Why Practice Phowa?

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Phowa is considered the most valuable, powerful and effective practice in caring for people and animals that are suffering and/or dying. Phowa means the transference or ejection of consciousness into the state of truth. Its success relies on invoking the presence of a Buddha (God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, or the Virgin Mary), combined with our receptivity and devotion, and the familiarity which comes from having done the practice repeatedly throughout our life.

Phowa practice is not just for the moment of death, it also helps to purify our regrets, harm and negativity, and it can be used to assist in emotional or physical healing. It is a practice for our whole life as well as for the time of dying, and it is the principal practice we rely on to offer spiritual support to others at the moment of death, and afterward.

If we practice Phowa regularly, our compassionate motivation and our confident devotion will grow deeper. If we prepare for our own death with this depth of familiarity, devotion and trust; our fear of death will diminish. And, even if we should be in a sudden accident, facing death without warning, we'll know how to let go in the best way, because this profound practice has become like a reflex. Also, when one is in great distress or is dying, we can offer this rich spiritual practice for him or her.

First make sure you are comfortable, and assume the meditative posture. If you are doing this practice as you are coming close to death, just sit as comfortably as you are able, or practice lying down. Then bring all the energies of your mind home, release, and relax into the deep presence and spacious awareness of your being.   Before you begin, arouse a strong compassionate aspiration such as: "By means of this death, I will adopt only the attitude of the enlightened state of mind, loving kindness, and compassion, and attain perfect enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings who are as limitless as space."

Invocation
With all your heart, invoke in the sky before you the presence of a buddha or a Divine Being for whom you feel a devotion. See the form of this Presence, not as flesh and blood, but as radiant light. Recognize that this being's qualities of perfect wisdom, boundless compassion, and limitless power to benefit beings are no different from the qualities of your own wisdom nature.

Consider this Divine Presence you have invoked is actually present--alive, breathing, and gazing toward you with kindness and love. If you cannot clearly visualize a buddha or Divine Being, then simply imagine that a brilliant and loving Presence, who is the embodiment of truth, is in the sky in front of you, in the form of light. Allow yourself to relax deeply and establish a personal connection with this Presence you have invoked.

Calling out
Open yourself now, and acknowledge the aspects of your being that need purification, forgiveness, and blessing. Acknowledge any regrets, harm, negativity, or destructive emotions that you want to release and purify. Become aware of any places in your body where there is disease, weakness, or even a fear of illness. And recognize any doubts, fears, or old wounds in your heart that need healing and love. Then call out sincerely to the Divine Presence in front of you and ask for help.

Receiving the blessing
Immediately this buddha or Divine Presence responds, sending love and compassion from his or her heart in a stream of tremendous rays of light directly into your being. Allow these powerful rays to penetrate you and purify you--filling you with forgiveness, healing energy, confidence and unconditional love. Consider that these brilliant light rays of compassion and love dissolve all of your fears and defenses, so that you are totally immersed in light. To make yourself more receptive, you may want to recite a short prayer or mantra during this part of the practice.

Visualize that this profound blessing streaming towards you purifies and transforms every aspect of your body and mind--even your painful memories, part harm and regrets. Then, after some time, consider that the purification has been completely effected, so much so that your whole being--body and mind--is entirely transformed into light. Now your being in the form of light rises up and dissolves into the heart of this Divine Presence--completely mixing with it, like light mixing with light.

Remain in this peaceful state as long as you can. This nondual, natural simplicity and inspired openness is your being. If thoughts rise, or a "sense of self" begins to form, simply allow them to dissolve back into emptiness. Letting go, naturally remain.

At the conclusion, consider that your awareness is once again centered within your body. Resolve to continue the presence of pure, clear awareness as you enter into daily activities. And when you notice that you have lost it, gently bring your mind home to its true nature, again and again.

Dedicate your practice
Dedicate your practice as you conclude, sharing the merit of blessings and wisdom with all beings, praying that, in whatever ways you can, you may be able to relieve their suffering, bring them happiness, and, ultimately, help them to realize the abiding peace of their deathless, true nature of mind.

A powerful practice for the moment of death
As people come very near death, their mind and heart becomes less contained by their body and more atmospheric; it feels as if their mind is filling the entire room. Thus any strong thoughts or emotions we bring into the space surrounding a dying person have a powerful effect on their state of mind, for better or worse. It is important that if we have inspired ourselves with meditation before entering a dying person's room, if we have strongly invoked the presence of a Buddha or Divine Being to whom we continue to pray, this can have a tremendously positive influence on the dying person's state of mind.

Although you can do the Phowa throughout life or your loved one's illness, its special power becomes apparent when you practice it just at the moment of death, or as soon as you are informed of the person's death. After the consciousness of the dying person "faints into darkness," he or she will awaken into the luminous expanse of the truth. Our practice is simply a skillful guidance to help them unite with the true nature of mind, which will be dawning in their awareness at that time.

The most important moment is when the person is breathing their last breath, or after breathing stops, before the body is touched or disturbed in any way. If the dying person knows you are going to do this practice for them, and knows what it is, it can be a great source of inspiration and comfort. Sit quietly with the dying person, find ways to adapt it to their own spiritual beliefs and offer a candle or light in front of a picture or statue of Christ, Buddha or the Virgin Mary. Then do the practice for them. You can be doing the practice quietly, and the person need not even know about it; on the other hand, if he or she is open to it, share the practice and explain how to do it.

As we invoke the Divine Being, their blessings and presence are spontaneously there. They will be present with the dying person in his or her hour of need, and they will know what to do. We are invoking and relying on the limitless enlightened qualities of a supreme being, which include an unbiased, boundless compassion and love, and the unlimited power to benefit and help all beings by responding to their needs in the direst of circumstances.

You can do the Essential Phowa for someone who is ill or dying; the only difference is that you visualize the Buddha or Divine figure above the head of the dying person. Call out on behalf of your friend, visualize the Divine Presence pouring down the rays of light onto the dying person, purifying his or her whole being, and then he or she dissolves into light and merges indistinguishably with the spiritual presence.

If done repeatedly, with strong compassion and devotion, this practice can help the dying on their journey toward liberation. Any practice or prayers we do for the dying will help, at the very least, to purify their negative karma or release them from the suffering and turmoil of their death and enable them to die peacefully.

When someone has just died suddenly and you cannot be physically present, then visualize yourself practicing by their side at the place of their death. As you "stay" with them, invoke strongly the radiant presence of a buddha or Divine Being. Visualize the compassionate radiance emanating from this Divine Presence filling the space surrounding both of you with protection and blessings.

Consider that the consciousness of the newly deceased person takes the form of a small sphere of light, and visualize it quickly flying out from his or her body, like a shooting star, and dissolving into the heart of the Divine Presence. In dedicating the practice, pray that the person may be free from any of the sufferings or turmoil of their death, and released into the luminosity and all-pervading space of the true nature of their mind, in order to benefit all beings, especially those he or she is leaving behind. Afterward, you can do the complete Phowa practice again for the person over the following days and weeks (up to 7 weeks).

The word "mind" comes from the Greek word "mino", literally means spirit, or conscious part of the soul. If your face a sudden dealth without warning, your mind (which guide you from that point on) will take over. In the sky in front of you, invoke the embodiment of whatever truth you believe in, in the form of radiant light; imagine your soul as a sphere of light at your heart, which flashes out like a shooting star through your crown (top of skull, see chart below), and flies into the heart of the Divine Presence in front of you.

When your consciousness faints into complete darkness or silent, you see the near dead light (1st figure) or the light tunnel (2nd figure); or your whole life literally flash in front of your eye (review what you've done in this life before you entering the next), you know this is the time to let go your body.