关于衰老的思考

During the drupchen of Kurukulla at the Dharma Mati centre in Berlin, in October 2024, Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche was in an unusually reflective and talkative mood, pausing the practice almost every day to share teachings and instructions, as well as general advice and observations. What follows below are his reflections on his own life’s mission, the importance of drupchens, and the topic of ageing. This latter reflection was especially notable as it was the first time many of us heard Rinpoche talk about this subject, which is rarely discussed in the teachings. And, of course, he approached it in his own inimitable way—both frank and forthright, and deeply wise and insightful.

2024年10月，柏林 法慧 中心举行咕噜咕咧佛母大修期间，乌金督佳仁波切格外多思、多言，几乎每天暂停修法，分享教法、指导，以及一般建议与观察。以下是他对自身一生使命、大修重要性与衰老的思考。关于衰老的一段尤其引人注意，因为许多人是第一次听仁波切谈这个教法中少有讨论的题目。当然，他仍以独有的方式讲述：坦率直接，同时充满智慧与洞见。

I see my main mission in life is to perform as many drupchens as possible and by now I have completed a great many. Obviously, we need to listen to dharma teachings and to reflect on them, but by far the most important point is to practice them. When it comes to practicing the dharma, it is said that the teachings of the Vajrayana carry the most blessings and are the most powerful and swift in bringing results. It is further said that to encounter the teachings of the Secret Mantra Vajrayana that take the fruition as the path—whether it be in the past, present or future—is an extremely rare occurrence.

我认为，自己一生的主要使命，是尽可能多地举行大修，如今已完成许多。当然，需要听闻佛法并思惟，但最重要的，仍是修持。说到修法，据说金刚乘教法加持最大、力量最强，得到结果最快。又说，无论过去、现在还是未来，遇到以果为道的秘密真言金刚乘教法，都是极其罕见的事。

The teachings of the Secret Mantra Vajrayana were first taught by our teacher, Buddha Shakyamuni, and from that time onwards have been present in our world. Now, however, it seems this era is coming to an end and the teachings are gradually disappearing. Why do I say that? Because now, in current times, we don’t seem to find any accomplished practitioners of the Secret Mantra Vajrayana—the kind of practitioner who can fly in the sky, dive into the earth, or display miracles of different kinds, as a result of their accomplishment. We just don’t see anyone like that anymore, right? It’s probably not the case that no one reaches that level of accomplishment, it’s just that we don’t see them. If you really apply yourself to the practice, it’s possible to accomplish the four activities and eight great siddhis. I’m sure there are still people who attain the ordinary and supreme accomplishments, it’s just there are very few, if indeed any, that we can meet and see for ourselves. What’s the reason for this? It’s because of the exhaustion of the merit of sentient beings.

秘密真言金刚乘教法，最初由我们的导师释迦牟尼佛传授，此后一直存在于世间。然而，如今似乎这个时代将结束，教法逐渐消失。为什么这样说？因为当前似乎找不到秘密真言金刚乘的成就行者，那种由修持成就而能飞天、入地、示现种种神变的人。再也看不到了，对吧？大概不是没人达到那个成就，只是我们看不到。若真正用功修持，有可能成就四事业与八大悉地。我相信，仍有人得到共同、殊胜成就，只是我们能够亲自遇见、看见的，极少，甚至没有。为什么？因为众生福德耗尽。

Given this context, we need to understand that the practice of drupchen is of great importance. As Guru Rinpoche said, to engage in the practice of drupchen is like mingling with his heart blood. Yeshe Tsogyal further said, “For those who, in the future, will have the opportunity to practice the teaching revelations of the profound termas, it will be the same as meeting with Guru Rinpoche in person. Such fortunate beings should indeed rejoice!”

在此背景下，须理解大修极为重要。如莲花生大师说，参与大修，如与他的心血相融。益西措嘉又说：“未来有机会修习甚深伏藏教法的人，等同亲见莲花生大师。如此有缘者，确实应当欢喜！”

Once we are born into this world, the shadow of death follows us at the same time. These days, we celebrate birthdays, but the date of our death will also come. When our death arrives, what will be of the greatest help to us? It is to have participated in some drupchens while we were alive. Why is that? Because of the fundamental nature of things, the dharmata, which is primordially pure and is the buddha nature that we all possess. It is because dharmata/buddha nature is pure that practice works. While the dharmata is and has always been pure, at the level of phenomena the law of cause and effect always applies – it is undeceiving. The blessings, compassion and power of the buddhas and their heirs is immense. They contain the special teachings of the Secret Mantra Vajrayana, the methods of deity, mantra, mudra and samadhi, whose power is real.

一生到世上，死亡阴影就同时跟随。如今庆祝生日，但死日也会来到。死亡来时，什么最能帮助我们？就是活着时曾参加一些大修。为什么？因为万法根本本性——法性——本初清净，就是人人具有的佛性。正因法性、佛性清净，修持才有效。法性始终清净，但在现象层面，因果法则恒常有效，绝不欺诳。诸佛与佛子的加持、悲心、威力广大，其中具有秘密真言金刚乘的特殊教法、本尊咒印与三摩地的方法，其力量真实。

Right now, we have gathered here to receive empowerment and join in the practice of drupchen, however in the future this kind of opportunity will almost certainly disappear.

现在，我们聚在此处领受灌顶、参加大修，但未来，这种机会几乎肯定会消失。

There is a story of an old master whose student supplicated to return as a tulku. The master replied, “Well, to come back as a tulku is relatively easy, but to find students who can truly receive the empowerments, transmissions and introduction to the nature of mind, that is much more difficult!”

有个故事：一位老上师的弟子祈请他以祖古转世回来。上师回答：“嗯，以祖古身份回来，相对容易；但找到能真正领受灌顶、传承与心性直指的弟子，难得多！”

We may be born as a human being, but to then adopt the dharma, receive empowerments, transmissions and teachings from a qualified master, and practice them fully, is extremely difficult. Therefore, rejoice to have come here and have this opportunity to practice.

或许生而为人，但随后接受佛法，从具德上师领受灌顶、传承、教法，并充分修持，极其困难。因此，应为来到这里、有机会修法而欢喜。

By the way, I have noticed a few things I need to tell you about.

顺便说，我注意到几件事，需要告诉你们。

1. One of the most important aspects of a drupchen is the melodic chanting of the mantra. We’ve brought many monks with us this time to chant the mantra, but you can all join them and chant the mantra too. The recitation of mantra is something you find in all practices however the melodic chanting of mantra is an important feature of drupchens. As it is said in the drupchen instructions, ‘Do not interrupt the recitation of the mantra.’
2. Now that we have ‘opened up’ the mandala, it is very important to make light offerings. The lamp offering is, as we know from the Narak Kong Shak, the most important of all offerings. Therefore, all of you should buy a few lights and offer them. I’m sure you can buy good candles here, as well as fragrant incense. When we are in places like Delhi or Singapore, I buy a lot of such offerings. They may be a little expensive but what is the point of buying cheap offerings? There are quite a few people here who have the means, so please don’t be stingy.

1. 大修最重要的方面之一，是以旋律唱诵咒语。这次带来许多僧人唱咒，但大家都可以加入，一起唱。所有修法都有持咒，而旋律唱诵是大修的重要特点。如大修教言所说：“不要间断持咒。”
2. 既然已经“开启”坛城，供灯非常重要。从 地狱忏悔 可知，灯供是一切供养中最重要的。因此，大家都应买几盏灯供养。我相信，这里能买到好蜡烛，也有芬芳的香。在德里、新加坡等地，我会买很多这类供物。也许贵一点，但买便宜供物有什么意义？在座不少人有能力，请不要吝啬。

Many years ago, I visited the sacred mountain of Wu Tai Shan (Manjushri mountain) in China on a pilgrimage organized by the Chinese government. In the Xiantong temple that houses the very sacred image of Manjushri, there is a small golden shrine in which it is possible to offer lamps – a small lamp cost 500 RMB (around 65 euros). I didn’t think anything of it at the time and lit five lamps so that I might realize the five wisdoms. That’s all I had in mind.

许多年前，我参加中国政府组织的朝圣，前往中国圣山五台山，即文殊山。显通寺供奉极神圣的文殊像，其中有一座金色小龛，可以供灯。一盏小灯要五百元人民币，约六十五欧元。当时我没多想，供了五盏，希望证悟五智，心中只有这一念。

Accompanying our group was one Tibetan man who was an important official for the Chinese government. He had faith in the dharma, though he had to keep this discrete. He also wanted to offer a lamp but when he asked how much it cost and was told 500 RMB he couldn’t believe his ears and flew into a rage. He scolded the monks selling the lights (maybe they were not real monks) and told them he was going to send them to prison for defrauding innocent tourists. I told him not to get upset, it was fine with me, but nonetheless he continued to berate them and threatened to report them to the authorities.

同行有一位藏族男子，是中国政府的重要官员。他信佛，但须低调。他也想供灯，问价格，听说五百元，简直不敢相信，顿时大怒。他斥责卖灯的僧人，也许不是真僧人，说他们欺骗无辜游客，要送进监狱。我劝他别生气，我觉得没关系；但他仍不断责骂，威胁向当局举报。

My point is, we have different ways of seeing such things. All I’m saying is that you should buy some lamps and offer them, and be generous. Similarly with tsok, which is very important, incense, which I don’t see or smell here, and flowers. When we practice drupchens in Bir, I offer hundreds of thousands of butter lamps, tormas, and so on. That’s why when I see the meagre offerings arranged here, I don’t feel so comfortable. If you offer abundant lamps it has no benefit to me, it’s purely for your own benefit.

我要说，我们看待这些事，有不同方式。我只是说，应买些灯供养，慷慨一些。同样，荟供很重要，香与花也如此；这里我既没见到，也没闻到香。在比尔修大修时，我供数十万盏酥油灯、食子等等。因此，看到这里供物稀少，便不太自在。大量供灯，对我没有好处，纯粹为你们自己的利益。

Back to the topic at hand, once or twice a year we go to the doctor for a check-up, right? We all do this—the doctor informs us about our health and usually we are simply told that there’s nothing to worry about. But then one day when we see the doctor, suddenly we’re told that we have cancer. So many of the sponsors of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and myself have fallen ill with cancer. Then they panic, send us a report of their illness, and ask, “What can I do?” All I can say to them is, “There’s nothing much you can do now. I don’t know how long you will have to live but just make sure you cultivate a good heart in the time that you have remaining.” Usually they then ask, “Are there any practices I can do to make the cancer go away?”, to which I reply, “You can try, if you wish, to free some lives, for example, but I don’t think it will help all that much.”

回到当前话题，我们每年去医生那里检查一两次，对吧？人人如此。医生告诉健康状况，通常只是说，没有什么可担心。但有一天再去，突然被告知患癌。宗萨钦哲仁波切和我的许多施主，都得了癌症。随后惊慌失措，寄来病情报告，问：“我能做什么？”我只能说：“现在能做的不多。我不知道你还有多久，但务必在余下时间培养善心。”通常，他们接着问：“有没有修法能让癌症消失？”我回答：“若愿意，可以试试，例如放生，但我不认为会有太大帮助。”

Some of the people close to me who have developed a cancer say they don’t want to suffer too much before they die, they’d rather die quickly. 

一些与我亲近、患了癌症的人说，不想死前受太多苦，宁愿快些死。

As for myself, I do a thorough check up every 3 months—blood tests, everything. Until now, I haven’t developed any new diseases, I just carry the old conditions that I had in the past. But I’m one hundred per cent sure that one day, the doctor will announce something new to me. What will I do then? That’s something I need to think about now, right? We need to be aware that this is going to happen and when it does, there’s very little we can do anything about it. We’ll be told we don’t have much longer to live and will die soon. The fact that we’re all going to die is clear, right? There’s no doubt about it. Whether we’re diagnosed with a terminal condition or not, we will all die, right?

我自己每三个月全面检查一次，验血，各项都做。至今没得新病，只带着过去的旧疾。但我百分之百确定，总有一天，医生会宣布一个新情况。那时怎么办？这是现在就须想的，对吧？需要知道，这会发生；发生时，能做的很少。会被告知，所余时间不多，很快要死。人人都会死，这很清楚，对吧？毫无疑问。无论是否被诊断为绝症，都会死，对吧？

I’ve come to the practice the past few days and the result is that my blood sugar is very high. The problem with diabetes is that it can cause other secondary conditions, such as falling into a coma and not dying for a long time. Some lamas have a problem with their kidneys—they might then have an operation and receive a transplant. For others, the body becomes covered with sores and they end up needing to amputate their arm or leg because of infection. These do nothing to prevent our death, we will all die anyway; they just make life much more difficult. If we don’t have a condition like that, life is okay.

这几天我来修法，结果血糖很高。糖尿病的问题，是可能引起其他继发状况，例如陷入昏迷，长时间仍未离世。有些上师肾脏有问题，可能手术、接受移植。另一些人，身上长满疮，最终因感染而须截去手臂或腿。这些都不能阻止死亡，反正人人会死，只使生活困难得多。若没有这类状况，生活还可以。

As for myself, I’ve completed everything that I needed to do in this life, so whatever comes, I’m ready.

至于我，此生所须做的，已经全部完成，所以无论来什么，都准备好了。

You all need to reflect about this. There are only a few young people here, but they’re already starting to get old. The older you get, the closer you come to death. When I first went to India, all the lamas whose photos you see here were still alive. Now, they’ve all passed away. Of that old generation, the only ones still surviving are Garchen Rinpoche, Tarthang Tulku and Namkhar Drimed. But you can’t meet them. Tarthang Rinpoche never leaves his room and doesn’t meet anyone.

大家都应思考。在座只有少数年轻人，但他们也已开始变老。越老，越接近死亡。我初到印度时，这里照片中的上师都还在世，如今全部圆寂了。那一代老人中，仅噶千仁波切、塔唐祖古、南卡珠美尚在，但你们见不到。塔唐仁波切从不离开房间，也不见任何人。

There’s also the Dalai Lama. When he first went to India, he was 26 years old. When you see him now on the internet, you can see how difficult it is for him to move around. It just shows you how life becomes much more difficult when you become old. When I see that, it scares me. If anything could be done to prevent such a thing from happening, you could be certain that the Dalai Lama would have done that. He has many people taking care of him and is surrounded by the best doctors of every tradition – Tibetan, Indian (Ayurvedic) and Western. Still his mobility is greatly reduced. This is old age. He has pledged to live for 113 years but in such a condition, it will not be so easy for him.

还有达赖喇嘛。他初到印度时，二十六岁。如今网上看到他，会发现行动多么困难。这说明年老时，生活会变得多么艰难。我看到，会害怕。若有任何办法避免这种事，可以肯定，达赖喇嘛一定已经做了。他有许多人照顾，身边是各传统最好的医生：藏医、印度阿育吠陀医生及西医。尽管如此，行动能力仍大幅减弱。这就是老年。他承诺活一百一十三岁，但在这种状况下，对他并不容易。

This is something you all need to think about. Westerners are actually a bit better than we Tibetans when it comes to this. A Swiss person told us, “All your newspapers report that the Dalai Lama is in excellent health, given his 90 year age, but in Switzerland we have people who are 90 years old who can still ride their bicycle. So the Dalai Lama isn’t actually in such great shape, is he?” This was his conclusion and perhaps he is right. Westerners tend to live longer.

这值得大家思考。在这方面，西方人实际上比我们藏族人稍好。一位瑞士人告诉我们：“你们所有报纸都说，考虑到九十岁高龄，达赖喇嘛健康极佳；但瑞士有些九十岁的人，仍能骑自行车。所以，他实际上也不算状态那么好，对吧？”这是他的结论，也许他说得对。西方人往往寿命更长。

I have a friend in Belgium who works in an old people’s home and I asked him a lot of questions about his experiences there. Through this, I have come to better understand the condition of old people. In the final moments of your life, you are given an ice cream to eat. One hour later, you are dead. I’ve learned about all aspects of the life of an elderly person. For example, I asked him, “What do old people talk about when they speak together?” Why did I ask this? Because one day, I know I will face this same situation too.

我在比利时有位朋友，在养老院工作。我问了许多关于他在那里经历的问题，由此更了解老人的处境。生命最后时刻，会给你吃一个冰激凌，一小时后，就死了。我了解了老年生活的各方面。例如，我问：“老人一起交谈时，谈些什么？”为什么问？因为我知道，总有一天，自己也会面对同样处境。

As the great conqueror, the Buddha said, we all go through birth, old age, sickness and death. The suffering of sickness is something we all know about. The suffering of birth we don’t really know about, but it’s over and done with. Nonetheless, we will all experience it over and over again, billions of times. The suffering of death we know a little about and will all have to face. But the suffering of old age is something we need to look more into and be better prepared for. In our Tibetan literature, there’s very little said about the suffering of old age. Apart from a few lines in Words of My Perfect Teacher, you don’t find too much written about it. So I think this is something really important for you to look into, to find out more about.

如大胜者佛陀所说，人人经历生、老、病、死。病苦，大家都知道；生苦，我们不太了解，但已过去。不过，还会一再经历，数十亿次。死苦略知一点，且都将面对。但老苦，需要更多了解，准备得更好。西藏文献中，谈老苦很少；除《普贤上师言教》几句话，找不到太多相关文字。所以，我想，这确实是大家应该探究、多加了解的重要事情。

That’s what I wanted to share with you today. Basically, it’s something you need to think about, to reflect upon. If we are not able to think at least a little about the ocean of suffering of samsara—i.e. about the inevitability of death and the suffering of old age and sickness—then we will never become a true dharma practitioner.

今天想与你们分享的，就是这些。基本上，是须思考、反省的事。若对轮回苦海，也就是死亡不可避免，以及老病之苦，至少连一点思考都做不到，就永远无法成为真正佛法修行者。