Phowa
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Phowa (
Lama Thubten Yeshe taught on the subject of phowa that "We have to choose the right time to transfer our consciousness; we’re not allowed to do it at the wrong time because that becomes suicide."[2]
Outside of Buddhism "This controversial esoteric technique (Skt. utkrānti), by which a tantric practitioner is able to sever his connection to the physical body, goes by the Indian reference to 'yogic' or spiritual suicide..
Application
The method can be applied at the moment of death to, according to Vajrayāna Buddhist belief, transfer one's consciousness through the top of the head directly into a
In the context of Western Buddhism, the practice of phowa has become well known in two groups widespread in Europe and the Americas:
Signs of success
The mark of a successful phowa practice is a small drop of blood directly from the center of the vertex at the top of the head. To demonstrate a successful practice traditionally a Kusha-grass was pushed into the small opening created in the fontanel.[7][8] According to Khenpo Tsultrim Lodrö, the “mark of a successful phowa is that after death, there is visible hair loss, a bump or some yellow liquid seeping around the vertex” at the crown of the head.[9]
Lineages
The main lineage of phowa is one of the
The Kagyu phowa lineage is from the Six yogas of Naropa. Nāropa received it from the Indian mahāsiddha Tilopa and later passed it to his Tibetan disciple Marpa.
Nāropa's teachings describe a second method of ’pho-ba that entails the transference of one’s consciousness to another body (Wylie: ’pho-ba grong-’jug). Milarepa's query regarding these teachings forced Marpa to search for explanatory treatises on the subject among his Indian manuscripts, and, having found none, to return to India to obtain more scriptures.[11]
The
Some lineages of phowa include a rite of incision, or opening of the
According to the Vajrayana teachings, the tantric phowa method is benficial whether the being was spiritual or not, and can be practised anonymously. The ritual will be powerful if a Buddhist shows concern for the well being of the being.[15]
In Dzogchen
Those beings of lesser faculties and limited potential will not attain awakening during the bardo but may transfer their consciousness (a practice called phowa) to a pure land once they have arrived at the "bardo of existence". Once they reach this bardo, they will recognize they have died and then they will recall the guru with faith and remember the instructions.[16] Then they will think of the pure land and its qualities and they will be reborn there. In a pure land, beings can listen to the Dharma taught directly by Vajrasattva or some other Buddha. Jigme Lingpa recommends that one practice this in daily life as well. One way to do this is as follows:
when falling asleep at night, with intense concentration one must think: 'I am dying so I must recognize the stages of dissolution and go to the natural nirmanakaya pure realm!' Then, one will fall asleep envisioning the arrangement and qualities of the nirmanakaya realm. Between [practice] sessions, as mentioned earlier, it is essential to have developed the skill of training the consciousness that rides the winds.[17]
Shugchang, et al., in an exegesis of the Zhitro, discuss phowa in Dzogchen:
Phowa has many different meanings; in Tibetan it means "transferring consciousness." The highest form is known as the phowa of the
dharmakayawhich is meditation on the great perfection. When you do Dzogchen meditation, there's no need to transfer anything, because there's nothing to transfer, no place to transfer it, nor anyone to do it. That's the highest, and greatest phowa practice.[18]
In early Indian yoga and tantra
The Sanskrit tantric text Mālinīvijayottaratantra, a non-dual Shaivistic text of the late first millennium CE[19] includes a chapter on yogic suicide.[20] The yogic practice may be as old at the Pātañjalayogaśāstra of Patañjali (325–425 CE[21]), where it appears to be mentioned in sūtra 3.39.[22]
See also
- Human skull symbolism
- Mahāsamādhi
- Tibetan Pure Land Buddhism
References
Notes
- ^ a b Halkias (2019).
- ^ Yeshe (2011).
- ^ Lingtrul Rinpoche. Teachings on Phowa Archived 2015-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Karma Chagmé 2000, Naked Awareness, p.196
- ^ Halkias, Georgios. 2013. Luminous Bliss: A Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet, chapter 5.
- .
- ^ "Auspicious Signs of Perfect Completion of the Phowa Conducted by His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche". Gloje.org. Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center. October 30, 2012.[unreliable source?]
- ^ Yu (1991), p. [page needed].
- ^ Lodrö, Khenpo Tsultrim (12 October 2016). "On Death And Rebirth-How to Face Death". www.luminouswisdom.org.
- ^ Dudjom Lingpa, via Chagdud Tulku. 1985. Tröma: Treasury of Dharmata. (Chöd Text). Cottage Grove: Padma Publishing. p. 12, 17, 24, 29, 38, 48.
- ^ Douglas, Nik and Meryl White. 1976. Karmapa: The Black Hat Lama of Tibet. London: Luzac. p. 15.
- ^ Kapstein, Matthew. 1998. “A Pilgrimage of Rebirth Reborn: the 1992 Celebration of the Drigung Powa Chenmo”. In Buddhism in Contemporary Tibet, ed. M. Goldstein and M. Kapstein, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 95-119.
- ^ Ayang Rinpoche, Choeje (February 7, 2007). "An Introduction to Phowa". Ayangrinpoche.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
- ^ Yu (1991), p. 249.
- ^ Khyentse, Dzongsar Jamyang. Living Is Dying (PDF) (13 ed.). CC BYNC-ND. p. 164. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ Lingpa (2008), p. 199.
- ^ Lingpa (2008), p. 201.
- ^ Shugchang, Padma (editor); Sherab, Khenchen Palden & Dongyal, Khenpo Tse Wang (2000). A Modern Commentary on Karma Lingpa's Zhi-Khro: teachings on the peaceful and wrathful deities. Padma Gochen Ling. Source: [1] Archived 2008-02-29 at the Wayback Machine (accessed: December 27, 2007)
- OCLC 611685807.
- OCLC 57732856.
- ^ Maas, Philipp A. (January 2013). "A Concise Historiography of Classical Yoga Philosophy". In Franco, Eli (ed.). Periodization and Historiography of Indian Philosophy. Publications of the De Nobili Research Library. Vol. 37. Vienna: Sammlung de Nobili. p. 66.
- OCLC 928480104.
Works cited
- Halkias, Georgios (October 2019). "Ascending to Heaven after Death: Karma Chags med's Commentary on Mind Transference" (PDF). Revue d'Études Tibétaines (52): 70–89.
- ISBN 978-1611807318.
- Yeshe, Lama Thubten (2011). "Chapter 6. Transference of Consciousness". Life, Death and After Death. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. ISBN 978-1891868252. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- Yu, Lu K'uan (1991) [1969]. Secrets of Chinese Meditation: Self-Cultivation by Mind Control As Taught in the Ch'An, Mahayana and Taoist Schools in China. Weiser Books. ISBN 978-0877280668.
Further reading
- Chagdud Khadro (1998). P'howa Commentary: Instructions for the Practice of Consciousness Transference as Revealed by Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo. Junction City, CA: Padma Publishing. ISBN 978-1881847106.