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Phowa (Tibetan:འཕོ་བ་,Wylie:'pho ba,Sanskrit:saṃkrānti[citation needed]) is atantric 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). InTibetan Buddhism phowa is one of theSix yogas of Naropa and also appears in many other lineages and systems of teaching.
LamaThubten 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 manySaiva scriptures, in oneVaisnavaSamhita, and a handful ofSāktaTantras.
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 aBuddha-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 areSukhāvatī,Abhirati, Ghanavyūha, Aṭakāvatī,Mount Potala, the Copper-Colored Mountain (Wylie:Zangs-mdog dpal-ri), andTuṣita;[4] the most popular inChinese,Japanese and Tibetan Buddhism isSukhavati.[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 ofphowa has become well known in two groups widespread in Europe and the Americas:Rigpa, which was founded bySogyal Rinpoche in 1979; andDiamond Way Buddhism, founded in 1972 byLama Ole Nydahl andHannah Nydahl.[6]
The mark of a successfulphowa 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 successfulphowa 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 main lineage ofphowa is one of theSix yogas of Naropa, although other transmissions also exist.[citation needed] Thechöd subsumes within its auspices aspects of phowasadhana.[10]
TheKagyuphowa lineage is from the Six yogas of Naropa.Nāropa received it from the Indian mahāsiddhaTilopa and later passed it to his Tibetan discipleMarpa.
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]
TheDrikung Kagyu school ofTibetan Buddhism is known for their phowa teachings. A major pilgrimage and cultural celebration is known in the Tibetan world as theGreat 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 Buddhistafterlife rituals; he gives teachings and initiations to the practice ofphowa annually inBodh Gaya, India.[13]
Some lineages ofphowa include a rite of incision, or opening of thesahasrara at thecranialzenith, to assist with transferral.[14]
According to the Vajrayana teachings, the tantric phowa method is beneficial 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 thebardo but may transfer their consciousness (a practice calledphowa) to apure 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 naturalnirmanakaya 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 theZhitro, discuss phowa inDzogchen:
Phowa has many different meanings; in Tibetan it means "transferringconsciousness." The highest form is known as the phowa of thedharmakaya whichis meditation on the great perfection. When you do Dzogchen meditation, there'sno need to transfer anything, because there's nothing to transfer, no place totransfer it, nor anyone to do it. That's the highest, and greatest phowa practice.[18]
The Sanskrit tantric textMālinīvijayottaratantra, anon-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 thePātañjalayogaśāstra of Patañjali (325–425 CE[21]), where it appears to be mentioned in sūtra 3.39.[22]