If one should dream of the sun and moon being eclipsed,
Falling to the plains, or repeatedly setting,
One’s father, mother, or teacher may die,
And it is said that if they are sick at the time,
Their death will be inevitable.
The above are called the ‘internal signs of death’,
Which are slightly more difficult [to avert]
Through ritual deception than the aforementioned [external signs].
SECRET SIGNS OF DEATH
The secret signs of death will [now] be described.
When the external and internal signs of death occur,
They can be averted by repeatedly performing the Ritual Deception of Death.
If, however, the external and internal signs are not [successfully] reversed,
One should then examine the secret signs in the following way:
Having first generated the mind [aspiring] to supreme enlightenment,14
And then taken refuge and offered prayers,
One should examine, on the morning of the first day of the month,
The flow of one’s semen or menstrual blood.
It is said that if the semen of a man is blackish yellow,
Or if the menstrual blood of a woman is whitish,
Death may occur after two months.
If the semen of a man is reddish,
He may die or be subjected to slander after six months.
However, if its [natural] whiteness is undiminished,
[This indicates that] there is no obstacle [to life],
And [the semen] should be inhaled through the nose, while it is still warm.
This is itself a rite associated with the Ritual Deception of Death.
Furthermore, if semen flows without any [blissful] sensation,
And it is interspersed with quicksilver-like globules, the size of sesame seeds,
It is said that one will die [imminently].
If the flow of a woman’s menstrual blood is unceasing,
And if at that time she dreams she is picking red flowers,
[This indicates that] death will [soon] follow.
Moreover, if a man has continual spermatorrhoea,
Even when not engaged in sexual intercourse,
It is said that he may die after four months.
If a black mole suddenly appears for the first time,
At the orifice of the glans penis,
Or if one has an undistracted and constant [sexual] desire, thinking only of women,
And one allows one’s commitments in respect of the third empowerment to degenerate,15
These are not only signs of death,
But also omens that one will later proceed to [rebirth in] the indestructible hells.
[Therefore], if one does not confess [and repair] these [degenerations] fully,
One will experience the fierce sufferings of the hells.
In order for the confession to be effective, however,
You should perform the ritual deception pertaining to the secret [signs of] death,
Yet [death] will be harder to deceive than in the two preceding categories.
The above are called the ‘secret signs of death’.
SIGNS OF REMOTE DEATH
The examination of the signs of death when it is [still] years or months away
Should be made by scrutinising the ‘shadow of one’s lifespan’,
Optically projected onto the sky, in the way described below.
[These indications may show that] one will die, or that one will not die,
And that the averting [of death] will be possible, or impossible.16
[To begin], offerings should be made to the spiritual teacher, and the Three Precious Jewels,
Torma-offerings should be presented to the ḍākinῑs and protectors of the [sacred] teachings;
And then, after going for refuge and offering prayers,
The examination should be made [as follows]:
In an isolated and delightful place,
In the morning or afternoon of the first day of the month,
Or in the evening or at dawn of the fifteenth day,17
When the sky is clear and there is no wind,
One should sit naked in a comfortable spot,
And there, after praying fervently,
One should repeat the following mantra one hundred times:
OṂ ĀYUṢE SAṂHĀRAKEŚVARE HŪṂ PHAṬ18
Then, standing up, naked, one should bow down seven times
To each of the gods of the [ten] directions,
And then, directly stretching out one’s four limbs,
While holding in one’s hand a rosary or suitable symbolic hand-implement,19
One should inscribe the letter A on the heart of one’s shadow.20
[Next], without blinking, one should gaze fixedly at the letter A [drawn] at the heart [of the shadow],
And focus one’s awareness upon [the letter A].
Then, once the eyes have grown numb [through strain],
One should look up into the centre of the cloudless sky,
At which time one’s own form should become visible in the sky.
One should then know that if the head and body of this [reflected image] are intact, and [the image] is pale in colour,
This is an auspicious sign that there will be no obstacles and that one will not die [imminently].
If one’s reflected image is not visible in the sky,
[First], perform the rite for affirmation of vows,
And, while sitting in the ‘indestructible cross-legged posture’,
With the hands in the ‘gesture of meditative equipoise’,21
Look [for the image again], in the above manner.
If [one’s reflected image] still does not appear,
It may not be significant, as it may have been obscured by clouds or atmospheric winds,
In which case, the examination should be postponed until the sky is clear.
[When the reflected image does become visible, however,]
Its examination entails three considerations: of completeness, shape, and colour.
First, the completeness [of the reflected image] should be examined as follows:
When [assessing] the completeness of the image
In relation to the number of years [one is yet to live],
If the hand-held implement is missing,
This [indication] is called the ‘separation from the deity on whom one has relied’,22
And it indicates that one’s life may end in seven years’ time.
If the right hand is missing,
[This indicates that] one may die after five years.
If the left hand is missing,
[This indicates that] one may die after three years.
If the right leg is missing below the knee,
One may die after two years.
If the left leg is missing,
[This indicates that] one may die after one year.
Next, when [assessing] the completeness [of the image]
In relation to the number of months [one is yet to live]:
If the right part of the head is missing,
One may die after nine months.
If the left part of the head is missing,
One may die after seven months.
If the head is missing above the neck,
One may die after five months.
If the head and the neck are both missing,
One may die after three months.
If the upper trunk is missing,
One may die after two months.
If the lower trunk is missing,
One may die after one month.
Next, when [assessing] the completeness [of the image]
In relation to the number of days [one is yet to live]:
If the right side of the body is missing,
One may die in twenty-nine days.
If the left side [of the body] is missing,
One may die in twenty-one days.
Second, the [overall] shape [of the image] should be examined as follows:
If [the image] is square, one may die after five months.
If it is round, one may die after four months.
If it is semicircular, one may die after three months,
And if it is oblong, one may die after two months.
In all these cases, death may be averted by ritual deception.
However, if it is triangular, one will die after one month.
If it resembles a bundled corpse, one will die after half a month.
If it is upside down,23 one will die after ten days.
In these last three cases, death cannot be averted and is absolutely inevitable.
Third, the colour [of the image] should be examined as follows:
If it is white in colour, and fades from the centre,
This is a sign that one has displeased serpentine water spirits, king spirits, and gods.
If it is black in colour, and fades from the right,
This is a sign that one has been overwhelmed by beguiling forces and imprecatory female spirits.
If it is red in colour, and fades from the left,
This is a sign that one has been seized by martial haunting spirits, and by one’s own lifelong companion gods,
Or else that one will encounter woundings and diseases.
If it is yellow in colour, and fades from the head,
This is a sign that one has been seized by serpentine water spirits, king spirits and bewitchers.
If it is blue in colour, and fades from the legs,
This is a sign that one has been seized by serpentine water spirits and lake-dwelling medicinal spirits.
If it is hazy and diffuse,
This is a sign that one has been seized by imprecatory female spirits and the acolytes of Yama.
If it appears yellowish and uneven,
[This is a sign that one has been seized] by the spirit lords of the soil.
If it is garish, irregular, and variegated,
[This indicates that] one has been seized by the eight classes of spirits,
Comprising the diverse beguiling forces of death.
All these are [the signs] recognised with respect to the colours [of the reflected image].
When any of the above signs of death occur,
One should persevere with [the practices set down in] the Ritual Deception of Death,
And then re-examine [the image], in the manner described above.
If the limbs are complete,
[Death] may be ritually deceived.
But if the ritual deception of death fails to be effective, even after being applied three times,
This is a sign that the time has come for one’s life to end.
Therefore, those of highest [potential] should maintain the view,
Which accords with the profound abiding nature [of reality],24
Those of average [potential] should meditate on the meditational deity, according to the generation and perfection stages,
And those of lowest [potential] should persevere with the accumulation [of merit].
The above is the analysis of the reflected image in the sky.
SIGNS OF NEAR DEATH
The analysis of the signs of near death is now presented.
The examination of [the signs] described so far should be made when one is in good health,
For [at that time] there are [still] many possibilities [for recovery], because the signs of a remote death can be ritually deceived.
Here, however, with regard to a sick person,
The signs indicative of [near] death arise as follows:
If one’s gums grow grimy and black,
This is called the ‘gathering of the personal demons of the elements’,
And it indicates that one may die after nine days.
If the nostrils sag inwards and deflate,
This is called the ‘blockage of the passageway of the vital breath’,
And it indicates that one may die after nine days.
If the limbs are subject to repeated fits of expansion and contraction,
This is called the ‘scaling of the mountain of the elements’,
And it indicates that one may die after five days.
If the eyes stare fixedly, without blinking,
This is called the ‘escape of the mother-like vital breath’,25
And it indicates that one may die after three days.
If the cheeks sag inwards,
This is called the ‘rupture of the edge of the earth element’,
And it indicates that one may die at daybreak, ten days later.
If breathing is repeatedly agitated,
This is called the ‘collision of vital energy and mind’,
And it indicates that one may die after six days.26
If the tip of the nose inclines to the right or left,
This is called the ‘cutting off of the bridge of the nose’,
And it indicates that one may die after seven days.
If tears flow uncontrollably from the eyes,
This is called the ‘impediment’,
And it indicates that one may die after five days.
If the right or left cheek sags inwards,
This is called the ‘cutting off of the intervening muscle’,
And it indicates that [one may die] after one day.
If the upper and lower teeth become locked,
This is called the ‘blockage of the path of the elements’,
And it indicates that one may die after two and a half days.
If a black spot appears on the tongue,
It is certain that one will die after two days.
If the ears lie flat against the head,
This is called the ‘blockage of the stairway of the ears’,
And it indicates that one may die within half a day.
If the xiphoid of the chest sags inward,
This is called the ‘rupture of the support of the water element’,
And it indicates that one may die after two weeks.
If the hands shake for a prolonged time, when standing or sitting,
One should know that one may quickly die.
Other signs of [near] death should also be examined in the following way:
At noon one should face towards the south,
Placing the elbows on the knees,
Whereupon, lifting up one’s hand,
One should place [the wrist] at the point between the eyebrows,
And focus both eyes upon one’s hand.
[The image of the arm] will appear very thin, and if it then vanishes,
This is called the ‘severing of the bond between atmosphere and earth’,
And it indicates that one may die after nineteen days.
[Or else, one should position oneself at sunrise] with a pool or pond to the east,
And stand up and gaze at the surface of a wall towards the west.
Two superimposed shadows will appear, one above the other,
And if the upper shadow disappears,
This is called the ‘fall of a rider on a white lioness from the slopes of Mount Sumeru’,
And it indicates that one may die after fifteen and a half days.
[Alternatively, one should examine irregularities in one’s urine specimen]:27
In the morning after a night when one has not engaged in sexual intercourse,
Drunk alcohol, or talked excessively,
One should fill a clay container with one’s [first] urine, at sunrise, and examine it.
If [the urine] has a bluish or reddish vapour which then disappears,
This is called the ‘vanishing of the froth of the ocean’,
And it indicates that one will certainly die after nine days.
If the vapour is blackish and putrid,
[This indicates that] one will die after one day.
If the vapour is red and spotted, o
ne may die after nine [days].
[Alternatively], one should defecate at sunrise,
And if no vapour arises from [the faeces],
This is called the ‘ceasing of monks’ smoke in the cities of the earth element’,
And it indicates that one may die after nine days.
[Further], if, when the [closed] eyes are pressed, no circles of light appear,
This is called the ‘setting of the unchanging sun at the summit of Mount Sumeru’,28
And it indicates that one may die after three or seven days.
[Further], if, when the ears are cupped with the fingers,
The humming sound which is [normally] present is absent,
This is called the ‘interruption of the natural sound of the ḍākinῑs from within Mount Sumeru’,29
And it indicates that one may die after seven or thirteen days.
[Alternatively], on a morning when the sun is shining,
One should turn one’s back to the sun,
And if no evaporation [is seen to] rise from the crown of one’s shadow,
This is called the ‘rupturing of the Wish-granting Tree from the Summit of Mount Sumeru’,30
And it indicates that one may die after five days.
[Also], if a single tuft of hair exceptionally rises upwards from the posterior fontanelles,
This is called ‘the black lord of death, one-legged Yavati, arising as an enemy against the Wish-granting Tree’,31
And it indicates that one may die after seven days.
Whichever of these [signs of] death occur,
They indicate the specific time-frame [of impending death].
Therefore, upon the occurrence of such [signs], the Ritual Deception of Death should be performed three times.
If this is carried out [successfully], untimely death will be averted.
One should [therefore] exert oneself and persevere in [applying] the practical instructions,
As [taught] in the Natural Liberation of Fear through the Ritual Deception of Death.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead Page 19