Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center
Five Visions of a Dying Man
by
Ven. Rastrapal Mahathera
Copyright © Kandy, Buddhist Publication Society, (2000)
BPS Online Edition © (2006)
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Bodhi Leaves No: 150
Preface
Life beyond death and extra-temporal existence have so far posed
most baffling questions to philosophers, psychologists, and students
of human nature. Various opinions are held in this matter, but one
thing that is certain is that we all must die. And on the very eve
of death the passing person is often found to behave in a mental
haze under the spell of some extra-temporal spirits. Psychologically
these mental stages may be termed illusion, hallucination, or
delusion. But sometimes, to an earnest observer, it might so happen
that the whole phenomenon becomes a striking fact far stranger than
fiction. One such thrilling experience happened to me many years ago
when, as a monk, I stayed by the bedside of a dying gentleman. The
experience had such an overwhelming impact on my mind that I
subsequently undertook painstaking research on the conception of
gods in the Pali Tipitaka.
Under the pressing demands from different quarters, I cannot resist
the temptation to record my old experience, thereby holding a torch
up for the large number of inquisitive persons who, I believe, will
surely find this report interesting and illuminating. In this short
venture I thankfully acknowledge the inspiration and cooperation
received from the meditation teacher Anagarika Munindra, Dr.
Arabinda Barua, M.A., Ph. D. (London), Barrister-at-Law, Prof. Sunil
Barua, B. Sc., M.A., LL.B., B.Ed., and Smt. Krishna Barua, B.A.
Ven. Rastrapal Mahathera
Five Visions of a Dying Man
The incident to be described took place in 1957, four years after I
had received higher ordination as a Buddhist monk. I was filled with
enthusiasm and a great yearning to learn all that could be learnt
about Buddhism. During the course of my studies the story of
Dhammika Upasaka, as related in the Dhammapada Commentary, drew my
attention.
Dhammika Upasaka was a devoted follower of the Buddha. Along with
the members of his family he used to observe the tenets of the
Dhamma most punctiliously. Once he fell ill and when he felt that he
was nearing death, he sent to the Buddha for a number of monks to
recite suttas by his bedside. The monks were accordingly sent and
they started chanting the Satipatthana Sutta.
When they had chanted half the sutta he abruptly shouted, "Stop!
Stop!" Hearing this, the monks were surprised. Thinking that the
Upasaka had asked them to stop chanting, they stopped and went back
to the Buddha.
The Buddha asked them why they had returned so early. They said that
the upasaka asked them to stop, and that was why they had come back
early before finishing the recital of the sutta. Lord Buddha told
them that they must have misunderstood what the upasaka had said.
The real cause, the Buddha explained, was otherwise. The upasaka had
asked those devas (gods), who had come to take him to the heavens in
their chariots, to stop their attempts to get him to come along. He
had not asked the monks to stop their chanting.
I also came across stories in the Tipitaka and Commentaries about
the appearance of gods or evil spirits at the moment of a person's
death, in accordance with his kamma or action in his worldly life. I
was perplexed by these stories as they did not agree with my
rational mind. I approached the Venerable Jnanishwar Mahathera a
profound scholar in Buddhism, who was the resident monk of a
well-known monastery at Unainpura in
"Niraye aggikkhandho ca petalokańca andhakam,
tiracchanayonińca mamsakkhandhańca manusam,
vimanam devalokamhi nimittam pańca dissare."
"Those who will go to hell see the vision of a mass of fire, those
who will go to the world of the petas see darkness and gloom
all-around, whose who will take birth as lower animals see visions
of forests and animals and other creatures, those who will take
birth as human beings see the vision of their dead relations, and
those who will take birth in the celestial worlds have the vision of
the heavenly palaces. These are the five visions which usually
appear before a dying person." *
______________________
* Editor's note: The Pali verse and the English translation that is
offered are not in complete agreement, but I am unable to locate the
original of the verse to see if a line is missing.
The Venerable Mahathera explained this verse to me at great length,
but I was left only half convinced. I needed a personal experience
of the import of the verse to be fully convinced.
It was not long before I had the experience for which I longed. At
the time I was staying at a vihara in a village named Tekota in
When I reached his house, I found the place packed with his
relatives and friends. They made way for me and on approaching the
dying person I found him lying on a mattress spread on the floor. It
was then about
I started to chant and when I had finished chanting a couple of
suttas I heard the dying man feebly uttering the words
"Buddha-Dhamma-Sangha, Anicca-Dukkha-Anatta" and
"Metta-Karuna-Mudita-Upekkha" at intervals with much devotion. Next
I observed that his condition was fast deteriorating. In order to
have a close look at him to test the veracity of the verse about the
five visions, I asked the people to spread a seat for me on the
floor, beside the dying man. This was done.
The dying man was lying on his left side facing me. I placed my
right hand on his right forearm and asked him how he was feeling.
The reply was that the time had come for him to leave the world and
he had no hope of living any longer. I tried to console him by
saying that he was then only fifty-six years of age and could not
possibly die so early in his life. His life devoted to
righteousness, which was such a source of inspiration to his
co-villagers, could not be cut short so soon.
I then asked him whether he would like to take the Five Precepts and
hear some suttas. He replied in the affirmative and after
administering the Five Precepts I recited a few suttas, which he
listened to with great devotion. After pausing I felt curious to
know whether he had any vision appearing before him. His eyes were
closed all the time I sat by his bedside. I went on repeating my
query at short intervals. He told me that he was having no vision at
all.
At about
After administering the Five Precepts I again asked him whether his
parents would like to listen to some suttas. When he replied in the
affirmative I recited the Karaniya Metta Sutta. I felt thrilled at
the turn of events, which coincided with the words of the verse on
the five visions. Others present there also seemed to be thrilled.
They were watching the scene with great excitement as this was
something unprecedented for them.
It was then clear to me, on the basis of the verse, that the vision
he had of his parents indicated that he was going to take birth in
the world of human beings, and that also on a higher plane of human
existence as he had the vision of the Bodhi Tree along with his
parents. But I felt that a man of his devotion and piety deserved
rebirth in a still higher plane of existence and I went on asking
him whether he was having any other visions.
A little while later I found a change coming over him. He seemed to
have turned worldly-minded and asked his relatives to free him from
his debts. At that moment I asked him whether he was having any
other vision before him. He feebly exclaimed he was seeing long
hair. It was then
I could not make out what this apparition signified, but I guessed
that if death had come to the gentleman at that moment he would have
been reborn in some lower plane of existence. On a later date, when
I wanted to have this vision clarified by the Venerable Jnanishwar
Mahathera and from another learned monk, the Venerable Silalankara
Mahathera, they both were of the opinion that the apparition meant
that the dying man might have gone to the world of the petas if he
had died at that moment. At that stage, in order to drive out the
apparition, I started chanting the suttas. This had the desired
result, for when I asked him whether the apparition was still there,
the dying man exclaimed that it had vanished.
His attachment to his earthly existence seemed to be still
persisting as he next asked his relatives to remove from under his
bed a newly made mattress which he wanted to be kept for his only
son, Mr. Sugata Bikash Chowdhury, who was then staying at a distant
place,
I asked him what he was experiencing then. He replied he was seeing
two black pigeons. At once I realized that it was the vision of the
animal world where he was going to be reborn. The time was then
I then resumed discourses on the Dhamma and after a while again
asked him whether any other vision was before him. I had to repeat
my question several times and at last he exclaimed that he had seen
a heavenly chariot approaching. Although I knew that no barrier
could stand on the way of the heavenly chariot, still in honour of
the devas I asked the relatives of the dying man to make way for the
approach of the chariot. I then asked him how far the chariot was
from him. He made a sign by his hand to indicate that it was by his
bedside.
On asking him whether he saw anyone in the chariot, he said there
were male and female heavenly beings in the chariot. I then told him
to ask the heavenly beings whether they would take the Five
Precepts. I had read in the scriptures that the devas obey and
respect not merely monks but also pious lay devotees.
On his conveying their assent I administered the Five Precepts and
thereafter I again asked whether they would listen to the Karaniya
Metta Sutta. With their consent I recited the sutta. Again I asked
whether they would like to listen to the Mangala Sutta and I recited
the sutta when they gave their consent.
When I again asked whether they would listen to the Ratana Sutta,
this time the dying man waved his hand to signify that the heavenly
beings were not willing to listen to this sutta. He thereupon told
me that the devas wanted me to go back to my vihara.
I then realized that the devas were getting impatient to take him to
heaven, but I wanted to intercede and prolong his life on this
earth. I told the dying man to tell the devas to depart as it was
not yet time for his death. As he was only fifty-six years of age, I
was sure the devas had come to take him to heaven by mistake. I
myself and all others present there were ready to transfer our
merits to the devas in exchange for which we would beg them to spare
his life.
I again asked the dying man whether any other vision was present. He
replied that his parents were still lingering on under the Bodhi
Tree. This could have but one meaning, namely, that the pull from
the human world was still very strong on him and he would be reborn
as a human being. Again I suggested that we all offer our
accumulated merits to his departed parents, in exchange for which
they should take their leave, just as the devas had done.
From the indication made by the dying man it seemed that his father
was willing to accede to my request but not his mother. I expressed
resentment at this intransigence on the part of the mother and
through the dying man excitedly told his parents that when the devas
had agreed to heed my request, it was quite improper for them to
refuse. This sort of conduct, I said, could cause them harm. I had
to repeat this remonstrance several times, and at last it produced
the desired effect. The parents, I could gather, had at last taken
their leave.
Now that all the visions that had appeared to the dying man were
gone, a visible change came over him. He took a deep breath and
again showed signs of vitality. When one of his relatives came near
him with a lamp in hand to take a close look at him, he exclaimed,
"Don't worry any more, I am not going to die." When we saw the dying
man coming to life again, a wave of joy and relief passed over all
of us.
We all felt overwhelmed by this unprecedented scene, which had
unfolded in a kaleidoscopic manner. It was then
At about
I quickly returned to the house of Mr. Chowdhury in the company of
the gentleman. I found long treks of villagers going in the same
direction, and when I reached the house it was overflowing with the
crowds of people who had gathered there on hearing of the
unprecedented events of the night before. All made way for me to
reach the bedside of the dying man.
I took my seat by the dying man's bedside and asked him how he was
feeling. He feebly replied that he could not survive any longer. I
gave him words of encouragement and urged him to remember the good
deeds he had done in his life. I occasionally asked him whether he
had any vision before him, but each time the reply was "No."
It was then 11:20 A.M. and one of his relations, Mr. Mahendra
Chowdhury, who was an old man of 86, realizing that the time for my
last meal of the day would soon be over, asked me to have my meal. I
told him, with some vehemence, that I could not possibly leave the
side of the dying man at that moment, even for my meal.
This created a tense situation, as all the crowd that had assembled
there were feverishly awaiting to see the trend of events that might
follow. I again asked the dying man whether he was having any
vision. This time he said, "Yes, they have come again, the devas in
the chariot."
The appearance of the devas at that stage, when I insisted on
staying at the dying man's bedside after refusing my last meal of
the day, intrigued me for a long time. Later, when I asked the
Venerable Jnanishwar Mahathera and the Venerable Silalankar
Mahathera to clarify this matter, they both told me that the devas
must have been waiting for me to depart for my meal; then in my
absence, they would take the dying man away to heaven. But when they
found that I insisted on staying at the dying man's bedside, they at
last arrived to take him away.
The dying man then told me that the devas were imploring me to go
back to my vihara, and they were insistent on this. Asking myself
why, I realized that this hesitancy of the devas to take away the
dying man from my presence must be due to their obligation to me for
giving them the Five Precepts and reciting the suttas for them. I
later got confirmation of my conviction on this point from the
Venerable Mahatheras when I related the incident to them.
As I felt that his death was inevitable, I asked him to tell the
devas, "You can take him away from my presence. I have no objection
to your doing so. I most gladly give him permission to leave us."
This I did because he was going to the region of the devas, to which
he was entitled by virtue of his merits and which I sincerely wished
for him. I next asked his wife and his other near relations to bid
him a glad farewell, which they all did.
The stage was now set for his final departure for the next world. He
took his last leave from all of us with the words, "I am going now."
Those were the last words uttered by the dying man. His face was
bright and full of beatitude.
Thereafter, I took hold of his head and shoulders on the one end,
and asked another man to get hold of his legs. We stretched him flat
on his back and I poured a few drops of sweet water into his mouth.
Then I placed my right hand on his chest. I felt it to be quite
warm. The dying man, as I had guessed, was still conscious and
seemed to be muttering to himself the devotional phrases that he
used to recite throughout his life.
Thereafter, he lifted his right hand with great effort and moved it
in a way which suggested that he was seeking for something. I could
not make out what he wanted. Someone in the crowd suggested he might
be trying to touch my feet, which the previous night, too, he had
occasionally done.
I then moved my right foot closer so he could touch it with his
outstretched hand. The touch seemed to bring him great satisfaction,
as could be seen from the expression on his face. He next touched
his forehead with that hand and then placed the hand straight by his
side.
I felt the warmth in his chest gradually decreasing. After a minute
or two he gave a sudden jerk with his body and breathed his last.
Thereafter he became still. When the body was quite cool I withdrew
my hand from his chest and looked around. I saw everyone either
sitting or standing quite calmly.
No one wept nor were there any sounds of lamentation coming from any
quarter. This was a fitting final farewell to a dying man, quite in
conformity with the instructions I had given my devotees in the
course of my discourses on religious matters. I then left the house,
telling the relatives and friends of the dead person to weep or
lament if they liked, as at that point such lamentations could no
longer have any effect on the dead person.
This incident at long last put an end to whatever doubts I might
previously have had about the veracity of the verse relating to the
appearance of the five visions, which had been told to me by the
Venerable Jnanishwar Mahathera and which I had also read about in
the scriptures. Later, when I turned my analytical mind to the case
of the dying man, I found that at every stage the nimittas
(visions) had appeared in accordance with the state of his mind (citta).
The sight of the Bodhi Tree and of his deceased parents were the
results of his kamma nimitta, that is, the predominant factor
which prevailed in his consciousness due to the force of the actions
done by him in his present life. But when, at intervals, he saw the
vision of a hairy person or pigeons or fearful demons, those were
the signs when his mind was temporarily overcome by worldly
clingings or by recollections of bad deeds done by him during his
life.
The recital of the suttas drove away the evil thoughts and
consequently the apparitions disappeared. The purification of the
mind that took place by hearing the suttas and taking the Five
Precepts made the appearance of the devas possible. Until the end,
this state of mind was more powerful than any other. It was even
more powerful than the lingering vision of his parents, which had to
disappear for the way to be made absolutely clear for the dying man
to go to the heavenly region after his passing away from this world.
* * *
The conclusion that one can draw from this incident is that the last
moment in the life of a person determines whether he will be reborn
in a higher plane of existence or in a lower one. It is therefore
the duty of all well-wishers of a dying person to pacify his mind by
reminding him of the good deeds he had done in this life and by
reciting suttas and gathas. One should not cloud his mind by
weeping or lamentation or by drawing his mind to worldly affairs.
It is also my understanding that however pious or devoted a person
might be, no amount of good deeds on his part can bring him ultimate
deliverance or enable him to realize Nibbana, the supreme goal of
life. Good deeds can only lead to rebirth in happy planes of
existence in the next world, the highest being the Brahma-world. It
is only through the practice of insight meditation (vipassana-bhavana)
that one can overcome the ten fetters (dasa samyojana) and
attain the four stages of liberation: sotapatti
(stream-entry), sakadagami (once-returning), anagami
(non-returning), and arahatta (full liberation).
Of the ten fetters, the first three, namely, self-delusion (sakkaya-ditthi),
doubt (vicikiccha), and clinging to mere rule and ritual (silabbata-paramasa),
can be overcome by attaining the first stage of sanctification,
stream-entry. A person who has attained this stage will not take
birth in the nether worlds—hell (niraya), ghost (peta),
and animal (tiracchana), realms—and will not be reborn more
than seven times; for them, no vision of the three nether worlds
will appear at the time of death. They may have the visions only of
the human world or the celestial realms.
A person who makes further progress in meditation and reaches the
stage of once-returner by subduing the fourth and fifth fetters,
namely, sensual lust (kamaraga) and ill-will (patigha),
will be reborn once more only. For them too the first three visions
will not appear, but only one of the two happy visions will appear
before death.
A person who has attained the stage of non-returner through the
pursuit of further meditation, by completely annihilating the former
two fetters, namely, sensual lust and ill-will, will not be reborn
again in this world but will be reborn in the Brahma-world, from
which he will attain final deliverance. Such a one will have only
one vision, namely, that of the devas.
After attaining this stage, through the pursuit of further
meditation a person attains the stage of arahantship by annihilating
the remaining five fetters, namely, greed for fine-material
existence (rupa-raga), greed for immaterial existence (arupa-raga),
conceit (mana), restlessness (uddhacca), and ignorance
(avijja). Such a person will not be born again as he has
attained final deliverance, and thus no vision of any kind can
appear before him at the moment of death.
Nibbana is the final goal of life discovered by the Buddha. This
discovery was made by him through personal experience by the
practice of meditation. His true followers are those who tread the
path indicated by him, and it is only through the pursuit of
meditation that the final goal of Nibbana can be attained here in
this world. The visions can only serve as light posts in the
labyrinth of human existence, sometimes dark, some times bright. But
the final goal of life, the true light, lies ultimately in the
attainment of Nibbana, which one can reach by stages through the
pursuit of insight meditation
About the Author
Ven. Rastrapal Mahathera is the chief incumbent and meditation
master at the International Meditation Centre at Bodh Gaya.
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