Hi there, everyone:
It is with sadness that I pass along an email from our friends at DDCV, who have been promoting Buddhism in Vermont for some time now, about the passing of Kaye Barbour. ________
Dear Dharma friends,
On October 31, our beloved Dharma sister Kaye Barbour passed away. She was a beloved member of our sangha, and a friend to many. She was also a deeply devoted student of Garchen Rinpoche. Her 61 years here were filled with extraordinary richness, and we are all so honored to have made a connection with her, to have been able to be called a friend. Kaye was the matriarch of our community, DDCV, as well as beloved "Aunty Kaye" to our families and children. During her 6 months in the hospital, as she practiced Tonglen and constant prayers for others to His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche, she was profoundly heroic, and a blessing to all of us who had the privelage to support her and spend time with her in the hospital.
Her caregivers report that her last day was spent in a peaceful state of mind.
His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche was contacted immediately. With great love and affection, Rinpoche told us to do aspiration prayers of Amitabha Buddha for Kaye and "Kuntuzangpo's Prayer". Rinpoche said that He would be doing Powa for Kaye, thus we should not do Powa for Kaye. We have attached "Kuntuzangpo's Prayer", for anyone wishing to recite this (scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the prayer). Kaye herself said several months ago, in a particularly lucid moment, "Do not underestimate the power of prayers. PRAYER IS REAL. The words have real power, go out into the universe, are fulfilled, and come back into you multiplied. Have confidence in the power of prayer."
The hospital staff has been exceptionally kind and honoring of Kaye's "after-life care". Several of us were able to practice with Kaye just after the time of her death for many hours. According to Buddhist tradition, it is beneficial to leave the body of someone who has died undisturbed for 3 days, as the inner elements dissolve and the consciousness leaves, so that the practitioner has the best opportunity to go through these processes consciously and to then make use of death as the spiritual opportunity for liberation that it can be through recognizing the clear light, recognizing the after-death appearances as unreal, or ejecting the consciousness through the crown of the head to a pure land. We are so grateful to the hospital staff, and rejoice in Kaye's good karmic fortune, she remained totally undisturbed for 7 hours, and then was gently moved to another location in the hospital, where she will remain undisturbed for the remainder of the traditional 3 days. She has a liberation by touch mandala on her body which Garchen Rinpoche gave to us, which will be cremated with Kaye.
ON NOVEMBER 22nd, at 2pm, Burnham Hall, Lincoln, VT, there will be a MEMORIAL SERVICE for Kaye. At that time Gyalpo Rinpoche will conduct a ritual for Kaye which is traditionally done to guide the consciousness of the deceased to the pure land. All are welcome.
There will be group practice here at DDCV for Kaye on the Full Moon, Buddha Amitabha Day, this Sunday, November 5th, at 3pm. 210 Robinson Rd. Lincoln VT. 802-453-3431.
As Kaye herself wrote,
"My only wish is for all beings, everywhere, to have peace and happiness and that all suffering should cease. We are all here for only a short time and we must all do the best we can when we know what that is...
Our relationships with one another are like a brief moment in time. We see each other smile and pass eachother and that is all-that is what life is-just a moment, a meeting, a passing, and then it is gone. Understanding this, there is no time to fight, to argue, or to hurt eachother. Whether you think about this in terms of humanity as a whole, or about individuals, there is no time for anything less than truly appreciating the brief time we have with one another."
I know Kaye is grateful to all of you from the bottom of her heart for all of your love and support, as she had expressed to us many, many times.
Thankyou,
Sincerely & with much love,
Kaye's sangha family in Vermont. _____________
The Prayer of Kuntuzangpo, The Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra Ho! Everything - appearance and existence, samsara and nirvana, has a single ground, yet two paths and two fruitions, and magically displays as awareness or unawareness.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may all beings become Buddhas, completely perfected in the abode of the dharmadhatu. The ground of all is uncompounded, and the self-arising great expanse, beyond expression, has neither the name samsara nor nirvana. Realizing just this you are a Buddha; not realizing this you are a being wandering in samsara.
I pray that all you beings of the three realms may realize the true meaning of the inexpressible ground.
I, Kuntuzangpo, have realized the truth of this ground, free from cause and condition, which is just this self-arising awareness. It is unstained by outer expression and inner thought, affirmation or denial and is not defiled by the darkness of unmindfulness. Thus this self-manifesting display is free from defects.
I, Kuntuzangpo, abide as intrinsic awareness. Even though the three realms were to be destroyed, there is no fear. There is no attachment to the five desirable qualities of sense objects. In self-arising consciousness, free of thoughts, there is neither solid form nor the five poisons. In the unceasing clarity of awareness, singular in essence, there yet arises the display of the five wisdoms. From the ripening of these five wisdoms, the five original Buddha families emerge, and through the expanse of their wisdom, the 42 peaceful Buddhas appear. Through the arising power of the five wisdoms, the 60 wrathful Herukas manifest. Thus the ground awareness is never mistaken or wrong.
I, Kuntuzangpo, am the original Buddha of all, and through this prayer of mine, may all you beings who wander in the three realms of samsara realize this self-arising awareness, and may your great wisdom spontaneously increase.
My emanations will continuously manifest in billions of unimaginable ways, appearing in forms to help you beings who can be trained. From the beginning you beings are deluded because you do not recognize the awareness of the ground.
Being thus unmindful of what occurs is delusion - the very state of unawareness and the cause of going astray. From this delusive state comes a sudden fainting away and then a subtle consciousness of wavering fear. From that wavering there arises a separation of self and the perception of others as enemies. Gradually the tendency of separation strengthens, and from this the circle of samsara begins.
Then the emotions of the five poisons develop - the actions of these emotions are endless. You beings lack awareness because you are unmindful, and this is the basis of your going astray.
Through my prayer, may all you beings recognize your intrinsic awareness! Innate unawareness means unmindfulness and distraction. Imputing unawareness means dualistic thoughts towards self and others. Both kinds of unawareness are the basis for the delusion of all beings.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may all you beings wandering in samsara clear away the dark fog of unmindfulness, clear away the clinging thoughts of duality!
May you recognize your own intrinsic awareness! Dualistic thoughts create doubt, from subtle attachment to this dualistic turn of mind dualistic tendencies become stronger and thicker. Food, wealth, clothes, home and friends, the five objects of the senses and your beloved family - all these things cause torment by creating longing and desire. These are all worldly delusions; the activities of grasping and clinging are endless. When the fruition of attachment ripens, you are born as a hungry ghost, tormented by coveting and desiring, miserable, starving and thirsty.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may all you desirous and lustful beings who have attachments, neither reject longing desire, nor accept attachment to desires. Let your consciousness relax in its own natural state, then your awareness will be able to hold its own. May you achieve the wisdom of perfect discernment! When external objects appear, the subtle consciousness of fear will arise. From this fear, the habit of anger becomes stronger and stronger. Finally, hostility comes, causing violence and murder. When the fruition of this anger ripens, you will suffer in hell by boiling and burning.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, you beings of the six realms, when strong anger arises for you, neither reject nor accept it. Instead relax in the natural state and achieve the wisdom of clarity!
When your mind becomes full of pride there will arise thoughts of competition and humiliation. As this pride becomes stronger and stronger, you will experience the suffering of quarrels and abuse. When the fruition of this karma ripens, you will be reborn in the god realms and experience the suffering of change and falling to the lower rebirths.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may you beings who developed pride let your consciousness relax in the natural state. Then your awareness will be able to hold its own. May you achieve the wisdom of equanimity! By increasing the habit of duality, by praising yourself and denigrating others, your competitive mind will lead you to jealousy and fighting, and you will be reborn in the jealous god realm, where there is much killing and injury. From the result of that killing, you will fall into the hell realm. Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, when jealousy and competitive thoughts arise, do not grasp them as enemies. Just relax in ease, then consciousness can hold its natural state. May you achieve the wisdom of unobstructed action! By being distracted, careless and unmindful, you beings will become dull, foggy and forgetful.
By being unconscious and lazy, you will increase your ignorance and the fruition of this ignorance will be to wander helplessly in the animal realm. Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may you beings who have fallen into the dark pit of ignorance shine the light of mindfulness and thereby achieve wisdom free from thought.
All you beings of the three realms are actually identical to Buddhas, the ground of all. But your misunderstanding of the ground causes you to go astray, so you act without aim. The six karmic actions are delusion like a dream. I am the primordial Buddha here to train the six kinds of beings through all my manifestations.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer may all you beings without exception attain enlightenment in the state of dharmadhatu.
Ah Ho! Hereafter whenever a very powerful yogin with his or her awareness radiant and free from delusion recites this very powerful prayer, then all who hear it will achieve enlightenment within three lifetimes. During a solar or lunar eclipse, during an earthquake or when the earth rumbles, at the solstices or the New Year you should visualize Kuntuzangpo. And if you pray loudly so all can hear, then beings of the three realms will be gradually liberated from suffering, through the prayer of the yogin and will finally achieve enlightenment.
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