THE
TEACHING OF PHOWA
(TRANSFERENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS AT THE TIME OF DEATH)
INTRODUCTION
According to the Tibetan custom, in the event of someone dying,
a member of the family of the dying person would request a Lama
to perform the Phowa ceremony (i.e. Transference of consciousness
at the time of death.)
The Lama performing the ceremony would have himself mastered the
art of Phowa (transferring the consciousness at the time of death)
after having previously been initiated into the practice and meditation
given only to Tulkus (Incarnates) and retreated to the hills to
carry out the practice which he would continue night and day until
the signs he was told to watch for (at the time his initiation)
appear.
He would then leave his retreat equipped now to instruct monks,
nuns and lay people in the practice. He would however, continue
to perform the practice at least once a month. When he becomes
aware of the signs of his approaching death (signs he was taught
to recognize during his retreat period), he would meet the eventuality
with a great calmness and equanimity.
All the Tibetans are familiar with this practice. During the summer
months at the end of every twelfth year when the plains were richly
verdant after the white of winter, one could see the trek of Tibetan
pilgrims walk to the small temple at Bhum Ngu Sumdo in which Phowa
had been given for the first time to the people of Drigung.
They would pitch huge white tents, a stark contrast to the yellow
and maroon robes of the monks and nuns and the colorful chubas
(the traditional dress) of the women and children and summer flowers,
in preparation for three weeks stay for the performance of Phowa
by the head Lamas who continue this uninterrupted succession from
the Supreme Guru Dorje Chang to Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa
and Gampopa up to the present time.
When taking the initiation of Phowa, it is important to receive
the initiation from a Tulku (i.e. Incarnate Lama) who continues
the line of succession of the Phowa lineage of Gurus. The blessings
of such an initiation will render the practice safe as the blessings
of the lineage will flow unhampered to meet the disciple and bring
with them quick results.
Should the Phowa be attempted without this very vital precaution
the results will not be the same and the practitioner will be
faced with many dangers. Faith in the Lama Tulku is of primary
importance. If the faith is very strong, coupled with devotion,
then the results will be very powerful and immediate. If the faith
is not of the highest strength then the results will be medium
and so on . . and where there is little faith, no good results
can be expected, however much you may try.
In the root Tantra, "GYUD" it is written: "Even
if a man is so sinful that he kills a holy man every day and has
committed the five Heavy Sins, if he goes on this path of Phowa
the veils of sin will not remain. For the men of many sins and
for all beings, this is the Path of liberation which is direct
and secret."
Urgyan Rinpoche said, "By meditation all can attain Enlightenment.
My meditation is that which is called "MA GOM PI" (i.e.
spontaneous without meditation effort) . . . "
Naropa says, 'There are nine Gates which are of the world but
there is only one which is the gate of Mahamundra (Nirvana). If
you shut the nine Gates then you will get the Path of liberation
without any doubt ...."
Marpa Lotsawa said, "From now, if you study Phowa, purify,
purify time and time again. Then, at that time, when death is
approaching you will know no despair. If, beforehand, you have
become accustomed to this Path of Phowa then at the time of death
you will be full of cheerful confidence .... "
Over and above the Nine ordinary apertures of the body called
"buga", there is a 'Crest' aperture, and the virtue
of doing this practice of Phowa is to be able to think of this
crest aperture at the time of death and to direct the consciousness
through this gate into the pure land of the Buddha, the Buddha-field
(DEWACHEN). The profound Path of Phowa is the Holy Way of the
Buddhas in which is Dharma rapidly realized spontaneously without
meditation effort.
It is very difficult to attain the precious human body and having
attained it one must utilize it to reach Buddhahood through the
proper hearing, contemplation and meditation of the precious teachings.
Even if one has attained human birth, it can suddenly end without
warning.
Because of the overwhelming
power of laziness in the postponement of our practice, one's life
ends without one even realizing it, because life is so short and
the galloping mara of death is so quick. When death comes we have
no escape, we have to accept it and go on to the next life. At
this time neither your accumulated wealth nor your dear ones nor
your cherished body - nothing can help except the precious teachings.
In the precious teachings, Lord Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma
to suit the different levels of understanding and to different
dispositions of all beings through Shravakayana, Pratyekayana
and Mahayana practices.
The Mahayana consists of Hetuyana (cause) and Phalayana (fruit).
The Hetuyana or the Sutrayana consists of all the practices without
the tantric initiations. In the Phalayana or the Vajrayana there
are many means (paths) to attain enlightenment through the Arising
and Completion processes but one must diligently practice over
a period of time before one can realize one's Buddhahood.
In the Vajrayana, the Phowa practice is the most direct and the
quickest path for one to achieve enlightenment. It is said that
even the heaviest of sinners has a chance for enlightenment through
the practice of the Phowa. "There are teachings for one to
become enlightened, but I have a teaching (Phowa) that offers
enlightenment without meditation", said Marpa, the great
translator and the father of the Kagyu Lineage.
The Phowa "Jaktshukma" (the standing grass blade) Lineage
is one of the precious Phowa practices. In the eighth century,
the Dharma king of Tibet, Thri-song Deu-Tsen invited the great
Indian tantric master, Guru Padmasambhava, to Tibet and they built
the Samye monastery.
Guru Padmasambhava
was residing in Ch'im-phu cave in the vicinity of Samye when an
important minister of the king, Nyima, had a tragedy. Nyima, who
had two palaces and was in the process of moving from one to the
other, was packing some belongings by the light of a lantern when
a small spark caused a fire which instantly burned down the whole
palace tragically killing thirteen people including his parents.
All his horses, mules,
cattle and other animals also perished in the fire. Minister Nyima,
thinking of the love and respect that others show their parents
felt that he had committed the heaviest of sins by causing the
death of his parents and others.
The king desiring to end the suffering of his minister went to
Ch'im-phu cave to request the help of Padmasambhava. Padmasambhava
by miraculous power went to the Pure Land to see Amitabha Buddha.
He told Buddha Amitabha about the suffering of Minister Nyima
and of all sentient beings and asked Amitabha to give a special
teaching to free them from suffering.
Buddha Amitabha gave
this Phowa teaching to Padmasambhava who gave it to Minister Nyima
who then gave up all worldly activities to practice the Phowa
which he eventually actualized.
Through the path of
Phowa, Minister Nyima's consciousness attained the Pure Land when
death came and many different signs appeared like rainbows and
relics from his body.
This text was hidden in the Black Mandala Lake which is at the
backside of Dhaglhagampo Hill. The Naga king, Tsurana-Ratna, asked
to be the guardian of this text and was told by Padmasambhava
that the future incarnation of Minister Nyima would be Nyida Sang-gye
and that he must give the text to him.
Padmasambhava then left to go to the land of the Rakshas. After
more than 350 years the incarnation of Minister Nyima was born
as the son of a shepherd. When Nyida Sang-gye was growing up he
felt great compassion and wept tears of sorrow when the animals
would die.
In order to alleviate his great suffering, Buddha Amitabha appeared
to him and gave him this Phowa teaching for the benefit of all
sentient beings. Nyida Sang-gye then gave Phowa to all the dying
animals and often many different signs appeared.
The Naga-king then came to Nyida Sang-gye and told him of the
Hidden Text (Ter-ma) and Nyida Sang-gye took the Ter from the
Black Mandala Lake and gave the teaching to the Sagas. Through
this teaching many of the Nagas were reborn into a higher life.
After this Nyida Sang-gye gave many teachings to human beings
through which many reached liberation.
This transmission of the teaching is held by the Lama Ole Nydahl.
The devoted practitioner who has no doubt in the qualified Lama
and teachings can experience the sign of Phowa merely through
receiving the Lung (Blessing Transmission). This has been experienced
by many practitioners around the world.
The Karma Kagyu Lineage is one of the lineages of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Kagyu lineage originated with the great yogi Tilopa who lived
in Northern India around the 10th century A.D. Tilopa received
the four special transmissions (Tibetan: bka-babs-bzhi) and mastered
them. (More Info: The
Origin of the Karma Kagyu Lineage).
The Karma Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism holds the precious
teachings of all the yanks which Shakyamuni Buddha taught for
the benefit of all sentient beings. This lineage also possesses
the complete transmission of the meditative practices of the Five-Profound
Paths of the Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa.
The Karma Kagyu Lineage
is famous for its ability to successfully transfer the power of
the Phowa meditation to initiated and devoted practitioners who
practice it.
Due to the accumulated
energy of the lineage and the blessing of the teaching itself,
the qualified Lama is able to directly transfer the blessings
of this practice to the pure and devoted disciples who can experience
the signs very quickly.
When one has received
any of the signs of the Phowa meditation, then one is considered
to be prepared to enter into the Buddha-field of Amitabha Buddha
(Dewachen) at the time of death. It is taught that one does not
return to the samsaric realms after having entered Dewachen and
that one can quickly achieve Enlightenment.
Because of all this,
the Phowa is becoming particularly relevant in these times simply
because in today's society we do not have the time nor the circumstances
to walk the spiritual path of the Dharma as did our predecessors
in the past.
We desperately need
a spiritual path that is simple, relevant, and direct, enabling
us to transform the stresses and pace of modern life into a vital
force that cuts through materialism and attachment to worldly
phenomenal, and awakens in us the realization of our Buddha-natures.
The Phowa meditations is simple and yet powerful. We have the
same opportunity as did the thousands of people in Tibet to master
the Phowa practice, enabling us to transform the experience of
death, which is a certainty, into a passage to the realization
of Dewachen (Blissful, Pure Land).
Today, we have His
Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje who is the
incarnation of Chenrezig, imparting this teaching as well as other
Karma Kagyu Lamas like Ole Nydahl who is traveling the world to
impart these precious teachings to fortunate human beings. (More
Info: Lama
Ole Nydahl's Travel Plan).
About
Phowa >
A short
history of the Karma Kagyu Lineage.
http://www.karma-kagyu.org/history_kag_lineage/kagyu_lineage.htm
The
Heart of the Prajna Paramita Sutra
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The free seeing Bodhisattva
of compassion, while in profound contemplation of Prajna Paramita,
beheld five skandhas as empty in their being and thus crossed
over all sufferings.
O-oh Sariputra, what
is seen does not differ from what is empty, nor does what is empty
differ from what is seen; what is seen is empty, what is empty
is seen.
It is the same for
sense perception, imagination, mental function and judgment.
Ooh Sariputra, all
the empty forms of these dharmas neither come to be nor pass away
and are not created or annihilated, not impure or pure, and cannot
be increased or decreased.
Since in emptiness
nothing can be seen, there is no perception, imagination, mental
function or judgment.
There is no eye, ear,
nose, tongue, body or consciousness. Nor are there sights, sounds,
odors, tastes, objects or dharmas. There is no visual world, world
of consciousness or other world.
There is no ignorance
or extinction of ignorance and so forth down to no aging and death
and also no extinction of aging and death. There is neither suffering,
causation, annihilation nor path.
There is no knowing
or unknowing. Since nothing can be known, Bodhisattvas rely upon
Prajna Paramita and so their minds are unhindered.
Because there is no
hindrance, no fear exists and they are far from inverted and illusory
thought and thereby attain nirvana.
All the Buddhas in
the three periods of time fully accomplish the an-nut-ta-ra-sam-yak
sambod-hi by relying upon Prajna Paramita.
Therefore, Prajna Paramita
is known as the most divine mantra, the great enlightening mantra,
the utmost mantra, the incomparable mantra, destroyer of all suffering!
Since what is true is not in vain, listen to the mantra of the
Prajna Paramita, it goes like this:
GATE GATE PA-RA
GATE PARASAM GATE BOD-HI SVA-HA!
