“At the time of death everything but the teaching is useless. No matter how great the affection that my circle of loved ones has for me, I cannot take a single one of them with me. No matter how large a collection of lovely belongings I have, I cannot bring the tiniest portion of it with me. I must even be separated from the very flesh and bones I was born with. Therefore what purpose does attachment to the good things of this life serve? The Lord of Death is sure to come but it is unsure when that will occur. Since I run the risk of dying this very day , truly I must do something to prepare for death. By way of preparation, may I practice the teaching purely, free of attachment to any of this life’s excellence!”
From The Easy Path – Stages of the Path to Enlightenment by Panchen Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen
As translated in: The Easy Path to Travel to Omniscience: A Practical Exposition of the Stages of the Path which is included in The Pearl Garland: An Anthology of Lamrims, translated from the Tibetan under Venerable Dagpo Rinpoche’s guidance by Rosemary Patton, Editions Guepele (France).
Photo: His Holiness the Dalai Lama departing the teaching venue after a session of the 2012 Jangchup Lamrim Teachings, Mundgod, India, December 2012 © Manuel Bauer/JLTOC
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