Question and answer session

Student: When I clench my hands and feet during this practice I develop lung. Is it alright to practice without clenching these muscles?
Lama: Yes, you do not have to clench them if it is uncomfortable. In fact, if your concentration is good enough, you can do away with even the breathing techniques. But people who find it helpful should hold their breath and tighten their lower muscles as described. As mentioned before, it is very possible that our concentration will not be good when death actually arrives; if that happens, the forceful breathing and muscle-clenching techniques can prove very helpful.

Student: You have said that yogis in the past have used powa to escape from difficult situations. How can we tell when it is appropriate to use these techniques in such a way?
Lama: Well, take the example of the monk who knew the Chinese were coming. He was over fifty years old and knew that there was very little that he could do if he stayed around. Knowing this clearly, he decided to leave. Similarly, if you know with certainty that you're in the same situation and that it would be completely useless for you to retain your present form, then it is possible for you to use these techniques as well. However, you need to use wisdom.

Student: I asked this question because in West many people believe that life is given to us by God and therefore should not be given it up before He takes it back.
Lama: Having your consciousness enter Amitabha's heart and having it taken back by God are the same thing. For me there is no difference between God and Amitabha. Therefore, if your consciousness is taken by Amitabha it is alright. What is important is to break the iron chain that binds us to worldly pleasure. If this is not broken there is no way to be successful. There is the story of the rich businessman who at death was extremely attached to his many possessions. He was reborn as a snake who lived in the same house and would attack anyone who even touched his belongings. There is also the story of the monk who was so attached to his begging bowl that after he died he was reborn as a preta who followed that begging bowl around from owner to owner. Therefore, even if we are familiar with these techniques at the time of death, if our mind is too involved with concrete ego-grasping it will be impossible to transfer our consciousness successfully. This is why we need forceful techniques.

Student: Please comment upon the absorption into Amitabha Buddha's heart. Should one visualize his pure land at that time?
Lama: At that time it is not necessary to visualize Amitabha's pure land. Merely feel that when you reach Amitabha's heart you have become unified with the omnipresent, non-dualistic wisdom. It is better to place more emphasis upon becoming one with this wisdom than it is on visualizing the pure land itself.

Student: If we gain the ability to transfer our consciousness, why should we not do it right away?
Lama: It is considered a mistake for one who has received an empowerment into the highest class of tantra to give up his or her body and life before the correct time. This would be similar to taking the life of a tathagata or committing suicide.

Student: But isn't it true that by reaching Amitabha's pure land you will be able to become enlightened very quickly and thereby be able to help others even sooner?
Lama: Yes, because in the pure land we do not have the hassles of looking for a job, raising children and so forth; your practice of the path is nonstop.
Student: If you had the motivation of benefiting others, therefore, leaving your body would not be suicide.
Lama: If the time is right and you decide to go, then this is okay.

Student: Isn't it true that if our karma to remain alive does not run out, the quickest way to achieve enlightenment is with through our present human form?
Lama: This is definitely possible, but it depends on how you put your life together. What frightens me is the way so many Westerners live their life. In America, for example, from the moment they wake up most people are running, running, and it is very hard to live there without being sucked into that way of life. If you are, it is virtually impossible to make the best use of your human life.

Student: If we have the appropriate empowerment, is it permissible or advisable to visualize ourselves as a meditational deity while performing the powa practices?
Lama: Yes, this is alright. In fact, some people find it easier to see themselves as Chenrezig, for instance, and thereby remove the concrete conceptions of themselves in general and their physical bodies in particular. This can be very beneficial.

Student: I have heard that there are animals in the pure land. Is this true?
Lama: Yes, in the pure land you find birds, deer and many other types of animals. However, they all serve to energize and enhance one's own practice; they never give negative vibrations, they serve only to help one's practice.

Student: So are these animals in reality bodhisattvas, or are they unfortunate beings who somehow made a mistake during their practice of powa?
Lama: They are bodhisattvas. (Laughter)
Student: While in the pure land is it possible to perceive the suffering of sentient beings?
Lama: In the pure lands themselves there are no suffering beings.

Student: How then does one develop compassion?
Lama: There are many other states of existence, many other solar systems. Though there is no suffering in the pure lands themselves, a bodhisattva can easily see beings residing in other realms and develop compassion for them.

Student: Is it possible to enter in the states of absorption through this practice?
Lama: Yes. If you have strong concentration on the clear drop in your heart, all the winds will dissolve into your central channel. Whenever this happens you experience the signs of absorption. All that is required is perfect concentration. In fact, if you are aware enough, you can observe these same absorptions during the bliss of sexual orgasm.

Student: Are there certain signs that tell us we are going to die soon so that we can prepare for the practice of powa?
Lama: Yes, there are many such signs. We can detect them in our dreams, in changes in our breathing pattern, in our bodily aura and so forth. Many old people know they are about to die. Detailed explanations of these signs of death will be given later.

Student: Is it possible to reach Amitabha's pure land solely through devotion?
Lama: Yes, that is definitely possible. The texts say that rebirth in a pure land is not the result of creating a specific karmic action. Rather, it comes about through the force of strong prayer and concentration.

Student: If after reciting HIC you completely dissolve into Amitabha Buddha's heart, who is it that recites KAAH to bring your consciousness back down again?
Lama: It is the subtle level of mind that goes up and down; the gross level of mind is the one that recites HIC and KAAH. During the actual practice, however, you should not concern yourself with such questions as who is doing the reciting. Merely recite these sounds and take them as the signal to send your mind up and bring it back down again.

Student: Is there a way for us to use this practice to assist Christian friends who are dying?
Lama: Yes. For example, you can help that person visualize going into Christ's heart, or remind him of a pure and holy environment.

Student: Is it necessary to sit up when you are dying?
Lama: No. Many practitioners die while lying down in the posture of Buddha's passing away, and powa can be practiced this way too.

Student: Some of us may be faced with the situation of seeing people die in very disturbing circumstances: there are no highly realized beings around, the dying person's body will be moved before the consciousness has had a chance to leave the body, and so forth. In such cases, should we stimulate the person's crown center before someone else disturbs them?
Lama: That's a good idea: you should do that if you can. Also, if you are skilled you can even perform the transference of consciousness for that person. Concentration is the main point: if yours is strong, you can visualize the person's mind in his heart and then visualize it being sent up his central channel, out the crown of his head and into Amitabha Buddha's pure land.

Student: You said that it is dangerous to practice these techniques alone. If we are practicing together with someone else, what can we do to help if trouble arises?
Lama: First of all, if someone does not have good concentration there is very little danger in the practice. However, it can happen that someone begins to space out; his or her consciousness may be accidentally departing through the force of the practice. If you see someone spacing out like this, you can help by striking him sharply in the area around their knees: this helps bring his consciousness back down into his body. You can also shout KAAH very loudly.

Student: At the time of death, how can you decide whether to practice powa or to follow instead other tantric techniques and take the clear light of death as the path to the Dharmakaya?
Lama: If you are confident that you can catch the clear light experience and unify it with emptiness, then definitely this is what you should do: in this case there is no need to practice powa. However, if you have not developed complete confidence in that practice, you should do powa instead. A real practitioner will be able to judge correctly which technique he or she is best prepared to use. Also, you should remember the great protective power of the three principal paths. For example, if you have developed the actual mind of bodhicitta, it doesn't matter what you do at the time of death: you no longer have anything to worry about. Merely pray, "May I be reborn in whatever place is most beneficial for other sentient beings. Oh, buddhas and bodhisattvas, please take me to wherever I can be most useful. Should that be even the hell realms, I do not mind."

Student: How should we practice once this retreat is over?
Lama: You should practice every day until you receive the signs that your practice has been successful. Then it is necessary to review the practice only occasionally, say once a month, just to remind yourself of it.

Student: It is said in the practice that the seed syllable in the heart should be seen as very radiant. I can visualize the syllable but it does not radiate light. Is this a mistake?
Lama: No, as long as with good concentration you can visualize your very subtle mind as a drop in your heart, it does not matter whether it radiates light or not. The purpose of the meditation is served if you can visualize and concentrate on this drop well; it is not essential for it to emit light. What is really important is to make contact with the object of meditation, which can be seen even as a tiny drop of blood or a clear drop of dew. If you can concentrate on such a drop in your heart you needn't worry whether it is shining or not.

Student: You have said that it is dangerous to practice alone because it is possible to leave the body accidentally. Why is this dangerous?
Lama: It is one thing to leave your body after making a strong decision to do so, but quite another to do so accidentally. In the latter case, you do not intend to go, but the force of your meditation accidentally sends your mind out of your body; because you are not prepared for this you may still be bound by the chains of your attachment to samsaric pleasures, and as a result be reborn as a hungry ghost instead of in a pure land.
Student: Does that mean it is possible for the consciousness to leave through the crown chakra and still be reborn in a lower realm?
Lama: Yes, this can happen simply because your consciousness leaves accidentally as a result of the force of your meditation. Therefore, to avoid mishaps like this, it is good to meditate with someone else when you are experimenting.

Student: Why did you say that it is better to catch the experience of clear light at the time of death than to practice powa?
Lama: If through training in tantric practices you can use the experience of the clear light of death to gain an intuitive realization of emptiness, you will be able to attain the first bodhisattva bhumi. This is much better than simply being reborn in a pure land. Once you have attained this first bhumi you are not only more advanced than an ordinary bodhisattva in a pure land, who still has to practice from the beginning of the path, but you also have the ability to visit pure lands at will. Thus at the time of death, using such tantric techniques is better than practicing powa. However, if you are not fully confident that you can use these techniques, then the practice of powa is better. The technical methods of powa meditation are very beneficial even if they are not combined with the special breathing techniques. In general, our problems arise because our energy is flowing in the wrong direction and in the wrong places; this is the source of both our mental and our physical diseases. However, if we concentrate upon our central channel and the seed syllable in our heart, we can help improve the energy flow within our body and thereby cure many of our problems. Keeping our concentration focussed inside the central channel removes the distractions that cause our difficulties. Focussing upon a meditation object inside the central channel is much more powerful than focussing upon one that is outside. Merely contemplating upon the central channel at the level of the heart is a very easy, powerful and beneficial meditation.

Student: Could you explain more about the hook of red light that comes from Amitabha's heart?
Lama: It is not absolutely necessary to visualize this red light. It is included simply as an extra aid in moving your consciousness up through the central channel—you can leave it out if you are not comfortable with it. Also, it need not be visualized as a hook. Rather, you can think that red light shoots down from Amitabha's heart like lightning and that this light exerts a magnetic attraction upon your mind. This is another way of visualizing and you might find it more comfortable.

Student: You have advised us to visualize the very subtle mind at the level of the heart. Is this the best place to visualize it?
Lama: Yes, there are many advantages of concentrating upon the heart center. The heart chakra is a very special place and opening it up through meditation is very helpful. Also, if you are worried about the possible dangers of powa meditation, when you recite HIC you need bring the seed syllable up from the heart chakra only as far as the crown itself, and not have it fly out of your body. Here there is no danger, and the practice is still very beneficial.

Student: In the practice we send our mind into Amitabha Buddha's heart in the form of a seed syllable. Does that mean that we will be reborn in Amitabha's pure land as a seed syllable?
Lama: No. From Amitabha's heart our mind is sent into the center of a lotus, whence we emerge with a completely purified body of light. But you do not have to visualize this: it happens automatically once you reach Amitabha's heart. Many practitioners like to face west when they are about to die. This is probably a sign that they are going to practice the transference of consciousness to Amitabha's pure land. When meditating, I myself find it more comfortable facing either west or east than north or south _ perhaps this is just my own superstition. In any event, many people have trained their mind through these powa teachings and have died successfully, and there is no reason why we should not succeed in this practice as well. All we have to do is train ourselves properly.