In order to transfer your consciousness into a particular deity's pure land it is generally necessary to receive an initiation, or empowerment, into that particular deity. But what does receiving an initiation actually mean? Receiving the realization of the four great initiations is a rather special matter. For instance, Naropa practiced under Tilopa's guidance for many years until he was eventually able to be initiated by him. Because he was so well prepared and qualified he received the realizations of those initiations immediately, in an instant. This was the traditional way that disciples were lead on the path to enlightenment. But nowadays the situation is much different. Initiations are given publicly and it is very doubtful whether more than a handful of us are actually receiving them.
The point is that actually receiving an initiation is a rare and special event. When asked if we have a certain initiation, most of us will reply, "Yes. This lama gave that initiation and I was there." But just because we attended a particular the ceremony does not mean that we received anything. After all, there were also many insects, spiders, dogs, cats and so forth at that ceremony. Did they receive the initiation as well?
However, while I believe that merely by attending an initiation ceremony we do receive something, I don't think this is the same as receiving the realizations of the four great initiations. For most of us, the best we can say is that we manufactured an artificial imitation of the actual experience. But this is good enough! We have still received great inspiration and blessings and should not be discouraged. Even if we are not highly qualified, something beneficial can still happen to us.
One of my teachers once said that if we take an initiation and are later born as an animal there still is some benefit; we shall be born as a very powerful animal! But, of course, the greatest benefit of an initiation is that we receive a seed that under the appropriate conditions can ripen instantly into the experience of enlightenment. The point I want to make is that receiving an initiation is not a simple matter; there is absolutely no reason to become arrogant or think we have done something outstanding simply because we were at an initiation ceremony. Most of the time it is doubtful that we received the initiation at all, but this is not to deny that we have received something worthwhile.
In terms of benefiting others, we ourselves should have had some small experience before attempting to teach these methods. This does not mean that we should have had complete success but that we should have received some level of realization from the practice. If we then teach it to others they will be benefited—it is doubtful that there is any benefit to be gained if one teaches from the basis of knowing only the words, not having had any real experience.
It has already been mentioned that one of the hindrances preventing our being reborn in Amitabha Buddha's pure land comes from breaking the pledges (samaya) between guru and disciple. Grasping at pleasures, relatives and companions is also a great hindrance to the successful transference of consciousness. All relationships are transitory, even the rather special relationships between Dharma brothers and sisters, and grasping at such relationships is obviously a great hindrance to our practice. We must understand that as soon as we have met someone, the cause for our eventually splitting up has been created. Meeting always leads to separation; if we investigate our own experiences we shall see that this is true. No matter how much pleasure we receive from someone or from something, the time will come when our connection with that person or thing will be no more. It does not require too much reflection to see that this is true. Everything is momentary, and when the actual time of death comes none of the people or things we have met with can help us at all. Worse than that, not only do they fail to help us but, because of our attachment to them, also create great problems for us.
If we think about it we can see how our closest companions can easily become our worst enemies. Take the example of a couple who have lived together for forty or fifty years. When one of them dies, the other is often so heartbroken that he or she cannot go on living. In some places in India, when the husband has died, his wife throws herself on his funeral pyre. This is nothing but ignorance and, to some extent, we all behave in similar manner. That is why it is important to prepare ourselves now. By practicing powa we should at least realize that there is no reason for hanging on to things the way we do. At the very least, we should gain this realization. By training in powa and preparing ourselves for death we become more easy-going. We can learn to accept the impermanent nature of our lives, our relationships and so forth. Therefore I am not really concerned whether or not you become experts in powa but rather that your attitude towards life and death becomes more easy-going and realistic. If you can learn to accept the death of your loved ones as something natural, then these teachings will have been successful, whether you have mastered the actual powa techniques or not.
Many people in the world worry a lot about death. The Lamrim specifies the particular human sufferings of worrying about birth, sickness, old age and eventually death itself. These powa teachings are extremely beneficial because they present a way of overcoming this fear of death. Furthermore, they give us an alternative to other Dharma practices whose difficulties, together with our own shortcomings, may have been the cause for our creating the negative karma of breaking vows and so forth. For all these reasons, then, these powa teachings are very valuable.
A certain scriptural quotation uses the analogy of a lotus to explain our present situation. Although a lotus grows in a muddy environment, the lotus flower itself is always immaculately clean. Similarly, although our present very subtle consciousness finds itself inside our contaminated body, by practicing powa we can be completely released from this contaminated situation. Even if we have committed one of the very heavy negative actions, such as killing our mother or father, it is still possible to achieve the transference of consciousness and send our very subtle mind to Amitabha's pure land. Even if you were to kill a buddha for breakfast, a bodhisattva for lunch and an arhat for dinner every day for many years, if you are skillful enough you can still transfer your consciousness to a pure land. Everything can be purified with skill. One of the Panchen Lamas, whom we consider to be Amitabha Buddha himself, once wrote, "The method for becoming enlightened without meditation is powa." Therefore it is completely wrong to be hung up about your negativities or to think that you are the worst person in the world. Instead, you should feel fortunate that having been born human you have the possibility of both living your life and dying successfully.
You should not choose the wrong time to practice powa. Merely getting sick, for example, does not mean you are about to die; instead of practicing powa, there are many other things you can do, such as long-life pujas to counteract the exhaustion of life energy, or engaging in charity and so forth to counteract exhaustion of your fortune. As a way of increasing their life-span, some people in Tibet would buy animals that were marked for slaughter and set them free. There are many other things you can do to extend your life too.
As I mentioned in the question and answer session, there are many signs that occur before one is actually going to die: changes can be observed in your dreams, your personal vibrations or your pattern of breathing. Of these, the most accurate indication that death is approaching is a change in your breathing pattern. If you are observant, you can notice such signs up to six months before you are going to die. This gives you time to prepare for the practice of powa. It is said that the best time to practice is seven days before your life energy is exhausted. Note again: do not engage in the actual practice of powa, sending your consciousness into the next life, until you have received the definite signs of approaching death.
Practicing the transference of consciousness on behalf of someone else is another subject. According to Jetsun Milarepa, you should not attempt to transfer someone else's consciousness until you have achieved the path of seeing. He also said that to lead another person's consciousness it is necessary to have telepathic powers and other realizations. Without such realizations it is difficult to be truly effective. If the person summoned to perform powa for someone else does not have a controlled mind and good motivation, it will be very hard for the dying person to receive any benefit. For example, if someone has already died and become a bardo being, he will naturally attain certain powers of clairvoyance. When this bardo being sees that the mind of the person called to transfer his consciousness is filled with greed or other delusions, disgust will arise in him and he will turn off to the other's influence. As a result the bardo being will receive no benefit from the other's practice of powa on his behalf. Because the negative mind cannot be hidden from the clairvoyance of a bardo being, it is important that the person summoned to practice powa for his sake be free from such negativities.
The way that dying people are usually handled in the West presents great hindrances to the successful practice of powa. Ideally, until a dying person's very subtle consciousness has left his or her body, you should never touch them anywhere, but certainly not the lower parts of their body. The only place you should ever touch a dying person is on the crown of the head. There is also a tradition of putting Je Tsongkhapa's Lamrim Chenmo at the head of a dying person. This can be very beneficial. It can also be helpful to stimulate the top of the head by pulling on the hairs growing above the crown chakra. But to repeat, you should definitely avoid touching the lower parts of the body. Sometimes well-meaning people rearrange the body of a person they think is dead so that it looks nicer to others. This is okay and makes no difference if the very subtle consciousness has already left the body, but if the consciousness has not yet left the body, then rearranging the dying person's limbs will actually be destroying his or her chance to die successfully. Therefore, if you ever need to touch the body of a dead person you should always touch the crown of the head first.
If you want to help a dying person by reminding him of his past meditational practices, you should do so at the proper time. During the process of a natural death a dying person's exhalation gets longer and longer while his inhalation gets shorter and more labored. While he is breathing like this there is no danger in touching the various parts of his body. In fact, you can touch his legs to see how they are growing colder as his heat energy recedes upwards into his heart. The time to remind him of whatever practice he did during his lifetime is while his heart center is still warm. For instance, if his main training was in powa, you would remind him that Amitabha Buddha is sitting above the crown of his head and so forth. This is also a good time to play whatever religious instruments the dying person might have been familiar with. For example, if he is a Christian and you have a bell that would remind him of church services, you can ring it at this time, thereby helping him enter a prayerful state of mind. Since even normally irreligious people often look for refuge at the time of death, it is possible to benefit even them, by skillfully reminding them of spiritual matters.
According to the scriptural texts, you can also help a dying person by placing a piece of magnetized iron above the crown of his head. This helps to draw his consciousness up and out through the mahamudra door. How is this possible? Remember that even the very subtle energy that supports the mind of clear light contains within it the vibration of the various elements. Thus it does have some small quality of iron energy, and it is upon this that the magnet can exert its power of attraction. Once the subtle consciousness has been induced to leave through the crown center in this way, there is little danger of the person falling to a lower realm.
Now we should practice some meditation. As long as your minds develop some concentration through these techniques, it is not so important whether or not you actually master the methods of powa. It is very beneficial simply to develop concentration.
