仍主张，中阴众生不能进入印度实际的金刚座。他们认为，金刚座位于菩提伽耶地面下方一段距离，其处具金刚七性^[2]，因此不可穿透，甚至中阴众生微细意生身也进不去。他们以极坚硬的石头作比：无论向石头倒多少水，水也不能渗入。

These are just some of the debates that have sprung up around this topic. In any case, it is believed that bardo beings can travel unimpeded anywhere and everywhere except these two places.

这些只是围绕此题出现的一些辩论。无论如何，一般认为，除这两处外，中阴众生处处无碍可往。

The Sur text says that beings who wander in the bardo are,

烟供文本说，流转中阴的众生：

“Without protector or defender,
Have not the backing of accumulated merit from the past,
And lack the friendship of virtue.”

“无怙无护，
没有往昔所积福德作为后援，
也缺乏善法友伴。”

I think these lines would be applicable to the vast majority of Western and Chinese people.

我想，这几句适用于绝大多数西方人与中国人。

It is extremely important that we accumulate merit for people after they have passed away, especially at the specific times indicated in the texts, e.g. on the 3rd, 7th, 21st, etc. and the 49th day after death. In days of old, the family of the deceased would make a particular point of sponsoring practices on these dates.

在人去世后，为其积累福德，极为重要，尤其在文本指出的特定时间，如死后第三、第七、第二十一日等，以及第四十九日。古时，亡者家属会特别在这些日期施资修法。

From what I’ve seen, Chinese people sponsor as much practice as they can before someone dies, to prevent their death, but once they’re actually dead, they don’t do so much. It looks to me like they just have some sort of party. Westerners, on the other hand, just seem to fight over the money of the dead person! In Tibet, people used to observe the old traditions but nowadays they more seem to follow the Chinese approach. Everyone gathers together and drinks alcohol, just like they’re having a party. Maybe they’ll offer a sang, but that’s about all. It’s only in Kham that people still follow the old customs and accumulate merit for the dead person. It is actually extremely important for the people who are still alive to accumulate merit for their deceased friend or relative.

据我所见，中国人在一个人死前，为避免其死亡，会尽力资助修法，但真正死后，做的便不多。看起来像办某种聚会。另一方面，西方人似乎只顾争夺亡者的钱财！西藏人过去遵循旧传统，如今却似乎更随中国人的方式，大家聚在一起喝酒，像在开派对。也许会作桑烟供，但差不多仅此而已。只有康区，人们仍依旧俗，为亡者积福。实际上，生者为已故亲友积累福德，极为重要。

The Sur text goes on to say,

烟供文本继续说：

“Who have only the four aggregates of name,
Whose feelings are by nature pain”

“唯具四种名蕴，
所受本性为苦。”

Bardo beings have aggregates and therefore experience suffering. They experience suffering of many different types. If you’re not aware that you have actually died, your suffering will be even greater. You return to your home, your family, your husband or wife, your sons or daughters, and try to talk to them, but they don’t respond, they completely ignore you. Nor do they share their food with you. This is what you experience and it’s a tremendous source of pain. Worst still, you see people taking away all your wealth and possessions—everything that you once owned becomes dissipated. That too is a great source of suffering. The pain that you experience is far greater than that of someone who knows that they have died.

中阴众生有蕴，因此受苦，经历许多种痛苦。若不知自己已经死了，痛苦更大。你回家，回到家人、丈夫或妻子、儿女身边，试着交谈，但他们不回应，完全无视，也不分食物给你。你所经历的这一切，是极大痛苦的来源。更糟的是，看到别人拿走全部财富、财物，曾拥有的一切都散失了，这也极为痛苦。你所受的苦，远超过知道自己已死的人。

On top of this, you experience a great deal of fear, and the pain related to desire, aversion and ignorance. As the text says:

此外，还会经历极大恐惧，以及贪、嗔、痴相关的痛苦。如文中所说：

“Who are tormented by terrifying hallucinations,
And suffer from cold, hunger, and thirst;
Whose lives are of unpredictable length.”

“为可怖幻相所折磨，
受寒、饥、渴苦，
寿量长短无定。”

You have no idea how long you will remain in this condition and you have absolutely no freedom to choose where you go. As the text says, bardo beings are carried helplessly, “like feathers borne by the wind”. That is why we need to make offerings and pray:

你不知道会在这种状态停留多久，也完全不能自由选择去处。如文中所说，中阴众生无助地被带着走，“如风中羽毛”。因此，需要供施并祈愿：

“May they find a place to stay, with friends, and wealth, and food and drink, perfect and abundant, and be free of cares.”

“愿得安居之处、友伴、财富与饮食，圆满丰足，远离忧虑。”

By making sur offerings and practicing for bardo beings, we can greatly alleviate the suffering that they go through.

通过烟供与为中阴众生修法，能够大大减轻其所受之苦。

If you were to ask, “How many bardo beings are there?”, the answer would be that there are a far greater number of bardo beings than there are human beings. Why? Because it’s not so easy to be reborn in a human body. There are far more beings who take birth in the animal, hungry ghost and hell realms.

若问“中阴众生有多少”，答案是，其数远多于人类。为什么？因为再得人身并不容易，投生畜生、饿鬼、地狱者，远远更多。

People who have done some good in their lives and who have not caused too much harm will spend a slightly longer period in the bardos.

一生做过一些善事、没有造成太多伤害的人，会在中阴停留稍久。

As I said before, it is extremely important to make offerings to beings in the bardo. Furthermore, we should dedicate those offerings in their name. In Sur practice, for example, we are told to add the dead person’s name within the prayer that we recite. Karma Lingpa particularly stressed this point. He also said that it is better if the person practicing for the dead person was close to them. That depends of course on whether or not you know how to do the practice. If you don’t, then you need to request a lama to do it for you.

如前所说，向中阴众生供施，极为重要；而且应以其名回向。例如烟供中，教我们将亡者名字加在所诵祈请文里，噶玛林巴特别强调这一点。他也说，若修法者与亡者亲近，更好。当然，这取决于是否懂得修法；若不懂，就须请上师代修。

In any case, they are the main recipient of your sur offering, which is also offered to all bardo beings. You make the Sur offering so that,

无论如何，亡者是你烟供的主要受施者，同时也供施一切中阴众生。作烟供，是为了：

“May they find a place to stay, with friends, and wealth, and food and drink, perfect and abundant, and be free of cares.”

“愿得安居之处、友伴、财富与饮食，圆满丰足，远离忧虑。”

Once they are free of worries and cares, you then pray, particularly if the person was a Buddhist,

待其远离忧虑烦恼，再祈愿，尤其亡者是佛教徒时：

“Immediately, may they behold Noble Avalokiteshvara
And the bodhisattva Sarvanivarana-vishkambhin, and recognizing the intermediate state as the intermediate state,
May they realize that it is deluded appearance.
Remembering the teacher, the Three Jewels, the yidam deity, and the view,
May they instantly purify the obscurations of their evil deeds and attain mastery over awareness.
May they be able to proceed directly to the Blissful Buddhafield, the Buddhafield of Lotus Light or some other extraordinary realm.”

“愿即见圣观世音，
与除盖障菩萨，认中阴为中阴，
了知这只是迷乱显相。
忆念上师、三宝、本尊与见地，
愿即净除恶业之障，于觉性得自在。
愿能直往极乐佛土、莲花光佛土，或其他殊胜净境。”

In this current ‘age of degeneration’, to reach liberation, the ultimate state of the great union of Vajradhara, within a single lifetime is rather difficult. Our enthusiasm for the Dharma and diligence to practice it has become weak. We all like to think of ourselves as Dharma practitioners, but what this usually means is that we have an appreciation for the Dharma. We don’t actually practice it all that much. When you practice the dharma, it is your mind that needs to practice—your mind needs to truly absorb the Dharma teachings. But if we look carefully, we can see that the number of people who genuinely practice the Dharma, whose minds have truly absorbed the teachings, are very few.

在当今“衰败时代”，一生中解脱，证得金刚持大双运的究竟境界，相当困难。我们对佛法的热忱与修持精进，已变得薄弱。大家都喜欢自认修行者，但通常只是欣赏佛法，实际上并未修多少。修佛法，是心要修，心须真正吸收教法。但仔细看，就会发现，真正修法、心已真实融入教法的人，很少。

In the basic approach of the Shravakas, you need to arouse a genuine sense of renunciation for samsara. In other words, you need to reduce your attachment to samsara to a very low level. It’s not enough just to think you have renunciation, your attachment to samsara has to be eradicated. On the path of the Bodhisattva, we need to reduce our self-cherishing and think only of benefitting others. We need to treasure others more dearly than ourselves. If you can do that, that’s really excellent! But it’s actually very difficult. You might have a little compassion, at times… that’s doable. After all, even a tigress will look after her own cubs. But if we’re really honest with ourselves, our compassion is quite limited. When we come to the Vajrayana, the path of pure perception, we need to see everything—the entire universe, all sentient beings, as well as ourselves, our body and our mind—as the infinite pure mandala of the deities. That’s not so easy, is it? As it says in the Narak Kong Shak, we need to free ourselves from all dualistic clinging to concepts of purity and impurity. That doesn’t happen just like that!

声闻基本途径中，须对轮回生起真实出离心。换言之，对轮回的贪著应减至极少。仅想自己有出离心不够，须根除对轮回的贪著。菩萨道中，应减少爱我执，一心利他，珍视他人甚于自己。若做得到，实在很好！但实际很难。有时有一点悲心，倒做得到；毕竟，连母虎也会照顾幼崽。但若诚实自省，我们的悲心十分有限。来到金刚乘清净观之道，须见一切——整个宇宙、一切众生，以及自己的身心——皆为无量清净本尊坛城。这不容易，对吧？如 地狱忏悔 所说，须脱离对净、不净概念的一切二元执著。这可不会轻易发生！

So my point is, to be a genuine practitioner of the Dharma these days is actually quite difficult. However, whilst it might be difficult for us to achieve liberation in this lifetime, if we have a true appreciation for the Dharma and have spent our life trying as much as possible to put it into practice, then we will have a good chance of attaining liberation in the bardo. In the bardo, we will no longer have a physical body made of flesh and blood.

所以，我想说，如今做真正的佛法修行者，其实很难。不过，虽然此生解脱困难，若真心珍视佛法，一生尽可能努力实践，就很有机会在中阴解脱。中阴中，我们不再有血肉之躯。

As it is said, we will be “transferred instantly to higher realms or a lower rebirth based on a positive or negative mind.” When we are in the bardos, the blessing of all the buddhas, the aspirations of all the bodhisattvas, the power, strength and ability of all the deities of the three roots, and the activities of the protectors, will support us. So we have help. There’s no doubt about this. That’s why we have some hope to attain liberation in the bardos. When we are in the bardo of becoming we no longer have a physical body and this makes it even more possible for the deities to benefit us through their power and blessings.

如所说，届时将“依善心或恶心，刹那迁至善趣或恶趣”。中阴中，一切佛的加持、一切菩萨愿力、三根本诸尊的威力能力，以及护法事业，都会支持我们。因此，我们有帮助，毫无疑问。正因如此，对中阴解脱仍有希望。处于有中阴时，不再具有色身，更使诸尊能够以威力加持利益我们。

In the Secret Mantra Vajrayana there’s a lot of talk about liberation. It says, just by meditating on the deity you will be liberated, just by reciting the mantra you will be liberated, or, in the Dzogpachenpo, just by recognizing the nature of mind you will be liberated. I think the liberation that they speak of is more likely to happen in the bardos. A great many practitioners have been liberated in the bardos by following these teachings.

秘密真言金刚乘中，很多地方谈解脱，说只观本尊便能解脱，只持咒便能解脱；大圆满中，说只要认出心性便能解脱。我想，这里所说的解脱，更可能发生在中阴。许许多多修行者，已依这些教法于中阴解脱。

In the Prayer of Aspiration to be Reborn in Zangdokpalri it says,

《铜色山往生愿文》中说：

When death arrives with all its overpowering force,
Let the messengers of Padma, the dakinis, gracefully dancing,
Actually take us by the hand,
Just as they did Kharchen Za and Guna Natha,^[3]
And lead us to the paradise of Lotus Light!

当死亡挟不可抗拒之力来临，
愿莲师使者空行母，优美起舞，
真实牵起我们的手，
如昔对待卡钦氏女与 古那那他，^[3]
引往莲花光净土！

It is also said that if you think of the Protector Amitabha when you are in the bardos, then Amitabha himself, together with his entire retinue of bodhisattvas, will appear before you and guide your consciousness to the pure land of Sukhavati, where you will be reborn. This tradition of practice is particularly strong in Japan where apparently there are three different lineages that follow this approach of seeking rebirth in Sukhavati. Some just recite the White Lotus Sutra, as well as a few other prayers, while others simply recite ‘Namo Amitabha’. On the strength of those prayers the practitioner will be taken to the pure land of Amitabha when they die. There were three different masters who brought these lineages of practice to Japan and each had a slightly different approach, but they are all based on this same principle. Each master then began his own school. Apparently in Japan, every master begins his own school, which is why you find so many different traditions. For example, there are two types of Vajrayana teaching in Japan but they don’t seem to get along with each other, they don’t even enter each other’s temples!

又说，中阴中若忆念怙主阿弥陀佛，阿弥陀佛便会与全体菩萨眷属现于面前，引导心识往生极乐净土。这一修持传统在日本尤其兴盛，据说有三个不同传承，遵循这种求生极乐的方法。有些只诵《白莲经》及其他几篇祈请文，有些则只念“南无阿弥陀佛”。依这些祈愿之力，修行者死时将被接引至阿弥陀佛净土。曾有三位不同上师，将这些修法传承带到日本，各有略微不同的方法，但都依据同一原理。随后，每位都创立自己的宗派。据说，日本每位上师都创一派，因此有这么多不同传统。例如，日本有两类金刚乘教法，但似乎相处不好，甚至不进对方的寺院！

In short, I think you should definitely aim to achieve liberation within this lifetime, and if that doesn’t work, then you can rely upon the possibility to be liberated in the bardo. To help make that happen, the accumulation of merit is extremely important. Even the smallest action can be of great benefit and is worthwhile. And of course, as much as possible, you should avoid committing negative actions. Try to surround yourself with good influences, friends to accompany you. To be ‘well-accompanied’ means to be supported by the buddhas, bodhisattvas, lamas and deities of the three roots, and the Vajrayana protectors. Jigme Lingpa said that if you have practiced Magön Chamdral regularly, you will go to Zangdokpalri when you die. Actually this doesn’t apply just to Magön Chamdral—whatever dharmapala practice you do, that protector will take you there. Here we are referring to the wisdom protectors, of course; they are the ones who can help you with this.

总之，我想，当然应以此生解脱为目标；若未做到，还可依靠中阴解脱的可能。为促成此事，积累福德极为重要。再微小的善行，也可能大有利益，值得去做。当然，也应尽可能避免造恶。努力让自己处于善的影响之中，有友伴同行。“有善伴”，是指得到佛、菩萨、上师、三根本诸尊及金刚乘护法支持。吉美林巴说，若经常修 玛贡占扎，死后就会到铜色山。其实，不只这一法；无论修哪位护法，那位护法都会带你去。当然，这里指智慧护法，能够如此帮助我们的，是他们。

That’s why you need to prepare now. You need to think about this and plan well. If you prepare well, you won’t be utterly helpless when you die, like someone trying to grasp onto the sky. You will have some hope, something that you can rely upon when the moment of death arrives.

所以，现在就须准备，认真思考，妥善安排。准备充分，死时就不会全然无助，如一个试图抓住天空的人。死亡来临时，会有希望，有可依靠之处。