Tibetan Book Of The Dead, Transitions To The Otherworld, page 2
The Great Liberation upon Hearing: The Signs
and Omens of Death Tibetan: Zab chos zhi khro dgongs pa rang grol
las thos grol chen moâi skor: ÎChi ltas mtshan ma rang grol
Paro, Bhutan, 1976. I(Bhu)-Tib-82; 76-905033. [folios 131-155]
According
to the literature associated with Karma Lingpa's Great Liberation upon Hearing,
death occurs as a result of one of three causes: reaching the end of one's
lifespan, exhausting one's meritorious energy, or meeting with an untimely
event, such as a sudden accident. Each of these three causes has its own
specific antidote, which means that in many cases death can be avoided by
applying the appropriate method. Before applying such an antidote, however, it
is necessary to know precisely when the death will occur. Knowledge of this sort
requires skill in reading the signs indicating that death is near. The small
work entitled The Signs and Omens of Death is used for this very purpose. The
text describes the variety of death omens in extensive detail, organizing them
into three categories: external, internal, and secret signs. The external omens
are read by observing the condition of the body; the internal signs, by
observing the breath and the individual's dreams; and the secret signs, by
examining his or her bodily (and especially sexual) fluids. To gain some idea of
the nature of these often peculiar signs, we should mention just a few examples.
According to Karma Lingpa, if the discharge from a person's genitals is blackish
or reversed, that is if blood comes from a man and semen from a woman, death
will occur in one month. If a person presses a finger against his or her eye and
does not see light, cups his or her hand over the ears and does not hear a
'whirring' sound, or holds his or her arms out in front and they seem to
disappear, these are all signs that the individual will die in less than four
weeks. Other such signs include suddenly encountering creatures with terrifying
forms, experiencing bodily shivers, seeing stars during the day and sunlight at
night, or seeing red flowers while riding backwards on a donkey in one's dreams.