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Powa, Niguma, and Thetibetan Book of the Dead

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Powa, Niguma, and Thetibetan Book of the Dead r38 Powa,Niguma, and TheTibetanBook of theDead 'W'estern The understanding of the Tibetan doctrines The introductory verses to this famous classic state: concerning death and the afterlife, as well as of rebirth It is said rhat those ofsuperior capacity. and the Pure Lands, largely comes from the arnazing The great yogis and yoginis, popularity achieved by the Bardo Tbdol (The Tibetan Should be able to attain liberation during this uery Booh of the Dead). Originally translated by LamaKazi lifetime Dawa-Samdup and edited by Evans-Wentz, the ry27 By relying on the stagesofThntric yoga application. edition from Oxford University Pressquickly became If they do not succeedin this, then they should apply an international successand received renderings into a The methods of consciousnesstransference at the time of dozen \Testern languages.' death. Half a dozen subsequent translations of this extraordinaryTibetan work have appeared since that Euen mediocre yogis can gain liberation through this time, and the original byKazi Dawa-Samdup and transference. Evans-\Ventz remains in print. Perhaps the most acces- Howeuer, f they do not succeedin the ffirt, sible ofthese alternative renditions is that by Francesca Then they should turn to a reading of thisBardoTodol, Fremantle and Chogyam Tlungpa." a text For achieuing liberation through hearing in the bardn. In other words, the best Thntric practitioner can achieve enlightenment during his or her very lifetime. The next best should apply the yogas of transference at the time of death. The Tibetan word for this transference is powa Figure65 (consciousnesstransference), and includes both trans- Mandafa Used in The Tibetan Book ofthe Dead ference to the dharmakaya, which means the attain- Tibet;r8th century ment of enlightenment through immersion with the Pigmenton cloth clear light consciousness at the time of death and, for z8 x t8.25 in. (7't.'rx 46.4 cm) RubinMuseum of Art those unable to perform this yoga, the transference Ft99738.t (HAR 557) directly to rebirth in a Pure Land. Finally, those who are unable to succeed in the TheTiberanBook ofthe Dead speaksofhow a personcan achieve transferenceyogas by means ofpersonal application anyofthe threeBuddhist goals, both duringlife and followingthe momentof death.The three goals are full enlightenment,libera- and proficiency should rely upon a reading of The tion, and rebirthin a PureLand. In additionto thesethree, an Tibetan Booh of the Deadt and either achieve liberation accomplishedyogini can take conscious rebirth in samsara,in in the bard.o(the state benveen death and rebirth), or order to fulfill the bodhisattvavow in more worldlyways. else find guidance for rebirth in a Pure Land. The early This mandalaofthe too oeacefuland wrathfuldeities that symbolizethe deathand rebirthprocess is a map to accomplish- secdons of The Tibetan Booh of the Deadtherefore con- ing those three ways, both in life and in death.The five Tathagata centrate upon teaching the deceasedhow to achieve and consorts,adorn families,with their associatedbodhisattvas liberation in the bardo; the later sections teach how to the cornersofthe canvas.The fivewrathful Heruka families are ar find the path to an auspicious rebirth in a Pure Land. the center.The six buddhaswho work in the six realmsof the world can be seenalong the sides. Concerning this latter method The Tibetan Book 'As of the Deadstates, for how to choosethe placeof dream yoga and clear light yoga, are rhe means where- rebirth, there are rwo methods.The first is the method by the three bardobodies are purified." The three " for taking rebirth in one of the buddhafields.The sec- bardobodies" that he is referring ro are rhe senseof ond is the method for taking rebirth in the impure physicality (or that of having a body) that we experi- world in an ordinary womb in order to conrinue ence on three occasions: (r) the bardo of the waking Dharma study,practice, and work in the human realm." state (i.e., the state berween waking and sleeping); (z) The TibetanBooh of the Deadis basedon a tradi- the bardo of dreams (i.e., the state tierween going to tion of the mandalaof roo peacefuland wrathful sleep and waking up); and the bardo of the afterlife deities(see figure 6y).That is to say,the peacefuland (i.e., the state berween death and rebirth). wrathful buddhaformsthat are experiencedin the The idea of the six yogas is that one uses rhe firsr bardnvisions that ariseduring the first fwo weeks three of them-inner fire, illusory body, and clear following death are all drawn from this mandala. light-as direct methods for achieving enlightenment According to The Tibaan Boob of the Dead, those who during onet life and the amainment of releasefrom the daily recite the sadhana(method of practice)of this round of compulsive birth, death, and rebirth basedon mandaladuring their lifetime will recognizethe bardo suflering. However, if one does nor ger all the way to experiencesin terms and forms expressedin the man- that destination, rhen one uses the auxiliary methods dala and its inner meanings. for achieving an auspicious rebirth. Two of the auxil- However,this Thntric sysremand its mandalaare iary methods are bardo yoga and powa.The sixth, or but one of many that are practicedby the various sects dream yoga, is connected with both the illusory body ofTibetan Buddhism. EveryThntric systemhas its own yoga and the bardo yoga, and so it can be viewed either "enlightenment methodsof using the experiencesof dying and the as an in this lifetim e yogi' or a yoga bardo. for training in the methods to be applied at the time of An important alternatetradition is The Six Yogas death for achieving enlightenment, liberation, or high of Niguma. Brought to Tibet by the eleventh-century rebirth at rhat rime. yogi Khyungpo Naljor, it was formulated by the great The Six Yogas of Naropa provides an approach Indian femalemystic Niguma as a synrhesisof numer- to the death and bardo experiences that is somewhat ous Buddhist Thntric systemsprevalent in eleventh- similar to thar ofThe Six Yogas of Niguma. Brought century India. The Niguma sysremof bardoyoga is a to Tibet by Marpa Lorsawa in the eleventh century, centralpillar ofthe ShangpaKargyu School (not one of The Six Yogas of Naropa became the basis of all twelve the twelve Kargp Schools,as the name would suggest, Kargyupa sub-sects.6Thissystem also does not rely but a separateschool altogether).The Shangpadoes upon the mandala of roo peaceful and wrathfui deities, not exist as a separateschool today,but its lineages nor upon the associated Tibetan Boob of the Dead. "three from Niguma can be found in most of the major Instead it relies upon root yogas" for achieving schools,having been absorbedand integratedmany enlightenment in this lifetime; and, if this effort does "three centuriesago. not take the practitioner all the way, then The Niguma sysremuses dream yoga as a platform branch yogas" can be applied ar rhe time of death. for experimentingwith rhe bardoyogas. This is made Again, one of the six is powa. possiblebecause of the similaritiesbetween the dream In both the Niguma and Naropa systemsthe body body and the bardobody. In his commentaryto rhis is prepared for powawhen the person is still strong. "They yoga systemthe SecondDalai Lama writes,a The practitioner usually undertakes a meditation (dream and bardobodies) are both made of light, and retreat of severalweeks or months, until signs of suc- formed from five purified essences."He then goeson cessbecome manifest. The method opens the auspi- to explain how dream yoga is pracricedas an introduc- cious death channel, which is the crown aperture ar rhe tion to bard.oyoga. top ofthe head. "The KhyungpoNaljor himselfsaid,t generation In his Niguma commentary the Second Dalai stageand completion stageyogas, and in particular Lama writes:7 Oneshould mabe the obseruationsfor the signsof death dharmahaya;transference by the guru'sblessings; trans- and, tuhen they occur,should apply the longeuitymethods. ferenceof divine great union; and transferencemerhod Whenthese dn not worh and the signsof deathare not of the unfailing dahini. turned awal, the time ltas cometo a??b the actual trans- The Niguma systemuses rhe fourth of these.It ferenceyogas. givestwo options:red and white.The red is symbol- izedby a red dakini flying through the heavensand the He goeson to say: white by a white dabini offeringher yoni (vagina)as the path ofrebirth. \7e seeboth ofthese in the tangka h is bestto appb the training techniquesbefore becoming shownhere (see figure 66). too weak with illness.Once seuere illness has set in, one The SecondDalai Lamaexplains the associated will not beable to matterthe trainings,no matterhow meditationtechnique :e strongone's wish may be. Begin byperforming a guru loga meditationas explained The Niguma systemspeaks of how the Tanrric yogas earlier. Offer strong?ralers to be able to accomplishthe for thepoua application are applied by meansof a transferenceyoga to wy'tateuerPure Land is desired.Sining kundalini application, forcing the subtle energiesup in the uajraposture with legscrossed, place the handson 'the and down the central enery channel running through thighs,and uisualizeyourself as Chahrasamuarain the chahras,from the main chakraat the sexualcenter sexualunion with Vajrayogini.The centralenergy channel up to the crown cltahrain the upper regionsof the runs straightup the centerofyour body,jiom a point four brain. Energy is forced up and down this channel, f.nger widths below the nauel up to the brahma aperture, using physicalexercises and power breathing,unril a the thichnessof a wheat strazu. blister appearson the crown of the head. At the baseof the channel is the triangular dharmadayo, In old Tibet the stemof a particularherb would u,,hiteoutside and red inside, with nuo of its points then be insertedinto this blister, so as to keep it always toward the hidneysand the third toward the sexorgan.
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