Powa: Transference of Consciousness at the Time of Death

By Lama Thubten Yeshe
Dharamsala, India, March 1981 (Archive #196)

A lightly edited transcript of teachings given in March 1981 at Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala, India. Originally published as a transcript by Wisdom Publications. You can also listen to more teachings on this topic here.

Visit the FPMT Catalogue to find Amitabha Phowa, a meditation practice for transferring the consciousness to Amitabha's pure realm, This practice was composed by Lama Yeshe in February 1981 at Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala.

Third Discourse: 3rd March

When you practice, it is most important to have strong concentration. Transference is accomplished mainly through concentration and is helped by the breathing technique already explained. As most people know through other meditation practices, the breath comes in through the right and left channels, which hook into the central channel, or sushumna, below the level of the navel. Then it is time to tighten the lower muscles, specifically the muscles governing the anus and the sex organ, but it can also be helpful to tighten the muscles of your feet and hands. You can feel how this tightening forces energy into the central channel from below—it is not merely imagination.

It is very important to practice these techniques now. If we do not, even though we know what to do, we won't be able to employ them at the time of death. This is like our ordinary Dharma practices: we may feel that we have learned everything there is to know about a particular antidote, but when a delusion actually arises in our mind we are completely helpless. We miss being able to apply this antidote correctly. Therefore, we should put a lot of effort into practicing these techniques of powa right now.

In actuality, these techniques are very easy; they are simple, scientific and very practical. There is no reason why you should not be successful in such a practice. The spiritual masters claim that our concentration on the practice should be so strong that even the attack of seven vicious dogs would not disturb us. It is important to practice now, because at the time of death, when these teachings are actually going to be put in use, many hindrances and interferences are likely to arise. Thus we should prepare ourselves now, while we are free from such problems.

In some teachings it is explained that in order to prevent our consciousness from leaving through one of the eight samsaric doors, each one should be sealed with a HUNG. However, it is not strictly necessary to visualize these letters. Why not? Because we have already visualized that our central channel has only one opening—that in the crown of our head. Therefore, if we visualize our central channel well, there is no danger of our consciousness leaving through any of the other doors. However, if you are uncomfortable because you have so many holes in your body, you can seal these samsaric doors as described. Even if you don't need to do this now, you might find it helpful at the time of death, when your concentration is much weaker than at present.

It is important to recognize that the clear light drop in our heart is our very subtle consciousness. We should realize that this is both the consciousness that came from our previous lives and the one that will go into our future lives. Feel it to be as light as a feather, very delicate and clear. All it needs is one small cause and it is ready to fly upwards. From Amitabha Buddha's heart, radiant red light flashes down as quick as lightning and hooks this very subtle consciousness at your heart. Therefore, when we recite HIC, this red light energy from Amitabha's heart is pulling our mind upwards at the same time that the lower air energy is pushing it from below. The movement of the mind upwards, therefore, does not need a great deal of effort; it is simple and automatic because according to the visualization, there is only one path it can take.

There are certain signs that come with success in this practice, and these will be discussed in greater detail later, but one thing that happens is an itching sensation at the top of the head. Some people may even gain telepathic powers and the ability to see another reality. This is possible. In ancient times the gurus tested their disciples' proficiency in this meditation by sticking a flower stem in the hole at their crown. If their meditations were successful and this hole grew wider, the flower would actually stand up. At the end of this course I'm going to test you like that!

As mentioned before, while Amitabha is generally a deity of the lowest class of tantra, this particular technical method has been taken from the highest level of tantra. This practice is extremely worthwhile for Westerners because it demonstrates, within a short period of time, a completely different aspect of reality. This is very helpful in breaking down our strong preconceptions concerning reality.

There are many different ways of doing this practice. The method explained here uses one long HIC to propel the consciousness upward. There is another method whereby three HICs are used: the first brings the mind up to the throat level, the second up to the crown and the third propels it into Amitabha's heart. These methods are equally effective and it is up to you to choose the one that suits you best. Furthermore, the use of prayers should be adopted to your individual needs. They are helpful because they aid in the generation of the necessary feeling. However, if you find them too long you may shorten them to your liking.

One last word before we practice these techniques once again. It is a very good idea to practice powa meditation in a group rather than doing it completely alone. In this way we keep an eye on one another and thereby prevent anything dangerous from happening. If a person practices alone there is a chance, though not a very big one, of getting into trouble.