Dear Coach,
i have read for years now your beautiful, eloquent Teachings on Bardo Entry…i know first hand of just how empowering your deeply conscious counseling as a Reverend and Recognized Dharma Server can be for the dying…so thank you. However, during the recent Death and Dying of my father with which you helped so pricelessly, I have been thrown into a type of Bardo myself and have questioned so many things about living and dying. I need to ask you this; What are your TAF’s about suicide? Forgive me if you have already offered a Teaching on this…I scanned the Teachings Archives as best as I could to no avail. I do not ever want you to think I am lazy before asking such a pivotal question.
For All You Choose To Be and Do No Matter What,
your student A.B.
CA
Coach Responds:
Dear Precious Dharma Brother AB,
i can offer you my response personally and then that of my Tibetan Teacher(s) who know the Bardo Realms like I know the Durango Nordic Ski Trail System.
Personally:
it is said, “One picture is worth a thousand words,” and i reMind you of this picture of myself pinnacle jumping in the Northern Cascades:
you accept me as a Teacher? really!?!? would you have taken my hand in yours when i asked you, “Are you ready?” before this jump of mine in the Northern Cascades? WF is no joke. WF is Bardo Training; make no mistake Oh Noble Yogi!
most of you who are Members are well acquainted with my history. you know that i made my living for nearly 15 years as a professional extreme outdoor athlete, long before “helmet cams” were even thought of, let alone YouTube. thus, no footage of my near-daily extreme adventures exists. thank Shiva!
in the years before the internet, i wrote publicly and sangha-ic-cally (that is, officially, the worst hatchet-job even i have had to do on the English language in order to articulate what i need to…sorry!) on my Bardo Training under Rinpoche Trungpa at Naropa University. many spoke of ‘dying’ while meditating (on a comfy cushion). i lived the meditation cushion while free soloing ice, rock, and high peak walls at a world-class rate for over a decade. in essence, i had to ‘make it okay to die’ while i attempted my free solo climbs (no rope, no protection whatsoever save for self-confidence and surrender to the Divine which is known as Ishvara-Pradnidhana to yogis). i only stopped free soloing after losing half a thumb on a 40′ winger on Super Spoon in Eldorado Canyon on the final preview roped ascent before i was going to free solo it and that, combined with climbers gathering and following me in Eldo “to watch me die” as i did my free solo’s. so yes, ilg is qualified like few others to speak on suicide, for i needed for years, nearly every day, to make it okay for me to die…
Part Two cOMing tomorrow…
These teachings are the "Rasas" or "sap" of Wholistic Fitness. You’ll find insights to ponder, student chi to keep your own chi topped off, and plenty of proven training techniques to test on your own body, mind, and spirit! Also, you’ll find my very popular Race Reports, and news of our Sangha’s (community’s) latest transpersonal fitness adventures!