{"collection":"Buddhism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/bud/tib/phowa.htm","path":"bud/tib/phowa.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/bud/tib/phowa.htm","text":"THE TEACHING OF PHOWA\n(TRANSFERENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS AT THE TIME OF DEATH)\nACCORDING TO THE TEACHING OF THE PATUL RINPOCHE IN THE \"KUNSANG\nLAMI SHELLUNG\" PAGE 290--SHORTENED AND TAUGHT BY THE VENERABLE K.C.\nAYANG RINPOCHE OF THE DRIGUNG LINE OF KAGYUDPA, BYLAKUPPE,\nKARNATAKA STATE / INDIA.\nINTRODUCTION\nAccording to the Tibetan custom, in the event of someone dying, a\nmember of the family of the dying person would request a Lama to\nperform the \"phowa\" ceremony (i.e. Transference of consciousness at\nthe time of death.)\nThe Lama performing the ceremony would have himself mastered the\nart of phowa (transferring the consciousness at the time of death)\nafter having previously been initiated into the practice and\nmeditation given only to Tulkus (Incarnates) and retreated to the\nhills to carry out the practice which he would continue night and day\nuntil the signs he was told to watch for (at the time his initiation)\nappear.\nHe would then leave his retreat equipped now to instruct monks,\nnuns and lay people in the practice. He would however, continue to\nperform the practice at least once a month. When he becomes aware of\nthe signs of his approaching death (signs he was taught to recognize\nduring his retreat period), he would meet the eventuality with a great\ncalmness and equanimity.\nAll the Tibetans are familiar with this practice. During the summer\nmonths at the end of every twelfth year when the plains were richly\nverdant after the white of winter, one could see the trek of Tibetan\npilgrims walk to the small temple at Bhum Ngu Sumdo in which phowa had\nbeen given for the first time to the people of Drigung .\nThey would pitch huge white tents, a stark contrast to the yellow\nand maroon robes of the monks and nuns and the colorful chubas (the\ntraditional dress) of the women and children and summer flowers, in\npreparation for three weeks stay for the performance of \"PHOWA\" by the\nhead Tulku of Drigung Lamas.\nThis teaching of \"PHOWA\" is with the Venerable K.C. Ayang Rinpoche\nwho continues this uninterrupted succession of the Drigung line of\nPhowa Lamas from the Supreme Guru Dorje Chang to Tilopa, Naropa,\nMarpa, Milarepa and Gampopa up to the present time. He now resides at\nthe Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist Kagyudpa Monastery: \"THUBTEN SHEDRUB\nJANGCHUBLING\" in the Tibetan settlement, Bylakuppe in Karnataka State\nIndia.\nWhen taking the initiation of Phowa, it is important to receive the\ninitiation from a Tulku (i.e. Incarnate Lama) who continues the line\nof succession of the Phowa lineage of Gurus. The blessings of such an\ninitiation will render the practice safe as the blessings of the\nlineage will flow unhampered to meet the disciple and bring with them\nquick results.\nShould the Phowa be attempted without this very vital precaution\nthe results will not be the same and the practitioner will be faced\nwith many dangers.\nFaith in the Lama Tulku is of primary importance. If the faith is\nvery strong, coupled with devotion, then the results will be very\npowerful and immediate. If the faith is not of the highest strength\nthen the results will be medium and so on . . and where there is\nlittle faith, no good results can be expected, however much you may\ntry.\nIn the root Tantra, \"GYUD\" it is written:\nEven if a man is so sinful that he kills a holy man every day and\nhas committed the five Heavy Sins, if he goes on this path of Phowa\nthe veils of sin will not remain. For the men of many sins and for all\nbeings, this is the Path of liberation which is direct and secret.\nUrgyan Rinpoche said, \"By meditation all can attain Enlightenment.\nMy meditation is that which is called \"MA GOM PI\" (i.e. spontaneous\nwithout meditation effort) . . . \"\nNaropa says, 'There are nine Gates which are of the world but there\nis only one which is the gate of Mahamundra (Nirvana). If you shut the\nnine Gates then you will get the Path of liberation without any\ndoubt ....\"\nMarpa Lotsawa said, \"From now, if you study Phowa, purify, purify\ntime and time again. Then, at that time, when death is approaching you\nwill know no despair. If, beforehand, you have become accustomed to\nthis Path of Phowa then at the time of death you will be full of\ncheerful confidence .... \"\nOver and above the Nine ordinary apertures of the body called\n\"buga\", there is a 'Crest' aperture, and the virtue of doing this\npractice of Phowa is to be able to think of this crest aperture at the\ntime of death and to direct the consciousness through this gate into\nthe pure land of the Buddha, the Buddhafield (DEWA CHEN).\nThe profound Path of Phowa is the Holy Way of the Buddhas which is\nDharma rapidly realized spontaneously without meditation effort.\nDRIKUNG PHOWA CHEN MO\nAccount of the Great Drikun Phowa\nIt is very difficult to attain the precious human body and having\nattained it one must utilize it to reach Buddhahood through the proper\nhearing, contemplation and meditation of the precious teachings. Even\nif one has attained human birth, it can suddenly end without warning.\nBecause of the overwhelming power of laziness in the postponement of\nour practice, one's life ends without one even realizing it, because\nlife is so short and the galloping mara of death is so quick. When\ndeath comes we have no escape, we have to accept it and go on to the\nnext life. At this time neither your accumulated wealth nor your dear\nones nor your cherished body -- nothing can help except the precious\nteachings.\nIn the precious teachings, Lord Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma\nto suit the different levels of understanding and to different\ndispositions of all beings through Shravakayana, Pratyekayana and\nMahayana practices.\nThe Mahayana consists of Hetuyana (cause) and Phalayana (fruit).\nThe Hetuyana or the Sutrayana consists of all the practices without\nthe tantric initiations. In the Phalayana or the Vajrayana there are\nmany means (paths) to attain enlightenment through the Arising and\nCompletion processes but one must diligently practice over a period of\ntime before one can realize one's Buddhahood .\nIn the Vajrayana, the Phowa practice is the most direct and the\nquickest path for one to achieve enlightenment. It is said that even\nthe heaviest of sinners has a chance for enlightenment through the\npractice of the Phowa. \"There are teachings for one to become\nenlightened, but I have a teaching (Phowa) that offers enlightenment\nwithout meditation\", said Marpa, the great translator and the father\nof the Kagyu Lineage.\nThe Phowa \"Jaktshukma\" (the standing grass blade) Linage is one of\nthe precious phowa practices. In the eighth century, the Dharma king\nof Tibet, Thri-song Deu-Tsen invited the great Indian tantric master,\nGuru Padmasambhava, to Tibet and they built the Samye monastery. Guru\nPadmasambhava was residing in Ch'im-phu cave in the vicinity of Samye\nwhen an important minister of the king, Nyima, had a tragedy. Nyima,\nwho had two palaces and was in the process of moving from one to the\nother, was packing some belongings by the light of a lantern when a\nsmall spark caused a fire which instantly burned down the whole palace\ntragically killing thirteen people including his parents. All his\nhorses, mules, cattle and other animals also perished in the fire.\nMinister Nyima, thinking of the love and respect that others show\ntheir parents felt that he had committed the heaviest of sins by\ncausing the death of his parents and others.\nThe king desiring to end the suffering of his minister went to\nCh'im-phu cave to request the help of Padmasambhava. Padamasambhava by\nmiraculous power went to the Pure Land to see Amitabha Buddha. He told\nBuddha Amitabha about the suffering of Minister Nyima and of all\nsentient beings and asked Amitabha to give a special teaching to free\nthem from suffering. Buddha Amitabha gave this Phowa teaching to\nPadmasambhava who gave it to Minister Nyima who then gave up all\nworldly activities to practice the Phowa which he eventually\nactualized. Through the path of Phowa, Minister Nyima's consciousness\nattained the Pure Land when death came and many different signs\nappeared like rainbows and relics from his body.\nThis text was hidden in the Black Mandala Lake which is at the\nbackside of Dhaglhagampo Hill. The Naga king, Tsurana-Ratna, asked to\nbe the guardian of this text and was told by Padmasambhava that the\nfuture incarnation of Minister Nyima would be Nyida Sang-gye and that\nhe must give the text to him.\nPadmasambhava then left to go to the land of the Rakshas. After\nmore than 350 years the incarnation of Minister Nyima was born as the\nson of a shepherd. When Nyida Sang-gye was growing up he felt great\ncompassion and wept tears of sorrow when the animals would die.\nIn order to alleviate his great suffering, Buddha Amitabha appeared\nto him and gave him this Phowa teaching for the benefit of all\nsentient beings. Nyida Sang-gye then gave Phowa to all the dying\nanimals and often many different signs appeared.\nThe Naga-king then came to Nyida Sang-gye and told him of the\nHidden Text (Ter-ma) and Nyida Sang-gye took the Ter from the Black\nMandala Lake and gave the teaching to the Sagas. Through this teaching\nmany of the Nagas were reborn into a higher life.\nAfter this Nyida Sang-gye gave many teachings to human beings\nthrough which many reached liberation.\nThis transmission of the teaching is held by the Drikung Kagyudpa.\nThe devoted practitioner who has no doubt in the qualified Lama and\nteachings can experience the sign of Phowa merely through receiving\nthe Lung (Blessing Transmission). This has been experienced by many\npractitioners around the world.\nThe Drikung Kagyu Linage is one of the lineages of Tibetan\nBuddhism. The founder, Kyobpa Jigten Sumgon (1143-1217) - thought of\nas the second Buddha was the Vajra-regent of Phagmo Drupa who was the\nchief lineage holder of Gampopa (1079-1153).\nThe Drikung Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism holds the precious\nteachings of all the yanks which Shakyamuni Buddha taught for the\nbenefit of all sentient beings. This lineage also possesses the\ncomplete transmission of the meditative practices of the Five-Profound\nPaths of the Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa. The Drikung order\nis famous for its ability to successfully transfer the power of the\nPhowa meditation to initiated and devoted practitioners who practice\nit. Thus, the Phowa transmission given by the Drikung Lamas came to be\nknown as the 'Drikung Phowa Chen-mo' - the Great Drikung Phowa. The\nDrikung Phowa became so powerful that it became a tradition in Tibet\nto have a Drikung Phowa Ch'en-mo ceremony every twelve years at\nDro-ngor Sum-dho at Drikung in central Tibet. The fame of this Phowa\ncontinued to spread as thousands of participants would experience the\nsigns of the Phowa during the 'Lung' (Blessing Transmission) given by\na head Lama of Drikung Kagyu. Due to the accumulated energy of the\nlineage and the blessing of the teaching itself, the qualified Lama is\nable to directly transfer the blessings of this practice to the pure\nand devoted disciples who can experience the signs very quickly. When\none has received any of the signs of the Phowa meditation, then one is\nconsidered to be prepared to enter into the Buddha-field of Amitabha\nBuddha (Dewa-chen) at the time of death. It is taught that one does\nnot return to the samsaric realms after having entered Dewa-chen and\nthat one can quickly achieve Enlightenment. Because of all this, the\nDrikung Phowa is becoming particularly relevant in these times simply\nbecause in today's society we do not have the time nor the\ncircumstances to walk the spiritual path of the Dharma as did our\npredecessors in the past. We desperately need a spiritual path that is\nsimple, relevant, and direct, enabling us to transform the stresses\nand pace of modern life into a vital force that cuts through\nmaterialism and attachment to worldly phenomenal, and awakens in us\nthe realization of our Buddha-natures.\nThe Drikung Phowa meditations is simple and yet powerful. We have\nthe same opportunity as did the thousands of people in Tibet to master\nthe Phowa practice, enabling us to transform the experience of death,\nwhich is a certainty, into a passage to the realization of Dewa-ch'en\n(Blissful, Pure Land). Today, we have His Holiness the Drikung\nKyabgon, the Vaira-regent of Lord Jigten Sumgon who is the incarnation\nof Chenrezig, imparting this teaching as well as other Drikung Lamas\nlike the Venerable K.C. Ayang Rinpoche who is traveling the world to\nimpart these precious teachings to fortunate human being","title":"Phowa","type":"page"}