Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 85-minute teaching, Beru Rinpoche gives detailed oral instruction on phowa, the practice of transference of consciousness at the moment of death. He begins with foundational context: explaining why the Buddha is a worthy object of refuge, contrasting the attitudes of the Great and Lesser Vehicles, and establishing that any Dharma practice must be grounded in refuge and bodhicitta—the awakening heart of wanting to liberate all sentient beings. He then guides practitioners through the four immeasurable thoughts (love, compassion, joy, and equanimity), each explained with four aspects that make them “immeasurable” by object, quality, benefit, and time. The core instruction follows: visualization of Amitābha Buddha above the head, transformation of oneself into Chenrezig with a body of light, meditation on the central psychic channel (blue inside for truth body, white outside for emanation body, red in between for enjoyment body), and the actual transference technique. Using the syllables, the practitioner visualizes the consciousness—shaped like a small white egg at the heart—rising through the channel in three ascending stages until it dissolves into Amitābha’s heart. The teaching is pitched at serious practitioners with some prior Tantric background and familiarity with deity visualization.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 1989 02 09 Phowa Instruction tape 1.mp3
UUID: a865e3bd-7f49-4007-b93c-18b70dc7772e
Teacher: Beru Rinpoche
Collection: Pho Wa (Beru Rinpoche)
Date: 1989-02-09
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Words: ~4,747
Worthy object of refuge from the point of view of being completely liberated from all the sufferings of cyclic existence and not abiding in either the two extremes of cyclic existence or a passive peace. From the point of view of having himself of having liberated himself from the suffering of cyclic existence, he is worthy he has the ability or the potential to protect us from those same types of suffering from which he himself has been liberated. On the other hand, such types of worldly gods such as Īśvara and all the other various worldly deities are not an actual source of protection from suffering because they themselves have not gone beyond suffering. So because the Buddha has gone beyond has been liberated himself from suffering therefore he has the ability to liberate others. Those who are still involved in suffering do not have the potential or the ability to benefit in this manner.
Having gone through refuge to the Buddha then it’s necessary to listen to his teaching. So within his teachings, that is the Dharma which he taught, there are two vehicles. There is a great vehicle and lesser vehicle. So the type of practice that we’re engaging in, for example the transference of consciousness and various other types of practices are included within the Great vehicle. So what is the difference between the lesser and the greater vehicle?
What is the degree? What is the difference in degree? How do we contrast them? The difference is in the attitude or the attitude of the various vehicles. With respect to the small vehicle, it’s a very narrow, a very small type of attitude and aspiration.
One is seeking only to find peace that is to bring about the welfare of oneself alone. Whereas the attitude within the great vehicle is to bring about the happiness, to eliminate the suffering and bring about the happiness of all sentient beings including oneself, include of all the beings in the three realms. So to include if we are to be included in the family of a great vehicle, then we have to have this vast attitude, this expansive aspiration. So we go for refuge to the three. That is the Buddha who is the who is the is the shower, who is the guide upon who has shown the path liberation to the Dharma which is the actual method, the actual path itself whereby we can be liberated and then those who are companions along who assist us in following the path of liberation that is the superior spiritual community.
And and the purpose for our going for refuge is to develop the ability or the power whereby we are able to liberate all sentient beings equal to space, all our mothers and fathers. Therefore, order to bring that about, in fact, we go for refuge to the Buddhadharma and Sangha. Having developed this attitude of going for refuge, we should then try to develop the mind generation that is the altruistic intention. And because we are seeking to be part of the family of the great vehicle, the Mahāyāna, then the type of attitude that we are to generate, this altruism, is that we are seeking to attain complete perfect enlightenment for the sake of liberating all sentient beings as vast as all of space. In order to do that I’m going to train and practice in the transference of consciousness.
So within the mind generation, mind generation is another word for awakening heart and mind and enlightenment, there are two types. There are conventional and ultimate mind generations. And within conventional mind generation, there is the aspiring and practical my conventional mind generation. So when we talk about the aspirational or wishing, bodhicitta, mind generation, if we take it as, by way of example, some type of work, we think the thought arises in the mind, oh, I have to I have to do this work. It’s a wishing or considering the the intention to do some type of work.
On the other hand, practical mind generation sometimes called engaging mind generation is when we actually engage actually engage in the act the of the work itself. So then we’re applying this to the actual mind generation, to mind generation, the aspiring mind generation, the wishing mind generation is the thought that I that I must establish all my mother sentient beings equal to the vastness of space in complete perfect enlightenment. This is the this wish or this aspiration is as the aspiring mind generation. And then the thought in order to actually bring that about in fact I’m going to engage in this retreat training in the transference of consciousness and this would be this actual engaging in practice would be the practical mind generation. For us who are ordinary beings abiding in cyclic existence, we can develop both of these aspects of conventional mind generation.
On the other hand when we talk about ultimate mind generation or ultimate Bodhicitta, ultimate awakening heart, this will come later at such a time when we actually have realization of emptiness. Practice example Mahāmudrā, the great seal, the great completion. Having attained these great realizations through these practices of emptiness, then we obtain ultimate mind generation. Having talked about these two factors of refuge and mind generation that these always have to be whatever our activities are to be engaged in, if there could be Dharma, whether it’s transference of consciousness, whether we’re doing prostrations, reciting Om Mani Padme Om, whether we’re offering butter lamps, whatever. If they are to be a benefit to us then they have to be conjoined with these two factors of refuge and mind generation.
So then there’s this this the the verse, the first two lines, the Buddhadharma and assembly of Sangha until enlightenment. Take, in these I take refuge as the are the two lines of going for refuge. And then next, the following two lines are by my practice of the six perfections being attained in the state of Buddhahood are the generation of the mind generation or the supreme awakening heart. After that, then we we should meditate on the four immeasurable thoughts. So the meaning of the four immeasurable thoughts is that it serves as a as a branch of the generation of of the awakening heart.
So when we talk about the four immeasurable thoughts and the meaning of what we mean by immeasurable is taken from the four different points of view. From point of view of the object of observation, from the point of view of aspect, that is the awareness of the consciousness, from the point of view of the benefit of activities, and from the point of view of time. So the first that is the immeasurable from the point of the object of observation. The object of observation are are all sentient beings equal to pervading the entire space. And just as space pervades everywhere that there is nowhere that there does not exist space.
Likewise throughout space wherever there is space there exist realms of sentient beings. These realms are numberless, immeasurable and therefore taking these to mind, the immeasurable, innumerable, all pervasive realms of all sentient beings as the object of observation then the thought that benefiting them has an object which is immeasurable. And they talked about the from the point of view of the immeasurability of the aspect as the awareness, the consciousness which is viewing sentient beings. That the benefit of that mind, that awareness, the intention is immeasurable and the fact that it’s seeking to bring complete bliss to all sentient beings and it’s seeking to separate them from all suffering and the mind is such that it’s not seeking to bring them only some bliss or some happiness but complete immeasurable types of happiness and not only to that but not simply eliminate some of their suffering, some degree of their suffering but to eliminate it completely so that they don’t even have the slightest of suffering. So therefore the wish that they have immeasurable happiness and that immeasurably be separated from all suffering.
So then the third is the benefit beneficial activity, the measurability of the beneficial activity, and this is subsumed within the second aspect that is the second perspective that is from the point of view of the object of observation. Not the object of observation, the aspect of the awareness, the beneficial intention. And then the fourth is from the point of view of time and we don’t simply think that I’m going to seek to bring happiness to sentient beings for the next hundred years and I’m going to seek to eliminate their suffering for this same amount of time. But in fact, however long it takes until cyclic existence is completely empty of all sentient beings, I’m going to seek to eliminate all suffering and to bring happiness to all sentient beings. So we should to each of these four immeasurable thoughts, we apply these four perspectives or aspects.
We apply these four aspects to each of the four immeasurable thoughts. So then the first of the Four Immeasurables begins with is the immeasurable love. So the first line is thinking to may all sentient beings have happiness and again the object when we talk about all sentient beings it should be as an object of observation applying that aspect in the fact of immeasurable beings that all sentient beings are to have immeasurable happiness and they are and may they have the causes of happiness. And the causes of happiness are virtue, is virtue or constructive types of action. If we don’t bring about, if we don’t establish constructive actions then there can be no happiness.
So developing immeasurable that all sentient beings have happiness and causes of happiness. This is immeasurable love. Then the second image we develop the intention, wish, the thought that may all sentient beings taken as observation, all sentient beings may be separated from their suffering and from this type of suffering we don’t mean just any slight suffering but all the various unimaginable sufferings that sentient beings are experiencing constantly that thinking of these various types of suffering that they may be separated from these and not only that but may be separated from the causes of suffering. The causes of suffering are the various types of non virtue or destructive actions. This is immeasurable compassion.
So the third immeasurable is the the wish that may all sentient beings, having an observation all sentient beings, may they never be separated from the bliss that knows no suffering, is not involved in the slightest of suffering. When we talk about, we are talking about bliss, it’s not the ordinary type of bliss but it’s a bliss which is a complete bliss perfect in all ways and that is to say Buddhahood and that which is not involved in the slightest way with any type of dissatisfactory quality or suffering that may they abide in this unseparably and this wish that we never be separated from the bliss with no no suffering. This is immeasurable joy. Then the fourth, immeasurable, taken as an object of observation. All sentient beings again that they wish that they be be separated from the attachment and hatred that holds some close and others distant.
Those who benefit us, those who are within our circle of relatives and friends, parents for example we develop attachment. For those who are outside of that circle we try to bring about a distance ourselves from them. Those people we don’t like we develop hatred. The thought of equanimity that is not to be separated from this distancing and holding some close. But in fact this is simply what is called small equanimity.
Immeasurable equanimity — what we mean by equanimity is the direct realization of emptiness. We don’t simply mean a neutral state, sort of an indifferent but here we’re talking about the direct realization of emptiness as the great equanimity. It’s a wishing that all sentient beings have great equanimity. Now we should in the in the beginning and training in the the practice of So then we’re making request for the Buddhas of the ten directions to appear and requesting from the depths of our heart for the objects of refuge to please appear to us in the space in front of us. So the purpose for us making such a type of request is not that the Buddhas of the three times in ten directions aren’t always present or aren’t always seeing our situation.
In fact they have various types of clairvoyances. But it is for our own benefit in making this request and asking that they come, that they we’re recognizing that that they’re drawing upon their compassion. The great and asking them out of their compassion to to please come to this place in front of us is for our own benefit. Then in the space in front of us, we now call upon pray to the to the main figure of the object of refuge that is in this case, Amitābha Buddha. So though we’re calling upon all the Buddhas and the the three times in ten directions to come to the space in front of us, the main figure will be Amitābha Buddha.
So then having made request, and we we should recite the name of Buddha, you know, however many we wish that we can recite it three, four, seven, or nine times we want. So just as by way of example that if we call our friend’s name a number of times then there is a better chance he is going to listen to us. Likewise reciting the name of Amitābha Buddha calling attention to what we are about to engage in will help us accomplish our practice. We think that we have to call out this name quite often because the Buddhas don’t hear very well. That’s not the problem.
You know they have great compassion, they have love, they have the awakening heart and they’re always trying to help us in whatever way they so the benefit to be derived from calling out the name is not from their side because they don’t hear it but for our own side in order to help us accomplish the practice. Having having requested to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the three times and ten directions to appear before us, and then in order that the training and the transference of consciousness may be accomplished, It’s necessary to remove, to purify the various latencies of negative actions that we’ve committed from beginning of this time up to now. All the various types of negativities of the body, speech and mind, the three of body, the four of speech, the three of mind, our transgressions of our Bodhisattva vows, the transgressions of our vows of Tantra, the natural transgressions, the prescribed transgressions, all are to be purified. We shouldn’t think that we have not committed any negative actions but we should acknowledge them and lay them bare. That is to say confess them to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who are appearing in front of us.
So if we if we don’t lay our negativities bare, if we don’t confess, then this will act as a a harm to our practice and we will not be able to gain the to accomplish the practice. So just as in preparation of food, in order to prepare it well, has to be the first thing we do is clean it. Likewise, in the practice of transference of consciousness that we should try to purify our body, speech and mind or whatever Dharma practice we are involved in is necessary to remove obstacles, anything that’s going to prevent us from accomplishing our practice and this is the purpose of confessing. So then we we engage in the practice of Guru Yoga and in this practice in the space in front of us is the central figure in the aspect of Amitābha Buddha. Though it is the aspect of Amitābha Buddha, it is in nature our root teacher, our root lama, along with the in the nature of all the all the Buddhist all the Buddhas of the three times.
He’s sitting There is an aspect of Heruka, surrounded by Heruka, an aspect of Heruka, and then in the nature of one’s root lama And surrounded by a like a halo of of of fire, surrounded by fire. Standing on it on a deer skin, wearing the all the He’s sitting within in the vajra Asaṇga, cross cross legged in the vajrasana. Right hand is holding up a a a drum. The left hand is Left hand. Is in meditative equipoise cradling cradling a a alms bowl filled with nectar?
Maybe papa. Kappala. Oh, I’m sorry. A skull cup. Oh, skull cup.
And it’s filled with nectar? Oh, nectar. And on his body are the the bone ornaments, complete set of bone ornaments. And he has the Tiger. The has he has a a skirt of a tiger skin.
Respect. So now then we we should meditate on on this appearance in this way. So the object we now are making a heartfelt request to the object that is our root lama having this particular aspect and this appearance. But though it appears, so there’s this appearance, the object appears this way, the thought behind while viewing this object is that I’m going to engage in the practice to train in transference of consciousness for myself and all sentient beings equal to the vastness of space in order to place them in Buddhahood. This is when when we made request to Amitābha Buddha, we recited we recited his name.
Likewise in this situation we are asking for the blessings of our root lama asking that we might accomplish this practice of transference to consciousness and reciting his particular name. Then we recite the root root lama’s name three times. Then we should visualize that upon making requests for the blessings of our root teacher, our root lama, that from the crown of his head a white light radiates out and enters into the crown of our head whereby it purifies all the karma that we’ve accumulated through physical actions and thereby granted the blessings of the body of our Lama. Then from his throat it radiates out a red light coming down to our throat center purifying all the negativities of speech that we’ve created and thereby we attain the blessings of the speech of our Lama. From the heart of our Lama a blue light radiates out through our heart center purifying all the negative feelings of mind such as the afflictive emotion.
We receive the blessings of the mind of our Lama. Which is the thought of having received the three blessings along with all the powerful attainments of our root lama. Then we go to the actual practice of transference of consciousness. So, we begin the actual visualization practice. We imagine having received the blessings of the body, speech, and mind of our root teacher, I now transform into the letter Hrīḥ.
And upon transforming into the letter Hrīḥ, I then transform into the aspect of Chenrezig white in color, having one face, four hands. The first two hands are folded at the heart. The second two hands, in the right hand, holding up a crystal rosary. The left hand holds the stem of a white lotus blooming at the ear. So now you should think that you are Chenrezig.
Chenrezig here is the enjoyment body, the Sambhogakāya with all the thirteen ornaments of an enjoyment body such as the various anklets, bracelets, necklaces, etc. So he is robed in various silk garments with on his left shoulder is a deer skin. He is wearing a skirt and scarves around his shoulder. And beneath his skirt is a multi colored pajama pants. Posture.
Cross. Cross legged. And his two hands held at his heart inside as a wish fulfilling gem. So now you should think that the that the thinking in this way that the that you are Chenrezig with the body and mind of Chenrezig. So in the training in this transfer of consciousness, it’s necessary that we really try to take on the aspect of both the body and mind of Chenrezig.
That we don’t just simply think, well in my mind I’m Chenrezig but my body is very sloped over, bent over like that. That we have to sit as if we were Chenrezig in aspect in both body and mind. So, only are we Chenrezig, am I Chenrezig, but you should imagine that the seat upon which you sit is a white thousand petal lotus and upon that is a white moon cushion. And then you are Chenrezig sitting upon the moon cushion. We shouldn’t think of our body as being filled with, you know, made up of flesh and bone and mucus and these kind of substances.
But in fact, we should think of our body as empty. There is no intestines, there is no stomach and these kind of things. But in fact, it’s completely empty and it’s made out of radiant light. So we should think that we have a body of light just as we can see and not we can only see the type of body we have now. We can only see the outside but when we have a body of light, we can see within it also just like a vase, a glass vase that we can see not only its outside but its inside.
Likewise, our body is made of this transparent light. So we should meditate on the purity of body and emptying, having being empty. Then within the center of our body, we are going to meditate on the central psychic channel. The thickness of the central channel is as thick as an arrow shaft. An arrow an arrow a shaft of an arrow.
Ah. An arrow shaft. And that it’s it’s it’s length extends from the navel to the crown of our head and it’s completely straight. And at the place of the navel, the end of the psychic channel is closed. But at the at the the crown end of the psychic channel, it’s open.
It’s not closed. It’s open. And at the area where it passes the heart area, the psychic channel passes up through the heart area, at that place there’s a joint which there’s a there’s a joint which closes the channel there. At the heart. So then the color, the colors of the psychic channel the inside symbolizing the dharmakaya or truth body.
It’s blue in color. On the outside symbolizing the emanation body or Nirmāṇakāya, it’s white in color. And in between these two layers, it is red in color symbolizing the enjoyment body or the Sambhogakāya. And this should be visualized just as we visualize the body. It’s completely clear and pure.
Clear. The the channel is clear. So then we imagine and visualize above our head approximately one cubit or a foot and a half approximately is a lotus. Upon the lotus is a moon cushion. Upon the moon cushion sits Amitābha Buddha.
And most of you are familiar with the appearance of Amitābha Buddha but just to mention a few qualities that he is sitting in the vajra position, cross legged. His both hands are in meditated equipoise cradling an alms bowl filled with nectar. He is wearing the three robes of a monk. On top of his head is the crown protrusion. Crown protrusion.
Crown protrusion. Think that’s see. And that in color? Okay. I think that color.
Crown protrusion. Is one of the may this is one of the major marks of the Buddha is this crown protrusion. It’s like top bump or something. So there are thirty two major marks of a Buddha. So this is in the same the same marks as appear on Śākyamūni Buddha.
Śākyamūni Buddha, for example, the crown protrusion which radiates in that light and the hair curl which goes out. Light. Radiating out light. Then in the same way that the Amitābha Buddha has all these thirty two marks. So you should imagine that the surrounding Amitābha Buddha are vajrapani and Chenrezig and innumerable Buddhas as innumerable Buddhas.
Because I was then I cut a few places in the text and it’s it says. So this should be Chenrezig. It appears a few times in the text. Then we should imagine, so there’s this Amitābha Buddha with the retinue visualized on top of her head. And then at her heart, on top of the there’s a joint at the heart within the psychic channel which on top of that joint is a within the psychic channel, within side of it is an eight petaled open lotus and white in And then on top of that lotus is our mind, our consciousness.
And we should, it’s in the shape of a monal bird egg, which is in the size of a pea. So the pea has to be small enough to fit inside the psychic channel. So it’s the shape of a pea, the size of a pea, the shape of an egg. And it’s radiant white, very radiant radiant white light. This is our consciousness.
This monal bird doesn’t exist anymore. It’s the way way back in the in the good time in the good in the fortunate ages, there was this bird called Marcel bird. It doesn’t matter. We don’t we don’t know the meaning. We should imagine that this consciousness egg is just ready to rise up.
It’s energized. It’s just ready to rise up. It’s as if we just bounce a rubber ball on the ground and just as it touches the ground and just ready to come back up. This is the feeling that we should have about this this mind shaped egg at our heart, at within the psychic channel. Then having done this visualization, we’re going to repeat the syllables three times.
Thinking that we say recite the first part of the combination of Reciting the letter Ah, it’s as if we’re activating this egg shaped mind, activating and energizing it. Then when we actually say it shoots up to our throat within the psychic channel. Then again, activating, energizing it. And then upon the word it shoots up through the psychic channel to the level of our crown. And then again repeating activating, energizing the egg shape and then reciting the word it shoots up into the heart of Amitābha Buddha.
And at this time we should imagine that our mind and the mind of Amitābha Buddha are indistinguishably one. Having done this visualization, then we should rest the rest without thought in the imagination that our mind has dissolved into the mind of Amitābha Buddha. Rest in that thought, in that not when that brought in that imaginative state. So then the refrain of requesting the blessing of the Amitābha Buddha from the depths of our heart to attain to accomplish the practice that we should again and again from the depth of our heart make this request for his blessing. We can recite it three, six, nine times very strongly.
And then then as it shows in the text, we repeat the practice after the refrain, repeating the apte three times in the same visualization exactly as it was done before. And then we go on to make request of the lineage of the teaching. So the initial source of the teaching is the dharmakaya of Amitābha initially we don’t make it’s not Samantabhādra, it’s initially making requests to to pray into the lineage beginning with the dharmakaya of Amitābha Buddha. So what we’re requesting, we’re making requests to the lineage of the teachings and initially making requests to the truth body, the dharmakaya, temporally we’re seeking to accomplish of transference consciousness but ultimately to attain the dharmakaya itself or the truth body. So we’re making requests to each of the lamas of the lineage.
Next we make requests to the enjoyment body of the Sambhogakāya and this is to Chenrezig. Temporally we are requesting that we are able to accomplish the practice of transference of consciousness and ultimately that we are able to attain the rainbow body of enjoyment body.