What Kind of Being Is a Human Being?

When this book was about to be completed, an earthquake of magnitude 8.1 struck Nepal around noon on a cloudy Saturday. When the earthquake happened, I was in the midst of a spiritual long-life empowerment ceremony, called Tsewang in Tibetan, led by a great, old Tibetan lama from Sikkim. Perhaps that spiritual event itself really prolonged many lives. The earthquake happened so suddenly that everyone was shocked and panicked. Though the situation was unsettling, the old master on the throne and a sixty-year-old man who sat next to me seemed totally undisturbed by the commotion. The master continued with the empowerment despite the earthquake, and this man next to me was composed and relaxed. In his calm, abiding presence, I asked if he was fearful of death. He shook his head, smiled, and calmly requested that I recite the guru rinpoche mantra. Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava, was a highly accomplished eighth-century Indian Yogi. He brought Buddhism to Tibet and manifested countless wonders, gave teachings and spiritual transmissions to his disciples, and was highly revered by all the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. At that moment, I missed my spiritual teacher tremendously and thought what a pity it would be to die so young without completing my Tibetan studies and learning more from my Rinpoche.

During the earthquake, one could truly see how much we actually value and treasure our lives. We never truly know the importance and value of something or someone until we are on the verge of losing it. All the wealth of the universe cannot purchase even a moment of life. Life is that precious. I asked myself, if I had to die, in what state of consciousness would I want to depart from Earth? Life is comprised of continuous series of thoughts, and I realized that most of the time I took my thinking either too seriously or utterly for granted. Facing fear, I was given a chance to channel my thoughts toward either panicking or abiding in what is. There was honestly no time for negative thinking or stress but only time to relax into ease as much as possible. I laughed and realized how important it is to practice relaxation on a regular basis because when death comes, knowing how to relax will be useful. Death knocks on the door of life without notice, and regularly reminding ourselves of how fragile and impermanent life is will make us more appreciative and gentle toward the preciousness of being human while we do our best to make this short visit on planet Earth count.

I made an aspiration within my heart that if I survived the earthquake, I would do my best with the remaining days of my life to be happy, practice dharma, and be a good example of happiness for others. I also made a conscious decision to accept myself fully just as I already am. I embrace all that I am because being alive is a privilege. At age eighty-seven, Michelangelo continued learning. His example reminds us that, no matter our age, there is definitely a lot more to learn. It is only in learning that we truly make progress and avoid becoming stagnant and old. When we feel truly at home with ourselves, we truly begin to learn.

This earthquake left many people homeless, and they still live in difficult conditions today. There are many unsettling aftershocks following earthquakes, and the frequent shakes have been challenging for many people, especially those most affected by the earthquakes. Perhaps a few shakes a day keep us aware of the i