In the Buddhist Tantric tradition
a funeral exists
(by way of intention)
NOT to comfort the bereaved
but to safely guide the departed
to an auspicious rebirth.
For the power of love
to soothe those in mourning
cannot be overstated.
Death could be
a profoundly disorienting process
wherein our loved one
experiences their sense perceptions
collapsing inward upon themselves
in a manner not dissimilar
to the way some flowers
coalesce their petals at dusk.
In the spirit of empathy
we could explore that experience
by contemplating:
all beings of all worlds
(other than earthlings)
impermanently melting into rainbows
that interdependently absorb
into their worlds
(other than Earth),
which too melt into rainbows
that absorb into all earthlings
(other than our neighbors)
who blissfully melt into rainbows
that absorb into the entire Earth
(except for our neighborhood).
The Earth too melts into rainbow light
that absorbs into our neighbors
who also melt into rainbow light
that absorbs into our neighborhood
which too melts into rainbow light
and absorbs into our body
which also melts into rainbow light
and absorbs into our speech faculty.
Our speech too melts into rainbow light
and absorbs into our mind
which also melts into rainbow light
that absorb into the void:
spacious, and infinite,
and utterly non-graspable.
This process
could feel subtly familiar
for it is what we experience,
to a certain degree,
every time we fall asleep.
And just as falling asleep
is followed by a thoughtless swoon
that occurs
prior to the dream state
we too
take a break from contemplation
and sympathetically rest
with our departed one
as we coordinate our passive awareness
with each inhalation
and our physical relaxation
as well as mental release
with every out-breath.
Vulnerably we watch
the play of mind:
non-analytically
without even bothering
to label our experience
and we relax into
the non-graspable nature
of the experience
and the experiencer.
We do this
by silently and mentally reciting,
“Notice this…”
during each inhalation
and “relaxing!”
during each exhalation.
But nothing lasts forever
and just as each sleeper’s
swoon of thoughtlessness
drifts into dream
where we quietly go insane
(at least temporarily),
we continue to harmonize
with the departed
willing that their mind
take on the shape
of the syllable Tam
symbolizing the enlightened mind
of Tare,
a female archetype
of enlightened activity.
We do this by silently and mentally reciting
“Grin to Tam…”
during each inhalation
and “relaxing!”
during each exhalation.
As we feel our heart
fill with love and joy
our practice of love and letting-go
grows more coarse
as we blend them
with the four bases of mindfulness.
First we loving wish
that our loved one’s mind
be as wise as Tare’s mind of bliss
and then wisely contemplate
how their mind
could be as non-graspable
as Tare’s mind of light.
Second we lovingly wish
that our loved one’s communication
be as loving as Tare’s speech of bliss
and then wisely contemplate
how their communication
could be as non-graspable
as Tare’s speech of light.
Third we lovingly wish
that our loved one’s new body
be as healthy as Tare’s form of bliss
and then wisely contemplate
how their body
could be as non-graspable
as Tare’s form of light.
Fourth we lovingly wish
that our loved one’s new circumstance
be as fortunate
as Tare’s lot of bliss
and then contemplate
how their lot-in-life
could be as non-graspable
as Tare’s lot of light.
Again we could rest
in the passive awareness of mind
and relax into
its non-graspable nature
allowing our practice
of love and letting-go
to do their healing work
upon our body and mind.
Let us conclude
with a simple
call to action
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