Khenpo Delek performed strong prayers for my mother from the moment he arrived until he left the next day


that everything we could possibly have done for her actually got done – smoothly and without effort. My precious Guru, the incomparable CHODEN RINPOCHE, called within 30 minutes of her passing and told me He would be doing AMITABHA POWA for her immediately and He did. This is a special prayer, which ensures that her soul consciousness knows exactly how to move towards the bright light and to avoid the dim light, and more importantly, to invoke the dakinis to be by her side helping her along the path to the Pure Land of Sukhavati, which is the Pure Land of Amitabha, Buddha of Infinite Light. The next day, my very precious and learned friend who is also my very beloved Guru, KHENPO DELEK RINPOCHE flew in from Taiwan in a surprise 1 day visit to do all the essential prayers through the day and night – stopping only to rest and have a light meal. Khenpo’s incredible kindness did not stop there for he had earlier arranged for POWA to be done for my Mum by his root guru HH TATLUNG RINPOCHE, the Head of the Nyingma tradition and also HH SAKYA TRINZEN RINPOCHE, the Head of the Sakya Tradition, with


66 FENGSHUIWORLD | JUNE 2014


whom he is also very close. And then He himself had come. He had brought with him the all-important 100 Deities of the Bardo silk covering, which he immediately placed over her. Then he placed the precious ZUNG DU lineage text above her head as he said prayers for her. Honestly, this kind of incredible kindness brings a big lump to my throat; you would feel the same too if you know just how precious this is for my mother’s soul consciousness. It is the best thing I can do for my mother. Khenpo’s visit just blew us all away, made me feel that this is surely a Bodhisattva, someone so pure and genuinely kind, because he had taken the first available flight to come and be with me, with us. His prayers by her side are all the most vital Bardo prayers, which only he could do. Although later he told us what Purifying prayers and SUR practices we needed to do for her daily and weekly during the 49 days after her death. Because she had chosen a Monday to leave us, the big prayers every 7 days fall on a Sunday when everyone can come. It was all very auspicious… We decided to keep the last rites and the funeral low key, so we informed


only my closest friends and relatives. We also decided against an Obituary, because I could not think of any of her friends who were still alive… and in the end, it turned out for the best, as we had a very intimate group come for her Wake and my MAFIA join us at the Prayers, which Khenpo presided over. We did a beautiful SUR Fire Offering of food and five coloured cloth to ensure she did not go hungry or feel the cold in her journey through the Bardo, using the opportunity to also offer food to all the Spirits, Dakinis and other worldly beings my Mother’s soul consciousness would encounter in her journey to the next life… Next day, we performed the last rights and Khenpo Delek flew back to Taiwan. He told us to save part of her ashes to be made into Tsa tsas (miniature Stupas) to take with us on our holy pilgrimages. Tis would represent the offering of her body to the Buddhas and doing this for her, for instance in Bodhgaya where Buddha attained Enlightenment, would be an amazing offering. When we picked her bones the day following the cremation, it was pristine white. We scattered some of it into the sea like for my father 20 years ago.


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