--- In [email protected], Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On Oct 25, 2006, at 9:02 AM, TurquoiseB wrote: > > >> Oh yeah? prove it! > >> > > > > As it turns out, there is a fairly simple way of > > proving this. And, as it turns out, you yourself > > will be one of the test subjects in the experiment, > > whether you want to be or not. > > > > Just pay attention to what happens at the moment > > of your death, and then *keep* paying attention. > > > > Reporting your research to others and getting it > > published may be a little more difficult, however. :-) > > > And of course he could do a bardo retreat and experience it first > hand AND report back. > > If he survived the retreat...: > > The Bardo Retreat > > > The practice of thogal is typically carried out in strict seclusion, > in the seven-week bardo retreat known as yangti, "beyond ati," in > other words beyond the ninth yana, atiyoga, "one of the most highly > advanced and dangerous forms of practice in Tibetan Buddhism."(46) It > is held that through practicing the bardo retreat, one attains the > rainbow body, which arises as the natural result of the > identification of mind (jnana) and body (kaya). > > > In the bardo retreat, one follows a course of meditation that > simulates the experiences of death and the after-death state. (See > chapter 14.) The retreat itself is carried out in complete darkness, > and because it is considered dangerous, facilities for it were found > at only a few places in Tibet. Only those considered sufficiently > well prepared both physically and mentally are authorized to carry > out the retreat. The very real peril to the practitioner is one of > psychosis, of dissociating from ordinary reality.`" A variety of > methods and practices are known and employed to bring practitioners > "back" when such a psychotic break occurs. A practitioner aspiring to > perform yangti yoga needs to be at a most advanced stage of practice > and spiritual maturity. Having been accepted for the retreat, he or > she then undergoes months of preparation. Even then, one is allowed > to enter the retreat only after clear evidence of mental and physical > readiness. The retreat cell is specially designed so that all light > can be gradually reduced until it is completely dark. The > practitioner is taken to the cell and then, over the period of a > week, the light is gradually excluded until he or she is in total > darkness. Trungpa Rinpoche, who carried out this retreat as part of > his training prior to leaving Tibet in 1959, remarks that at first > the meditator feels depressed and anxious. In time, however, he > becomes accustomed to the absence of light. > > > Each day, someone visits the retreatant to give meditation > instruction and counsel. It is interesting that the instructions are > the same as those provided to a dying person. Trungpa Rinpoche > remarks that, as the retreat progresses, the daily visits are > critically important, for without them the meditator would completely > lose touch with ordinary reality. In contrast to other types of > tantric meditation, in the bardo retreat no active visualizations are > involved in the practice. Instead, the mental imagery associated with > death appears spontaneously. An example is provided by the appearance > of wrathful wisdom eyes: > > > The central place of the peaceful tathagatas is in the heart, so you > see the different types of eyes in your heart; and the principle of > the wrathful divinities is centralized in the brain, so you see > certain types of eyes gazing at each other within your brain. These > are not ordinary visualizations, but they arise out of the > possibility of insanity and of losing ground altogether to the > dharmata principle.(48) > > > Trungpa Rinpoche describes the evolving experience of the retreat. At > a certain point, the dualistic notions of light and dark fall away, > and everything is seen in a blue light. The meditator's projections > appear as the five buddhas (lower), the five buddha lights (medium), > or the five buddha wisdoms (higher). Rinpoche comments that one > usually sees the blue light first, then light of one color, then > another, following the course of how one broke away from the alaya in > the first place.(49) The experiences of the five buddhas manifest not > in terms of physical or visual reality but in terms of energy having > the qualities of earth, water, fire, air, and space. Trungpa Rinpoche > explains: > > > We are not talking about ordinary substances, the gross level of the > elements, but of subtle elements. From the perceiver's point of view, > perceiving the five tathagatas in visions is not vision and not > perception, not quite experience. It is not vision, because if you > have vision you have to look, and looking is in itself an extraverted > way of separating yourself from the vision. You cannot perceive, > because once you begin to perceive you are introducing that > experience into your system, which means again a dualistic style of > relationship. You cannot even know it, because as long as there is a > watcher to tell you that these are your experiences, you are still > separating those energies away from you.(50) > > > In characterizing the experience of the five buddha energies, > Rinpoche remarks, "It flashes on and off; sometimes you experience > it, and sometimes you do not experience it, but you are in it, so > there is a journey between dharmakaya and luminosity."(51) Through > the bardo retreat, one is approaching an experience of space that is > utterly beyond any interference or involvement by the human person, > completely unorganized and undomesticated in any sense. It is totally > naked, free-form, and unconditioned. It is naked because it contains > not even the most subtle dualistic filter of subject and object. It > is free-form because there are no concepts or categories to provide > shape or interpretation. And it is unconditioned because it stands > alone, not based on causes and conditions or leading to results, > simply "as it is," without any reference to past or future. It is > outside of time. This description suggests the danger to the > meditator. Out of the anxiety of the "free-fall" of the retreat, one > may seek ground in what arises, becoming fascinated by the colored > figures, the mental imagery, and the visions that one sees, and begin > to fixate, magnify, and indulge in them. According to Tibetan > tradition, this kind of fascination can lead to the withdrawal from > reality mentioned above. In this case, one mentally creates a world > of one's own and physically enters into a state of suspended > animation in which one remains for years, decades, or even centuries. > (52) Tenzin Wangyal, who carried out a bardo retreat in the Bon > context, provides the following illuminating comments: > > > I had heard stories and jokes about the problems people encountered > while doing dark retreat, in which practitioners had visions they > were sure were real. . . . In everyday life, external appearances > deflect us from our thoughts, but in the dark retreat, there are no > diversions of this kind, so that it becomes much easier to be > disturbed, even to the point of madness, by our own mind-created > visions. In the dark retreat, there is a situation of "sensory > deprivation," so that when thoughts or visions arise in the absence > of external reality testing devices, we take them to be true and > follow them, basing entire other chains of thoughts on them. In this > case it is very easy to become `submerged' in our own mind- created > fantasies, entirely convinced of their "reality."(53) > > > As the meditation proceeds, one passes through the bardo stages, > described below in chapter 14. The meditation lasts for a nominal > period of seven weeks, but it may in fact vary, depending upon the > person. About the fifth week, a kind of breakthrough typically > occurs. Trungpa Rinpoche: > > > Generally around the fifth week there comes a basic understanding of > the five tathagatas, and these visions actually happen, not in terms > of art at all. One is not exactly aware of their presence, but an > abstract quality begins to develop, purely based on energy. When > energy becomes independent, complete energy, it begins to look at > itself and perceive itself, which transcends the ordinary idea of > perception. It is as though you walk because you know you do not need > any support; you walk unconsciously. It is that kind of independent > energy without any self-consciousness, which is not at all phantasy- > but then again, at the same time, one never knows.(54) > > > At the end of the meditation the light is gradually readmitted, until > after a week the windows are completely uncovered and the meditator > may leave the cell. > > > The purpose of the bardo retreat, like other forms of tantric > meditation, is to enable the practitioner to touch the primordial > reality that precedes the formation of the personality. It enables > one to "know" the energies that circulate in the ocean of being, as > they are before we structure them through our perception, slot them > into recognizable quantities, and filter them through the mechanism > of conceptual interpretation. Moreover, one not only touches these > energies and knows them, but much more profoundly recognizes them as > the ultimate truth of one's own being and existence. This is, of > course, a reality that is utterly free of any notion or movement of > "I" or ego. What makes the bardo retreat so unique within Tibetan > Buddhism is that its methods are incomparably powerful and effective, > and it is able to bring this level of realization about so quickly- > that is, for those who are sufficiently prepared and survive it rigors. > > > Urgyen provides the following account of a recent occurrence: > > > [The person] took rainbow body in the cow shed of one of my gurus' > mother's household. This event was witnessed by several people. > Jamgon Kongrul the Second told me this story, so I definitely feel it > is true. Jamgon Kongtrul's brother, a very tall and handsome man, was > present at the time. > > > It happened like this. An elderly nun came through their village on > pilgrimage. When she saw the wealthy household, she asked for a place > where she could make a short retreat. They offered her one of their > vacant cow sheds. She told them, "I want to use it for a week to make > a strict retreat. I want the door sealed up. Please pile stones > against the door because I don't want any disturbance." Since they > were used to sponsoring practitioners, they agreed and no one thought > twice about it. They said, "Sure, you can have it your way." They > didn't know who was going to look after her and bring her food; they > thought she had already made arrangements. After three days, some > strange phenomena began to occur. Scintillating, swirling light- rays > of different colors were seeping out of the holes and cracks of the > cow shed's stone wall. Light was shining out from under the room; > while outside the shed, spheres of light moved rapidly about. The > people of the house wondered, "What's going on here? Who's looking > after the old woman? Who's bringing her food?" They asked their > servants. The servants thought someone else was giving her food, but > actually no one was. They decided she must have been cooking for > herself, but Jamgon Kongtrul's brother asked, "(Is there any place to > cook inside?" The servants said, "No, no. There is no fireplace or > anything." So they wondered, "What is she eating? Does she have any > water? What are these lights all about?" Finally, they decided to > take a look. They removed the pile of stones and pried open the door; > they saw that the body of the nun had fallen to pieces. Her hands > were lying in one place and her feet were lying in another; her limbs > were no longer connected to the body, but lay scattered in pieces. > From the ends of the bones, swirls of rainbow light were coiling out > as the body continued to fall apart. The observers asked each other, > "What is this? It looks like she's dead!" One person had the presence > of mind to say, "Let's leave her alone. It looks like something > unusual is happening here. She asked for seven days of solitude so > let's do as she asked." And saying that, they sealed the shed up again. > > > When they returned after the seventh day and opened the shed, the > rainbow lights had vanished. Not a drop of blood, nor flesh, nor > bones could be found anywhere. Only the nails from the fingers and > toes remained lying there very neatly, along with a hank of hair. > This event most definitely happened.(58) > > > Tulku Urgyen continues: "Even after the Chinese arrived, two or three > people in Golok attained rainbow body." > > > Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, who is very careful about such stories, went > to Tibet and through many different sources tracked down the names > and places of these people. He is keeping all the details very > precisely. Two of these people attained rainbow body. The third > person was being beaten by the Chinese when suddenly he started to > levitate upwards until they could not reach him. He went higher and > higher until he vanished. This is a type of celestial accomplishment. > So, it's definitely true that even these days people do attain > rainbow body, and that there are still practitioners who attain > accomplishment.(59) > > -fr. _Secrets of the Vajra World_ >
Fascinating stuff, but the key phrase here is "simulates the experiences of death" We are just assuming this is the same as real death. Sounds like a pretty good time though. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
