"Mind Beyond Death" Weekend Program in New York City
by Julia Grace

The Venerable Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche was at the Shambhala Meditation Center in New York City over the weekend of September 21st - 23rd to give teachings on his latest book, Mind Beyond Death. This event was co-hosted by the Shambhala Meditation Center and Nalandabodhi New York, and one notable feature of the weekend was the evident pleasure that both these organizations take in their relationship. This spirit of easy cooperation has been enriched by the high regard which Ponlop Rinpoche often expresses for Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, whom Rinpoche first met as a young boy when he came to the United States with the 16th Karmapa.

Rinpoche began his talk with a quote from Woody Allen, who said that 'he didn't know if he believed in reincarnation, but he was going to bring a change of underwear just in case.' Thus framing his talks on the bardos in this light, Rinpoche deemphasized the necessity of firm belief in rebirth as a prerequisite to benefit from these teachings. At the same time, he encouraged people to keep an open mind by pointing out that while it cannot be proven that rebirth exists, likewise it cannot be proven that it does not. He also encouraged people to be realistic and humble in their expectations of how to meet death, telling us that it is okay to strive to die as best we can with some dignity. We should not set the bar too high - for rainbow body - for instance. Rinpoche jokingly suggested that maybe 'rainbow hand' would be good enough.

Rinpoche's book is as much about how to live than how to die or go beyond death. Rinpoche emphasized that we should be more concerned with how we live our lives in the NOW. By the time we are dying or dead it will be too late to compensate for lost time during our lives by relying on esoteric bardo practices. Rinpoche stressed that he had approached the bardo material from a dzogchen perspective and he emphasized that the realization of rigpa is what we should strive to attain and stabilize in whatever bardo we may find ourselves.

It was a wonderful weekend - Definitely Beyond Expectation!

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