By: Sogyal Rinpoche
…Our state of mind at death is all-important. If we die in a positive frame of mind, we can improve our next birth, despite our negative karma. And if we are upset and distressed, it may have a detrimental effect, even though we may have used our lives well. This means that the last thought and emotion that we have before we die has an extremely powerful determining effect on our immediate future…This is why the masters stress that the quality of the atmosphere around us when we die is crucial. With our friends and relative, we should do all we can to inspire positive emotions and sacred feelings, like love, compassion, and devotion, and all we can to help them to “let go of grasping, yearning and attachment.”
From: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying