Transference of Consciousness Practices
Lama Yeshe explains the correct motivation required for powa, the practice of transference of consciousness at the time of death, and jangwa, a type of powa practice that can benefit a person or animal who died long ago. This teaching was given at Chenrezig Institute, Australia, in June 1981 and is published in chapter 19 of Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe.
If you are ill, you should first practice White Tara, a special deity for long life. Before doing powa you should first engage in the technical meditations that can help extend your life. It’s very dangerous to rely just on doctors. I was shocked when I learned about the number of mistakes that doctors make. When you reach the point where it is clean clear that there are no solutions, then you can do powa. You call all your brothers and sisters and give away all your things, because if you have a grasping mind it is difficult to make a worthwhile transference of consciousness. Don’t only think about what you did badly in life. Think positively. ‘Now it is good enough. I’m dying; I’m happy.’ So it becomes really easygoing. I believe that dying can be pleasurable. It depends on how easy you make it for yourself. Everybody has had some success in life. There are some people that we can love, and others we can’t. But sometimes we underestimate ourselves.
Heaven and hell are actually manifested from your consciousness. There is no outside self-existent unhappy place waiting for you. There isn’t! You have to understand this fundamental scientific Buddhist explanation. If you don’t, then Buddhism becomes very strange and impossible for Western people to comprehend.
It is not easy to help people once they have already died, because maybe the person is so dead that he has already reached the intermediate stage and can read one’s ugly mind that is grasping for his material possessions. If any person with this grasping attitude comes to do puja or meditation for the deceased, he or she just turns off. That’s why when you do some prayer or meditation for the dead you need to have a completely bodhicitta attitude.
When we do transference of consciousness for a dead person, we can only do it after the person is no longer breathing but while the heart is still warm. You can also do this practice for dying animals. You become Chenrezig, send your energy to the animal’s heart and then send the animal to Amitabha’s pure realm. It is not even necessary to see the dying person or animal. You can also do a type of powa for a person or animal who died a long time ago. In Tibet, we call this jangwa. We write down the person’s name and then we meditate a lot. We bring the dead person’s consciousness into that atmosphere, do so much profound purification meditation, and then do powa. You can also do this with a photograph, which has the person’s energy. If you are strong, happy and peaceful, that person will receive a reflection of your energy. This is much better than crying.