Past, Present & Future Lives and Navigating the Bardo State (Part 3)

In the last Dharma talk for the year 2021 which will take place on the morning of Christmas Day, Geshe la will continue his teachings on the concepts of past, present and future lives and the bardo (which is the intermediate state between any two lives).

Topic: Past, Present & Future Lives and Navigating the Bardo State (Part 3)

Time: Dec 25, 2021 10:00 AM Singapore

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With many thanks for everyone’s patience, these are the notes of Geshe la’s teachings from the morning of Sat 25 December 2021 during which Geshe la continued his explanation on the Buddhist reckoning of past, present and future lives.

OPENING TEACHING

Geshe la explained that belief in the existence of past, present and future lives is important, but it is equally important to observe through our analysis of day to day events, bits and pieces of anecdotal evidence illustrating the truth behind this, and in so doing, realise that our present lives are short and can end anytime. That will help us change our mindsets, so that we don’t just focus on enjoying whatever (material things) this life has to offer, but also prepare for our life (and lives) to come. Many enlightened masters such as Milerapa saw the truth of there being future lives, and worked hard during their present life to avoid non-virtuous actions, purify negative karma, and train in the Bodhisattva’s perfections, in order to create a positive karmic balance for a better future life.

Regarding the truth of there being past, present and future lives, we had been introduced the sutras as being the source of such teachings, and also the importance of testing these teachings through logic and analysis of anecdotal and real evidence. Geshe le reminded the class of there being different types of logic through which one can test (and prove) the working hypothesis.

We had been introduced to the concept of karmic seeds, their nature, and where it comes from – through thorough observations of our own minds, we will be able to understand the truth behind the existence of karmic seeds in each of us, which will inevitably ripen at some point in time in our lives when conditions are ripe. Karmic seeds are no different to seeds of fruit trees. Each karmic seed is planted by oneself (or former incarnate(s) of oneself), and can only ripen within one’s own consciousness’ mental continuum. A seed of a pear cannot grow into an apple tree – so the effects of each karmic seed planted, whether positive or negative, is set in stone when it is generated and planted.

Our consciousness itself, as one of the five aggregates that make up the “self”, is a product of its past seeds which will ripen subsequently into different experiences later on in this life or future lives. Our consciousnesses now have a body within which it resides. The seed of the present body which we have (the fruit) are the product of a physical union of our parents’ sperm and egg/ovum. But our consciousnesses comes from something beyond the physical. The previous moments’ consciousness is akin to the seed of our present state of consciousness, the latter of which is the effect, or fruit.

ANALYSIS OF ANECDOTAL AND REAL EVIDENCE OF THE TRUTH OF PAST (PRESENT & FUTURE) LIVES

Geshe la went on to illustrate by way of examples and evidence of day to day phenomenon in the world around us that we often don’t bother to observe sufficiently.

If we observe little children, or newborn animals, we will see that they come into this world with some innate knowledge of certain things that precedes any form of teaching or instruction.

Geshe la shared his experience of shepherding animals such as sheep in the Tibetan plateau when he was young, and observed how young sheep within the herd would know how to suckle their mothers’ breasts for milk. This is a clear example of their stored consciousness at work, accumulated through round after round of rebirth in samsara. They are able to do so intuitively despite being born in the animal realm, where they are not gifted with any form of intellect.

In the human realm, young children are capable of exhibiting certain traits associated with the poisons of attachment and aversion, despite being toddlers or younger. We see that many negative traits such as bullying, jealousy, wishing harm unto others, or greed, can manifest in young children. This is no fault of theirs (in this life) as they are habits carried into this life from a previous life through their mental continuum/ stored consciousness. Negative traits manifest in these young children despite the absence of prior exposure. Yet, we invariably find that positive traits are far harder to come by naturally, and harder to teach or inculcate. This is because positive traits are just like new technological equipment to us – everyone requires some training and time to learn how to use such new technology. Not everyone can have those positive habits imbued in one’s mental continuum or stored consciousness. When one observes the tulkus or rinpoches in our tradition, however, we see their positive traits reflected in them even when they are very young children.

Through samadhi (meditative stablisation) whereby one’s obscurations are sufficiently removed, it is possible for one to recall one’s past lives, and to also predict with some level of accuracy, one’s future lives. The Buddha for instance recalled and told of his last 500 lives and beyond.

The above gives us sufficient working knowledge of our consciousness and where it comes from. It allows us to reflect on the question of whether this consciousness of ours is a newly created/ newly generated entity unique to this life, or whether it has a past which was the very seed that led to the consciousness of the present. With this in mind, Geshe la introduced us to the bardo state, which is the state of existence between two lives.

THE BARDO STATE

When a consciousness departs its physical body at the end of that body’s life, the consciousness is said to be in the “bardo state”. This is the very state that we had been in, before our consciousness entered our mothers’ wombs in this life. It can therefore be seen that death, like birth itself, is natural and we have all gone through this before.
Entities in the bardo state have a vision akin to those that one views through night vision goggles. For instance, if one is looking through such goggles, you will see red glows when you see animals that emit heat, whilst inanimate objects are white in colour through these lens. The entity in the bardo state will be able to identify his or her future parents in sexual embrace from afar, and will move very quickly to the physical location his or her prospective parents who have a karmic connection from previous lives to this entity in the bardo state, which is sufficient to ripen into a parent-child relationship in this next life.

When the entity moves close enough to its parents, however, it will only be able to see the sexual organs of both parents. If the consciousness is destined to be born male, the entity will feel attachment (贪) towards his mother, and aversion (嗔) towards his father. The reverse is true for an entity destined to be a female.

This momentary dualistic thought sparks the transference of the consciousness into the womb. This will lead to the entity “dying” in the bardo state, and transference of its consciousness into the womb of his or her mother. Of course, whether there is conception is also dependent upon the physical (medical) state of both parents i.e. the viability of the father’s sperm and the mothers’ egg or ovum.

We also often hear of the reverse situation where both parents are medically fine and healthy, but cannot conceive – this is explained in our Buddhist tradition by the absence of any entities in the bardo state with whom these parents have a karmic relationship consistent with a prospective parent-child relationship. In our tradition, we have also helped (and witnessed how) certain couples, upon having created the causes and conditions to conceive a child, being gifted with children late in their adult lives, sometimes only decades after their marriage. One can therefore see that the entity in the bardo state must first have the karmic connection to its prospective parents as a condition precedent to taking rebirth in its mother’s womb.

The sutras and tantras (many of which pre-date discoveries of modern medical science) narrate in great detail the various stages of development of the foetus as it gestates in the womb.

The human form is achieved only after 17 weeks, and it is only after 36 weeks of gestation that it is deemed ready to leave the mothers’ womb. Whilst the foetus is not quite a human being until its 17th week, it is described as being “akin to human form” before that. Prior to its 17 weeks, it is not yet a human being, but if someone who has taken monastic vows takes part in or kills such an entity, it is a violation of the precept against killing a person and the karma of killing of a human being is complete. If the foetus is aborted prior to the 17 weeks by lay people, the karma of killing is equally complete if the 4 constituent elements of the karma of killing are present.

The sutras and tantras speak of a foetus wishing to emerge from its mother’s womb once it reaches 20 weeks and above. It becomes conscious of its discomfort in the enclosed space, the relative lack of cleanliness in the womb etc and will start to assume a position ready for birth, including a gradual movement of its head downwards. Save for obstacles or negative karma that might lead to premature birth or complications in pregnancy, the vast majority of mothers will experience labour on or after 36 weeks of pregnancy.

With regard to birth in the human realm, we are looking at birth from a womb. But there is birth in other realms where one is not born from a womb. Apart from birth from a womb, there are 3 other types of births that the sutras and tantras speak of.

In some animal species e.g. chickens, birth is from an egg (embryo) – it starts from (i) an egg in the hen’s tummy, before (ii) being laid and fertilised, and then (iii) the chick breaking out of an egg post gestation – birth from an egg is therefore commonly known as a three stage birth processs. It is therefore important to understand that the eating fertilised eggs is no different to eating meat and one may possibly be unwittingly committing the karma of killing if a fertilized egg is commissioned by one for consumption – only non-fertilised can be considered vegetarian, but as one can’t be sure, one should avoid eggs when one has taken a vow of non-killing or one a day that one is vegetarian.

In other realms such as the god realms or Dewachen (The Western Paradise of Amitabha), birth in these realms is through miraculous birth not through a womb or an egg. The entity in the bardo state is similarly born and experiences death over the 49 days via miraculous birth.

Other means of birth are witnessed by organisms such as small insects or bacteria, who are born through moisture or dampness.

CONCULSION

Therefore, in summary, we now know where this consciousness comes from, where it transited (in the bardo state), and how it came to take form in our mothers’ wombs.

We know that there are many aspects of today’s teachings that have not quite been researched in any level of detail by modern medical science, but had been laid down by the Buddha and the numerous pandits of Nalanda University. Whether these will one day be verified sufficiently by modern science remains to be seen.

It is important to understand that our present stored consciousness or mental continuum come from a previous life, and are a product of our past intentions and acts. We are often asked however: why don’t we remember our past lives? The answer lies in the fact that when we are in the bardo state, our consciousness is in a state of semi-consciousness, as if in a drugged state and is unable to experience ongoings (let alone retain memory thereof) lucidly. The bardo entity lives and dies and lives again over a period of 49 days up to 7 times before that consciousness is transferred into the human womb. This is why the consciousness finds it hard to retain memories of its immediate past lives. Equally possibly, our former lives may have been in other realms, including but not limited to the animal realm, and we therefore will find it harder to relate (and recollect) such past lives.

We sometimes hear stories of people who are able to recall their past lives especially when they are very young, and as Geshe la explained previously, many of these people may have experienced sudden death and rebirth in relatively quick succession due to their life-span not having been fully exhausted yet, whilst the others who have such ability are enlightened masters in our tradition who take rebirth in our world system.

The working hypothesis therefore entails that our consciousness comes from only one source. It does not come from our parents, but is in fact a continuum from a previous life and its interim bardo state, and not that of our parents. With these foundations in mind, Geshe la will delve deeper in the next lesson into our consciousness’ journey through the bardo state.

We hope these teachings will bring benefit to all of you and all sentient beings, and may all sentient beings have happiness and its causes, and be free from suffering and its causes.

The Maha Tare Team