LYWA Monthly e-letter Archive
No. 23: February 2005
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Dear Friends,
Thank you for reading another LYWA e-letter. I’m writing
this in Singapore, where I’m on my way to Melbourne
to visit my 91-year-old mother. She’s fading, as one
does, but I’m happy that she had a chance to meet Lama
Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche back at Kopan at the Fourth
Meditation Course in 1973 (members can read
the transcript in our
members' area), after which she became their student
and a Buddhist. The Lamas
used
to stay with her the first few times they went
to Melbourne
in the
70s,
and she’s still in the same house, so going home always
brings back those fond memories.
OK, well, enough of that!
Everybody seems
to like our Lama Yeshe
DVDs so we’re
in the process of preparing several more programs from the
relatively few rare archival videos of Lama that we have.
Watch out for two different talks, both entitled “Anxiety
in the Nuclear Age” from California, 1983 (and not
that irrelevant these days, given the noise coming out of
Washington); an introduction to transference of consciousness
(pho-wa) from London, 1982, the text of which we
offer you below; Lama’s 1983 commentary to the Heruka
Vajrasattva tsog he wrote (published in the Wisdom
book Becoming Vajrasattva);
and his last teaching in the West—Geneva, 1983, a weekend
course on life, death and after death.
In addition to the Fourth Kopan Course posted in our members'
area, we've also posted the complete transcript of the Seventh
Kopan Course publically for all our visitors to read. We
have also added more audio
teachings on our Web site. The companion audio to our
book Virtue and
Reality has been completed, and we will soon post
the audio from Rinpoche's recent Mahamudra Retreat in Adelaide,
Australia.
Thank you so much to all who have responded so far to our
appeal for funds to complete the editing of Lama
Zopa Rinpoche's Vajrayogini teachings. Still, we could
do with more contributions to reach our goal of $6,000, so
please help us
out if you can. Thank you.
Once more, thank you for your kind interest in and support
of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. Please let us know if we
can do anything for you.
Much love,
Nick Ribush
Director
An Introduction to pho-wa: Transference
of Consciousness
The teachings on transference of consciousness (Tib: pho-wa)
come from Shakyamuni Buddha. They weren’t made up
by Tibetan monks. These teachings passed down from the
Buddha through the Indian oral transmission lineage and
eventually reached Tibet. That’s how come the Tibetan
tradition contains the practice of pho-wa.
Who does this practice and what are its benefits?
First of all, from the Buddhist point of view, human life
and death are equally important events. There’s no
reason to think that life is important and death is bad,
unimportant. Both are important.
Now, in the same way that we want to have happy, joyful
lives, Himalayan yogis want to have happy, joyful deaths.
They certainly don’t want unhappy, confused, disaster
deaths.
Of course, those who attain enlightenment in their lifetime
don’t need transference of consciousness. It’s
a practice for those who don’t reach enlightenment
in this life and need another in which to do so.
At the time of death, everybody’s consciousness has
to leave the body, but sometimes the conditions at that time
are disastrous: overwhelming disease, grasping, attachment,
wrong thinking and so forth. Therefore, yogis like to have
at their disposal a method that will allow them to die perfectly,
before such disadvantageous conditions arise. The practice
of pho-wa is one such method.
At present, it seems that we’re completely stuck in
this body of sense-gravitation attachment, with no way out.
Call it karma, life-force or whatever, but yogis who are
fully trained in pho-wa are able to transfer their consciousness
out of their sense-gravitation body and are therefore free
from dying a disastrous death. Whenever they feel like it,
they’re free to employ the meditation techniques they’ve
accomplished and transfer their consciousness out of their
body.
I’m not just talking philosophy here. Many Tibetan
monks and meditators have really been able to use these
methods at the appropriate time.
For example, I heard that in 1959, when China overran Tibet,
many ordinary monks employed the techniques of pho-wa because
they felt that under occupation they would no longer be able
to exercise their religious faith. So they were glad to have
a method whereby they could happily leave this life.
Why is it helpful to know about this kind of thing in the
West? It seems to me that the modern world has become so
preoccupied with material things that it has neglected the
potential of the human mind. Therefore, I feel it’s
a good thing to make known the fact that people have the
power to eliminate the fears of life, death and sense-gravitation
attachment and disastrous situations. In fact, everybody
does have the potential to eliminate such fears because all
beings’ minds have buddha-nature. It really exists.
So you should not feel stuck and incapable of doing anything.
We have the capacity to free ourselves from all suffering
and confusion. However, the important thing to realize is
that the actual source of all happiness, misery and confusion
is the mind, not the body. Thus, by investigating and coming
to know the nature of our own consciousness, we can free
ourselves from all fear.
When should we choose to transfer our consciousness? We’re
not allowed to do it at just any time. The time has to be
chosen carefully; otherwise we’re in danger of simply
killing ourselves. We choose the right time by scientifically
checking the signs that warn us that the time of death is
approaching. These signs can be internal or external…there
are detailed explanations.
However, the appearance of these signs doesn’t necessarily
mean that death is imminent. There are things we can do to
postpone it, such as reactivating the energy in our nervous
system. Because this is just an introduction, I’m not
going to go into more detail here.
Since death is definite and at that time our consciousness
will transfer naturally, why should we practice pho-wa? Because
usually we die from some kind of disease, and at the end
we are totally ravaged by it and unable to do anything. So,
before we’re reduced to a situation with which we can’t
cope, the methods of transference of consciousness allow
us to leave our body with control, before that final devastation.
That’s the right time to use it. But, to reiterate,
before doing pho-wa we need to be able to recognize the signs
of death and know clean clear when we’ve reached the
right point to transfer our consciousness.
What do we do in the practice of pho-wa? Basically, through
concentration we put our energy into the right channel and
stop it from going the wrong way. Again, the technical details
are in the commentaries and I’m not going to describe
them here.
For example, at the time of death the consciousness can
leave the body from one of its many orifices, such as the
nose, mouth, navel and lower orifices, and the one from which
it leaves indicates the realm of rebirth. However, the best
point from which the consciousness can leave the body is
the crown of the head and that’s what we try to ensure
by practicing pho-wa. If we consciously, mindfully separate
our consciousness from our body through the crown we give
ourselves the ability to select our next rebirth in the best
way and thus put ourselves on the path that leads from happiness
to happiness. That’s the main point.
The thing is, in this life you can be a good, kind, loving
person but still be unable to cope and get angry at the time
of death. If that happens you’ve basically ruined any
positive energy you might have generated during your lifetime.
Why do we sometimes call transference of consciousness a
super method? Because even incredibly negative people like
Hitler—who killed millions of human beings and created
unbelievably bad karma—can kiss all their negativity
goodbye if they’re able to practice pho-wa perfectly
at the time of death and die with a clean clear mind. We
also say that death is a kind of final destination in the
sense that it’s a chance to make a clean break with
the past and make the next life perfect.
Before Himalayan practitioners transfer their consciousness
they prepare—they practice the special techniques,
of course, but they also eliminate every last atom of attachment;
they make sure they do not have a single object to grasp
at. This is the most important thing.
What interferes with a peaceful death, what causes fear,
is the grasping mind. Grasping attachment to any object at
the time of death is the source of confusion and a bad rebirth.
I don’t know if you like to hear about rebirth or
not; you may not believe in the existence of future lives;
still, I think that most people feel something’s going
to happen after death. If you feel from your heart or intellectually
that something continues, that’s good enough.
The way Tibetans prepare for death is by giving away all
their possessions. Seeing old monks die perfectly not owning
a single object when I was a young, inexperienced monk was
very helpful and gave me a lot of confidence. Of course,
anybody can understand this intellectually, but to see it
actually happen makes you feel that it’s something
you can do yourself. That’s very important.
Usually we talk about transferring our consciousness to
the pure land but what is that? From the Buddhist point of
view, it’s not like there’s some pure place out
there waiting for you. “Pure” means it’s
a reflection of your own pure thought, your own pure, clean
mind. Actually, we say that any good or bad environment is
a manifestation of the mind rather than really existing externally
out there.
Normally we like to project good things but without control,
bad projections appear. However, it’s important to
know how good, positive, happy projections arise.
When I talk about good projections, I don’t mean good
in our usual over-estimated, or exaggerated, way. It’s
possible for good projections on other people to be realistic.
The thing is that people appear the way you want them to.
If you want to see others as negative, once your mind has
made that decision, that’s how they’ll appear
to you. In other words, your view of good or bad comes more
from you than from the object you’re looking at.
So we do have a choice in how things appear to us…in
our views and concepts. And we also have the capacity to
amplify such views, both positively and negatively. Since
we have a choice, we should choose the good.
As I mentioned before, at the time of death energy leaves
the body through different orifices. In order to prevent
that from happening and to increase the energy of our life
force, there are meditation techniques that help us keep
this energy inside and thus extend our life, because life
depends on the breath.
How many breaths are there in a twenty-four hour period?
Buddhism does have a number, as I’m sure the West does,
too. Anyway, in terms of signs of impending death, changes
in the pattern of respiration are very important and can
be detected, if you know what to look for. Sometimes exhalation
gets stronger from the right nostril, sometimes from the
left—this is the kind of thing we look for. We examine
our breath and if we detect any of the signs of approaching
death we can avert it through the special meditation techniques
given for this purpose.
Also, when we practice transference of consciousness, it’s
not only a matter of concentration. In training we also use
the physical energy force that moves the breath. In addition,
we meditate on the chakras as well, and this brings different
experiences and realizations.
In other words, Tibetan Buddhist practice involves not only
the mind but also the physical elements of our existence.
I’ve heard that medical science has recently described
pain and pleasure centers and chemicals in the brain. Buddhist
tantra has always done so. Furthermore, tantra teaches us
how to concentrate on our pleasure center on order to activate
it, releasing peace and bliss. Therefore, when we practice
pho-wa, we do focus on the chakra energy centers.
What are some of the signs of success in this practice?
There are many, but one is the generation of inner heat,
which is indicated by improved digestion of food. Also, you
get the feeling that you are no longer stuck in the mire
of sense-gravitation; you feel that you have somehow gone
beyond mundane experience.
We should develop our life; we should enjoy it. But if we
feel somehow bound and stuck yet at the same time realize
that we have the ability to transcend such feelings, we should
definitely utilize the skills we have to do so.
Many people are scared of death. First, they feel that it’s
disastrous and that they’re going to experience difficulty
and suffering. Second, some of them are also afraid of what
comes after; they assume something terrible awaits them.
In order to avert such worries, even if you can’t
practice transference of consciousness, you can decrease
your self-cherishing mind and attachment to body and possessions
and generate loving kindness for others. That’s absolutely
good enough to eradicate fear of death and what comes after.
The dedicated attitude kind of guarantees a good rebirth
and itself makes you peaceful. So, if you can’t do
pho-wa, cultivating the mind that cherishes others is a good
way of ensuring a good death and eliminating fear of a bad
rebirth.
Besides learning to transfer your consciousness [to a pure
land] you can also send it into another body. Concentration
and meditation are really that powerful. You can even move
or heat objects with your mind. I’m sure you’ve
heard of that.
Through power of mind you can also eliminate your disturbing
emotions, your attachment and confusion. That’s actually
the main point of practicing Dharma. In other words, you
can change your mind from misery to happiness.
The question, however, is whether you really want to or
not; are you truly seeking liberation or not? If you are,
you should know intuitively that you can really do something.
That’s the power of the human consciousness. Don’t
place limited judgments on yourself.
All of us do have good thoughts and a positive mind that
has the potential for limitless development. That’s
the beauty of the human consciousness. For example, we all
possess a certain degree of loving kindness—that can
be developed limitlessly. The nature of loving kindness is
such that it brings peace and happiness; the nature of the
self-cherishing thought and attachment is such that it brings
misery and confusion.
Therefore, to have an easy-going, happy
life, you have to be willing to correct yourself, to change
your attitude.
By exerting right effort you can definitely do it, so encourage
yourself. Allowing your weak mind to take over eliminates
your human potential. The reason we feel trapped is because we’re so attached
to our body. We identify with it so strongly: “This is me.” The true fact, however, is that your body is
not you. The real essence of the human being is the consciousness,
which has neither shape nor color.
The materialistic attitude makes you think, “I’m
my body; I’m my body.” That’s the fundamental
wrong thinking: “I’m my body.” Then what
follows is, “My body is nice, so I’m nice,” “My
body is awful, so I’m awful,” “My body
is happy, so I’m happy.” It’s totally the
wrong attitude. Your body can be cut to pieces while your
mind remains tranquilly peaceful and blissful. It’s
possible. That’s the point. Your body can be sick but
your mind can be completely radiant and blissful. Therefore,
you should abandon all concepts of “I am this body.”
My point is that Western people can’t understand the
difference between the physical body and the mind. You must
understand the distinction otherwise you’ll continue
finding it difficult to conceive of life after death. Believing
that your body is you, you’ll think that when your
body breaks or burns out, where can you be?
The thing is, however, that Buddhism doesn’t hold
that you’re permanently existent or that you go to
the next life as the you that you are now. When we talk about
rebirth we’re talking about the consciousness taking
another body, a different shape.
Anyway, you’re always grasping at something, aren’t
you? So when your relationship with this body finishes, you’re
going to grasp at something else. And at that point your
consciousness takes another form, another life. That’s
what Buddhism calls rebirth. It’s not that you go into
the next life with this body.
It sometimes seems that even in this one life we take many
different bodies, different manifestations. Check out the
details of your life’s experiences in this body; you’ll
see.
Anyway, the basic thing to understand is that after you
die your mind continues and carries your life experiences
with you. If you understand it in this way your mind will
relax. Otherwise you’ll have the underlying thought, “Twentieth
century life offers so much. I have to do it all.” This
keeps you so busy. I mean, check out how many things on this
Earth there are to do. You can’t do them all in one
life. However, there’s no need to rush.
If you understand the power of your mind, you’ll find
a way to satisfy yourself. I think it’s very important
that you find a way to make your life content. Otherwise
you’ll just feel that your life is empty and worthless.
You should feel that your life is more precious than the
entire wealth of the world.
Knowing the characteristic nature of your own mind is the
way to bring peace to both yourself and the whole world.
Peace is an inner, personal experience, not something external.
The beauty of peace is that it’s something to be experienced,
and with it comes great satisfaction. First you generate
this within yourself and then you share it with others. That’s
the way to truly bring peace to others and the world.
The opposite of peace is grasping; the grasping mind is
the opposite of peace. You can see this within yourself and
in the external world as well. Everything destructive comes
from grasping.
Lama Yeshe gave this teaching at St. John’s Church,
London, on 18 September 1982. It was edited from the Lama
Yeshe Wisdom Archive by Nicholas Ribush.
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