At the moment of death, can we still gain a good rebirth even with the enormous amount of negative karma we have accumulated?
A student asks: Considering the overwhelming amount of karma that may come to fruition at the time of my death, weighed against what I can prepare myself for, there seems to be little hope. So, if before I lose consciousness, when I am dying, does that state of mind directly effect the chain of moments leading through all the various stages toward rebirth. Can we mastermind our death and consequent rebirth? Of course I know purification helps, but I’m sure there will be plenty of undesirable seeds left on my mind stream when I die despite my efforts, so I can’t rely on purification alone. Pende responds: You and the rest of us managed to obtain “perfect human rebirths” despite our negative propensities. We are taught that the last moment of consciousness during our death will have a significant impact on our rebirth. So ensure those moments are filled by virtuous thoughts by familiarizing yourself with virtuous thoughts that you can generate even when deathly ill. Train to restrain non
