Tina Turner’s close friend and confidante has spoken out about the singer’s final years and revealed why she chose to live a private life.
The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll died from natural causes at her home in Switzerland last week after battling a string of medical complications in the last decade.
Dechen Shak-Dagsay, a renowned musician of Tibetan Buddhist mantras and a close friend of Turner, has since spoken out and claimed The Best hitmaker spent the final years of her life preparing for the afterlife because she wasn’t afraid of death.
“Tina told me, ‘I’m not afraid of dying.’ She was curious to see what is coming,” Shak-Dagsay recalled in an interview with DailyMail.com.
“I did not see Tina for the last couple of years after she began suffering serious health problems. But I know she was not afraid of dying.
“In the Buddhist tradition at a certain part of your life, you choose to retreat. This is a very important phase of your life because preparation for death is something considered the most important part of human life.”
As the musician, who worked with Turner on three albums over the span of six years, added, Turner found “salvation” in Buddhism despite being raised as a Christian.
“When Tina Turner was in that toxic relationship with her first husband Ike she was introduced to Buddhism by a friend,” she added.
“When we were recording together we developed an intense relationship. And she told me she would never have been able to overcome all the pain she suffered and the struggle she endured during her first marriage without reciting the Buddhist mantras. It gave her the strength to carry on.
“Tina told me she had been raised as a Christian but she found the church structure too oppressive.”
In conclusion, the Buddhist musician claimed that Turner made an excellent job at preparing for death by retreating from the spotlight and keeping “distractions” from the world out of her head.
“Tina definitely believed in reincarnation. It is a pillar of our religion. Without reincarnation Buddhism does not make sense,” Shak-Dagsay added.
“It’s all about karma. That is why I admire her for retreating for the past couple of years, preparing for her death. She gave everything she had to her fans – her voice, her love, her performances, her beauty, her grace. And she helped so many artists.”
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