Phowa (Tibetan: འཕོ་བ་, Wylie: 'pho ba, Sanskrit: saṃkrānti[citation needed]) is a tantric practice found in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It may be described as "transference of consciousness at the time of death", "mindstream transference", "the practice of conscious dying", or "enlightenment without meditation"[1] (Wylie: ma-sgom sangs-rgyas). In Tibetan Buddhism phowa is one of the Six yogas of Naropa and also appears in many other lineages and systems of teaching.
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.[1] It is referred to in many Saiva scriptures, in one VaisnavaSamhita, and a handful of SāktaTantras.
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 Buddha-field of one's choice. By so doing, one bypasses some of the typical experiences that are said to occur after death.[3][citation needed] Example destinations are Sukhāvatī, Abhirati, Ghanavyūha, Aṭakāvatī, Mount Potala, the Copper-Colored Mountain (Wylie: Zangs-mdog dpal-ri), and Tuṣita;[4] the most popular in Chinese, Japanese and Tibetan Buddhism is Sukhavati.[citation needed]Phowa is also performed by specialists (Wylie: ’pho-’debs bla-ma) on the behalf of the deceased, as a post-mortem ritual.[5]
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]
The Kagyuphowa 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 Drikung Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism is known for their phowa teachings. A major pilgrimage and cultural celebration is known in the Tibetan world as the Great Drikung Phowa (Wylie: ’Bri-gung ’pho-ba chen-mo). This festival was traditionally held once in every twelve-year calendrical cycle, and its last observance took place in August 1992 in gTer-sgrom, Central Tibet, after a hiatus of 36 years due to a ban enforced by the Chinese authorities.[12]Choeje Ayang Rinpoche from Eastern Tibet belongs to the Drikung school and is an authority on Buddhist afterlife rituals; he gives teachings and initiations to the practice of phowa annually in Bodh Gaya, India.[13]
Some lineages of phowa include a rite of incision, or opening of the sahasrara at the cranialzenith, to assist with transferral.[14]
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]
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 dharmakaya which 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 tantraEdit
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]
^Halkias, Georgios. 2013. Luminous Bliss: A Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet, chapter 5.
^Vogd, Werner; Harth, Jonathan; Ofner, Ulrike Selma (2015). "View of Doing Religion in Phowa Courses: Studies on Praxeology and the Logic of Reflection in Courses on "Conscious Dying" in Diamond Way Buddhism | Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research". Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 16 (3). doi:10.17169/fqs-16.3.2320.
^"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?]
^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). . Ayangrinpoche.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
^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] 2008-02-29 at the Wayback Machine (accessed: December 27, 2007)
^Goudriaan, Teun; Gupta, Sanjukta (1981). Hindu tantric and Śākta literature. Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz. p. 32. ISBN9783447020916. OCLC 611685807.
^Vasudeva, Somadeva; Institut français de Pondichéry; École française d'Extrême-Orient (2004). The yoga of the Mālinīvijayottaratantra: chapters 1-4, 7, 11-17. Pondichery: Institut français de Pondichéry : École française d'Extrême-Orient. pp. 437–445. 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.
Yeshe, Lama Thubten (2011). "Chapter 6. Transference of Consciousness". Life, Death and After Death. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. ISBN978-1891868252. 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. ISBN978-0877280668.
Further readingEdit
Chagdud Khadro (1998). P'howa Commentary: Instructions for the Practice of Consciousness Transference as Revealed by Rigdzin Longsal Nyingpo. Junction City, CA: Padma Publishing. ISBN978-1881847106.
External linksEdit
Powa: Transference of Consciousness at the Time of Death
October 21, 2023
phowa, tibetan, འཕ, wylie, sanskrit, saṃkrānti, citation, needed, tantric, practice, found, both, hinduism, buddhism, described, transference, consciousness, time, death, mindstream, transference, practice, conscious, dying, enlightenment, without, meditation,. Phowa Tibetan འཕ བ Wylie pho ba Sanskrit saṃkranti citation needed is a tantric practice found in both Hinduism and Buddhism It may be described as transference of consciousness at the time of death mindstream transference the practice of conscious dying or enlightenment without meditation 1 Wylie ma sgom sangs rgyas In Tibetan Buddhism phowa is one of the Six yogas of Naropa and also appears in many other lineages and systems of teaching 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 utkranti 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 1 It is referred to in many Saiva scriptures in one Vaisnava Samhita and a handful of Sakta Tantras Contents 1 Application 2 Signs of success 3 Lineages 4 In Dzogchen 5 In early Indian yoga and tantra 6 See also 7 References 7 1 Notes 7 2 Works cited 8 Further reading 9 External linksApplication EditThe method can be applied at the moment of death to according to Vajrayana Buddhist belief transfer one s consciousness through the top of the head directly into a Buddha field of one s choice By so doing one bypasses some of the typical experiences that are said to occur after death 3 citation needed Example destinations are Sukhavati Abhirati Ghanavyuha Aṭakavati Mount Potala the Copper Colored Mountain Wylie Zangs mdog dpal ri and Tuṣita 4 the most popular in Chinese Japanese and Tibetan Buddhism is Sukhavati citation needed Phowa is also performed by specialists Wylie pho debs bla ma on the behalf of the deceased as a post mortem ritual 5 In the context of Western Buddhism the practice of phowa has become well known in two groups widespread in Europe and the Americas Rigpa which was founded by Sogyal Rinpoche in 1979 and Diamond Way Buddhism founded in 1972 by Lama Ole Nydahl and Hannah Nydahl 6 Signs of success EditThe 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 Lodro 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 EditThe main lineage of phowa is one of the Six yogas of Naropa although other transmissions also exist citation needed The chod subsumes within its auspices aspects of phowa sadhana 10 The Kagyu phowa lineage is from the Six yogas of Naropa Naropa received it from the Indian mahasiddha Tilopa and later passed it to his Tibetan disciple Marpa Naropa 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 Drikung Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism is known for their phowa teachings A major pilgrimage and cultural celebration is known in the Tibetan world as the Great Drikung Phowa Wylie Bri gung pho ba chen mo This festival was traditionally held once in every twelve year calendrical cycle and its last observance took place in August 1992 in gTer sgrom Central Tibet after a hiatus of 36 years due to a ban enforced by the Chinese authorities 12 Choeje Ayang Rinpoche from Eastern Tibet belongs to the Drikung school and is an authority on Buddhist afterlife rituals he gives teachings and initiations to the practice of phowa annually in Bodh Gaya India 13 Some lineages of phowa include a rite of incision or opening of the sahasrara at the cranial zenith to assist with transferral 14 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 Edit nbsp Buddha Amitayus in his Pure Land SukhavatiThose 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 dharmakaya which 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 EditThe Sanskrit tantric text Malinivijayottaratantra 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 Patanjalayogasastra of Patanjali 325 425 CE 21 where it appears to be mentioned in sutra 3 39 22 See also EditHuman skull symbolism Mahasamadhi Tibetan Pure Land BuddhismReferences EditNotes Edit a b Halkias 2019 Yeshe 2011 Lingtrul Rinpoche Teachings on Phowa Archived 2015 02 05 at the Wayback Machine Karma Chagme 2000 Naked Awareness p 196 Halkias Georgios 2013 Luminous Bliss A Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet chapter 5 Vogd Werner Harth Jonathan Ofner Ulrike Selma 2015 View of Doing Religion in Phowa Courses Studies on Praxeology and the Logic of Reflection in Courses on Conscious Dying in Diamond Way Buddhism Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum Qualitative Social Research Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum Qualitative Social Research 16 3 doi 10 17169 fqs 16 3 2320 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 Lodro Khenpo Tsultrim 12 October 2016 On Death And Rebirth How to Face Death www luminouswisdom org Dudjom Lingpa via Chagdud Tulku 1985 Troma Treasury of Dharmata Chod 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 amp 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 Goudriaan Teun Gupta Sanjukta 1981 Hindu tantric and Sakta literature Wiesbaden O Harrassowitz p 32 ISBN 9783447020916 OCLC 611685807 Vasudeva Somadeva Institut francais de Pondichery Ecole francaise d Extreme Orient 2004 The yoga of the Malinivijayottaratantra chapters 1 4 7 11 17 Pondichery Institut francais de Pondichery Ecole francaise d Extreme Orient pp 437 445 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 Mallinson James Singleton Mark 2017 Roots of Yoga Penguin p 373 ISBN 978 0241253045 OCLC 928480104 Works cited Edit Halkias Georgios October 2019 Ascending to Heaven after Death Karma Chags med s Commentary on Mind Transference PDF Revue d Etudes Tibetaines 52 70 89 Lingpa Jigme 2008 Yeshe Lama Translated by Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro Snow Lion Publications 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 EditChagdud 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 External links EditPowa Transference of Consciousness at the Time of Death Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Phowa amp oldid 1169833155, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
