Letter to a Prisoner Facing Execution

In August Rinpoche wrote a long (16 page) letter to a prisoner, a new Buddhist, who had just been given his date for execution in 3 months' time. This advice from Rinpoche was given over 5 days, and is a fabulous resource for us all: for new students, as Rinpoche clearly explains many of the key concepts of Buddhism, such as reincarnation, the mind, the benefit of living in morality; for Rinpoche's students, as Rinpoche includes many personal recollections; and for students working with prisoners, as Rinpoche talks in depth about the benefits of being in prison.

Some excerpts:

Even if someone has only one day left to live, even only one hour left, they still have an incredible opportunity to make the human body – which they have received just this one time – most beneficial. Even if they have only one hour left, still, in that time, they can take the five lay vows or eight lay precepts.

…On the day that you will be killed, the last thing before you actually get killed you should take complete refuge in Chenrezig, think of Chenrezig, visualize the same as the picture I have sent you, and totally rely on Chenrezig.

Think: “May I experience all the suffering on myself of all beings who have the karma to be executed and those who actually do the killing, and may I let everyone else be free from this suffering.” Put your palms together in the mudra of prostration to Chenrezig and request to be guided by Chenrezig in all future lifetimes from now and in all lifetimes until enlightenment.

Think: “May I receive all sentient beings’ karma to be executed, may I experience this by myself alone, and because of that may all others be free from all the sufferings and receive all the peerless happiness up to enlightenment.” Continuously think this way, over and over again.

If you die with this thought of giving up yourself to experience all other beings’ suffering of being executed and giving all the happiness to others, it is unbelievable. This becomes your main refuge. In particular feel this for those who have the job to execute you, as well as the people who have given this order, the judge, etc. Because by their creating this negative karma, then having acted on it – which comes from impure mind, attachment, anger, ignorance, particularly self-cherishing thought – they will have to experience the karma of being killed by others, executed for 500 lifetimes, just from this one action of killing, which is the cause.

By using this punishment of being executed, being killed by someone else, as a means for yourself to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, this experience of being executed becomes the cause of happiness for all sentient beings, not just temporal happiness but liberation from samsara. and ultimate happiness, full enlightenment. Therefore there is no greater enjoyment than this. This experience of being executed is a most exciting opportunity to bring ultimate joy and happiness for oneself and all others sentient beings.

Happiness and problems all depend on how your mind interprets it, whichever label you put on it, whether it is happiness or problem, and then believing it: then it actually becomes suffering or happiness.

Training in this way of thinking – actually being able to transform being killed by somebody by seeing it as beneficial and a cause of happiness for all sentient beings – becomes the best Olympic sport. All these Olympic champions are nothing compared to someone who trains in this meditation practice. This means that what is suffering for most ordinary people can be transformed into great skies of happiness for oneself and for others. By doing this you become the best Olympic champion, the best mental champion. This is such an incredible psychology, an incredible way of thinking.

So now you can have incredible joy at being in prison, you can see how you can make life so meaningful.

If you do these practices, all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas will be with you, will be around you, supporting you; all the holy beings will be with you when you die.

This article is taken from the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT).