Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Using a “holiday destination” analogy, Khensur Rinpoche opens this 95-minute phowa session by making the case that genuine wish for rebirth in Amitābha’s Pure Land must be built on real knowledge of the destination. He describes it in concrete terms: turquoise ground that sinks softly underfoot, jewel-trees that recite Dharma teachings in the wind, beings nourished entirely by meditation. He then walks through the preparatory sequence — cleaning the space, arranging an Amitābha altar, facing westward, cultivating bodhicitta through going-for-refuge prayers and the four immeasurables, and supplicating the lineage lamas. A soldier-training analogy closes the session: phowa — consciousness transference at death — must be rehearsed thoroughly before the moment arrives. Covers only the preparatory stage; the actual training practice follows the next day.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 PW 1994 11 01.mp3
UUID: 5548635d-7a88-4bc1-ab50-181905a2529d
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Phowa (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1994-11-01
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 95.0 minutes
Words: ~5,547
So firstly, start by doing a few minutes meditation on kind thought where we shall meditate on the precious mind of enlightenment. In our case, we do want happiness, and we do not want suffering. Similarly, all other sentient beings are equally do not want suffering, and they do want happiness. As as humans, we have clear mind. We also can understand and know things if we, from our side, put effort.
In this way, to many other species of beings, we humans have that capability presently complete with our mind. More so as humans, we are quite distinct from the point that we have encountered the Dharma, Dharma mistaken and meaningful spiritual system. As well, we do have certain basis or practice of Dharma we already are doing. Therefore, we presently have all these necessary factors complete with us. Compared to many other species of beings, we have these plus advantages or capabilities, and compared even with many other types of humans, we therefore are very very much with the necessary factors.
And this type of rebirth, having all the necessary factors which we presently have attained, would be extremely difficult to attain again in future. The reason for that is because this human rebirth, complete with the necessary factors we have present, is a result of so many excellent practices. Therefore, it has come out as a product of many wonderful causes and conditions gathering together. And as a human, we have the capability from our side presently to know what what leads to removing suffering and to know what leads to acquiring happiness. Such a state of mind in the present day birth has to be a product of many wonderful efforts and practices in the past.
We can therefore reason that in future to attain similar rebirth would require so much and so many types of similar wonderful practices and courses. Therefore, we can say such rebirth to attain again and again would be extremely difficult. Well, we can look conventionally speaking if there is in the world materially materially something considered very valuable and precious, then we can reason to get to be of possession of such thing would require so much hard work and effort, which goes towards the means to attain that. Because of the very reason that the thing is considered as rare and of a very high value and so forth. For anyone to get possession of such a thing, even materially in conventional sense, would be very difficult to attain.
And from that side from that point of view, we can say the thing can be called as rare rare and not easy to be acquired again. Therefore, presently, when we have such precious rebirth as a human, if we do not make use of it and failing to make use of it as time goes, if we die before making use of it, then we can say we have lost something very precious. Therefore, before one dies, one needs to use this capability in most meaningful way and to that way make one’s life meaningful. To make one’s life meaningful, the best of the practices to start with is to train on altruism, kind thought of which the top supreme altruism is the precious mind of enlightenment, bodhicitta. There is no other level of kind thought higher to that.
And therefore, here, in order to develop that thought, we briefly contemplate on the mind thinking, I must remove the sufferings of all beings and bring them happiness. To be able to do that, I need to remove all my mental shortcomings and perfect in acquiring the perfections of mind as a purpose. Therefore, from that way of thinking, I must attain Buddhahood, the enlightenment, at any rate in order to help our help or benefit others. And then think that in this way, I will make the rest of my life meaningful by continuously training on this kind thought, the precious mind of enlightenment. And I will do it until I die, as long as I remain alive.
Somehow, as inevitably, when death arrives and if I have to leave this present capability of the rebirth here, I will make myself prepared to have continued basis to train the mind and attain enlightenment by the effective method of applying the transference of consciousness to higher rebirth. Therefore, I would engage in the learning, reflection, and actual practice concerning phowa, the transference of consciousness to higher rebirth. So here at this point, please briefly think on both lines in order to set one’s mind towards proper motive. And the next part is where we recite the prayers which concerns the practice of going for refuge. One of the one of the profound tantric teaching says, by this part of transference of consciousness, it would make even someone who has committed grave karma of either killing a priest or committing the five most grave actions, non virtuous actions, or through or commits gross robbery, gross fight through intense hatred and anger, they even they will be led to a path of happiness.
So as the lines in their meaning clearly says, that this instruction of phowa, the transference of consciousness to higher rebirth, it has all those powerful benefits even to someone who happened to commit those grave non virtuous actions. So the instruction on phowa, the transference of consciousness has many sections under it where it starts with going through the necessary benefits that would come by practicing this method. But if we go through all the benefits and spend time on going through benefits then maybe all the times would be consumed by that alone and there wouldn’t be enough time left for the actual practice. Therefore we will skip that part. It is normally a very extensive practice.
Might give you a headache. We can have the practice broken down into one major point starting with where one trains on the transference of consciousness in order for oneself in future to be not born in lower rebirth. And once that training goes well, then at the time of death one can actually apply it. So that becomes the second point. And if one becomes very skilled in the training of the transference of consciousness then one can as well apply the method in order for others to be for others’ consciousness to be elevated to higher rebirth by one’s own effort.
Therefore, in brief and that becomes the third point. Therefore, in brief, there are three major sections. So the first part as the text begins on the main point is to clean one’s practice place. And regarding cleaning the practice place, in Tibetan case we would use broom and sweep it, sweep the floor every day, especially in the morning, the very first moment of work one starts in the morning. So you can use here a vacuum cleaner And this is significant because one is doing the cleaning of the venue in order to become a means to apply the mind towards purification and more so by that way one would be born in the Amitābha Buddha Pure Realm.
So as it is, from one side, one needs to have that intention motive through which one does the cleaning of the practice place. When that is finished, then you arrange the altar and then you arrange the offerings and then you sit on the sit on a comfortable cushion, although it’s not set, meaning you just sit and make comfortable on the cushion. As far as the arranging of the altar goes, you put or place on the altar representations of Amitābha Buddha’s body, speech and mind, where body is the physical representation, as a photo or painting or statue of Amitābha Buddha, and then you arrange the teaching or text related with Amitābha Buddha and stupa or shrines related with Amitābha Buddha. When that part is finished, then while one is seated on the cushion, one faces westward because that is the direction where the manifested realm of Amitābha Buddha’s residence is. So it has a special link to think that one is facing that way or actually face westward.
The next part is where you set up your motive setting off the motive means one should not engage into the practice thinking about the welfare of oneself alone. Because if one does that, then self-cherishing creeps into. If self-cherishing creeps into, then there is no way one would be born or one would make up to Amitābha’s pure realm, the blissful realm. Therefore there is no way that way of motive would lead towards that direction. Here then one needs to develop the motive of cherishing others more important than oneself.
Based on that, one then develop bodhicitta, the precious mind of enlightenment. And then here it might be interesting to bring an example which suits the westerners very well. And the example would be holiday. People in the west would people in the west like to go to holiday every now and then. Now let’s say if one do want to go for holiday, then the place where one is going for a holiday has to be excellent, the environment of it, the facility above it, and the travel transport means everything has to be excellent over there.
Especially if one is thinking in terms of food, then it has to be very good food when one is going for a holiday. If these things are quite an excellent form, then when one thinks about those place or the place where one wish to go for holiday, automatically there is a longing to go to the place for holiday thinking, that’s a wonderful place to go for holiday. I must go. So one would feel like going for holiday to the place. In that example, we find the wish and the strong intention to go for holiday to the place comes about due to thinking about the good and excellent parts about the holiday place.
And it could be precisely for such reasons, the TV commercials entices you so much. You can see on the television the ads about the beautiful pictures and all that jazz. That’s right. So that’s how it would come about. So similarly here in terms of going to the Amitābha Buddha Pure Land and to be born there, one has to have the awareness about the excellent qualities out there such as there is all excellent surroundings, environment and the companions are all excellent of like minded and the lama or the teacher who gives the teaching are excellent.
Even in terms of mental feeling, is no there is always feeling of blissfulness, pleasant feeling. The feeling is all pleasant, that even there is not feeling which is neutral, there isn’t even neutral feeling. This means generally feelings of three types or experiences. The word is feelings. Feelings of three types: unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral feelings.
But amongst the three up there, there is only pleasant feeling or feeling experience of blissfulness. So if that is the case, then one needs to think about all those excellent qualities of blissful realm, the Amitābha Buddha’s pure realm. And if one thinks on that, then one will have strong intention and wish to go up there. And that is the reason precisely in the text. Then in the next part, it goes through the descriptions of the pure realm, the blissful realm.
So for that reason, if one does not have awareness of the excellent qualities about their meaning the blissful Pure Realm, then one will not have the wish to go there. So there has to be awareness, the knowledge about those qualities, and that’s the reason the text then starts with going through those points. The absence of awareness thus not bringing the wish would be similar to an example where someone who doesn’t know a particular holiday destination And when asked by someone else, are you going there? Oh, no, no, no. I’m not going there.
I don’t know about the place. So that would be the answer. And similarly, there’s no wish from the part of the person. I don’t know. I don’t know.
That’s how I’ve been talking. So the description of the Pure Realm here is it is located westward from our world, from our universe, And the surface, the ground up there is smooth and even, that there is no unevenness at all. And that means that there are no rocks or stones or holes making the ground uneven. Instead it is all even and smooth. And to give a more further description it is explained that it is like a whole turquoise of surface making up the ground where everything has got from the ground a blue radiance from it blue radiance.
And then as far as the touch of the ground goes, it is explained, it has a softness when one steps on, it sinks slightly, and one lifts one’s feet up, the ground bulge backward. So a description meaning it is soft. And then at the center of such pure realm is Amitābha Buddha’s mention. The word actually is the unfathomable house, the unfathomable house, so simply mentioned, which should not be viewed as of ordinary build. Instead, it is all made by precious materials, gems all over around it.
And then all over the Peoria are many lakes and ponds which are all very blissful, very blissful water filling them and inside them are all types of precious stones and materials. And the sands which are on the bank of these water, the lakes, ponds, so forth are all made of precious material. They are all of jewels, gems, and so forth. And then around the realm, meaning all over in the present realm, are hills and mountains made of gold, silver and precious materials. Even the trees, plants, they are all made of precious materials, meaning James and jewels.
And when the wind moves the branches and leaves of the tree, the tree automatically, of its own, resolves the teachings such as all compounded phenomena are impermanent, all contaminated phenomena are bound to miserable, all phenomena are emptiness and without self, and nirvana is peace and virtuous. So there’s natural such teachings coming out from the trees. And then the birds and the other species of life around the area are so beautiful. They have a bit melodious singing and all that. And then the retinues of the entourage or the retinues of Amitābha Buddha are all bodhisattvas of great excellent qualities, such as this morning during the empowerment we mentioned the two entourage, the sun like and the moon like illuminators, so of such qualities, so many, countless of them are around.
So in this way it is amazingly beautiful and wonderful Purim. Amongst the entourage are also the eight closed bodhisattvas, Chenrezig, Mañjuśrī and so forth. So in this way there is a multitude, great assembly of bodhisattvas And then the beings there who are the disciples and doing the practices, they are always of kind thought and of virtuous state of mind. Even verbally they don’t speak harshly, they don’t tell lies, they don’t engage in meaningless gossips. Instead, they always are in virtuous state of mind.
As far as compassion, loving kindness goes, they all the time to each other relate in that manner of kind thought and virtuous dealings with each other. So as far as the day and night ghosts and the radiance of the light to differentiate the two ghosts, there is not any external means. They don’t rely on them. Instead, it is very much relate relative to their location of residence. To describe about that, all the bodhisattvas and the beings in that realm are all the time in their respective lotus inside which each of them reside.
And when the lotus contracts inward, then that is night. And when the lotus opens, then that is daytime and they don’t have any need as well of external lights which as well means they don’t depend on external darkness too. The implication is there’s no darkness at all. As far as food goes, they survive on the food of meditative concentration, on food of meditation, therefore they don’t have to rely on gross substance food. Once one is born up there, one no more falls to lower rebirths.
As far as the manner of how one is born up there, it is in the fashion of being born inside the hub of mortise, so instantaneous birth there. Once one is born, the moment one is born, one is already with the appearance and maturity of sixteen years of age. Sixteen years of age from our human perspective of course is not that old. It is still four tenets, but here sixteen years of age is from the perspective of celestial around sixteen years, is quite a matured age and relatively a long time compared to humans. So that is how they are one and their complexions and beauty is all perfect.
They look so well and their radiance of the skin and all that is perfect there. And the joy, happiness is so much there all the time that there is not even a sound saying suffering there. There is not even a mention of suffering heard up there. When the Buddha, the Amitābha Buddha gives teaching, the lotus, lotuses open instantly and one being inside the lotus receives all the teachings and while remaining in the lotus one meditates and practices and through that way one within that state of location attains enlightenment. Therefore in this way it is very beautiful, vast, perfect.
Do you feel like going up there and staying there? Maybe there could be some who don’t like to. So in this way, once one is born up there, it is all the way up, progressing on the path and eventually attaining enlightenment, Buddhahood. Once one becomes a Buddha or enlightened being, one then has all the unlimited capability to manifest in to manifest at the same time in countless forms and go to countless universes, doing the welfare of countless sentient beings and the manifestation, each suitable to whatever is the need of the particular sentient being, and so forth. As far as giving the teachings go, one is able to give teachings to all members of beings, training on the path to active enlightenment, to bodhisattvas, to other trainees, and so forth.
So in this way, there is unlimited capability to accomplish others’ welfare, and it is a state where one is doing the welfare of sentient beings all the time. So that finishes the description of the holiday place. And now to go to the go to now to actually go to holiday, what one needs is, conventionally speaking, money. If one has money, then one would be able to afford the transport and the accommodation and the food and all that. If one doesn’t have the money, conventionally speaking, then one would not be able to afford all that, even though one may have to wish to go for holiday.
So it won’t be that good. So without many, conventionally speaking, one would not be able to go. And even if one did manage to go, one will not enjoy much because one don’t have means to enjoy, meaning conventionally, not being able to afford things. Would you be able to relate to that? Yes, yes, you know.
Oh, yeah. Oh, okay. That’s lot of money to cook. If that’s yes, yes, then well, let’s agree on it and go ahead with having the things necessary to go up there. So in normal destination, need money and then here to this destination, we need dharma.
In this way, dharma is the means here through which one can go up there. So in this case, Dharma meaning the unmistaken and complete training of the mind, which would lead up there. So then, we then start with the actual practice, the means by which to go up there. And this part starts with visualization of the main deity Amitābha. But before going back, let us recall back the previous part, which was to think about the excellent quality and the nature of the pure realm up there.
And as far as Amitābha itself goes, it looks like a painting up there. Now, before the visualization of that, one has to rethink on the nature and the structure of the pure realm or Amitābha’s pure realm, and when thinking about that, one don’t have to think of it as a great distant place up there. Instead, where one service already in one’s practice, one has sit on the cushion. So already where one is sitting, one needs to think that is the pure realm. This is in terms of the training part during the session, that that very area where one is seated is the pure realm.
In that way, one might one need not think the room, the place where one is doing practice has very narrow, shabby looking, badly structured. Instead, it is extremely vast and wonderful and excellent with all the necessary features of that pure realm. And then one thing that is where one is going to do the practice, so that part starts with the actual visualization of the practice place as the Amitābha Buddha’s pure realm. And then visualize up in the space in front of oneself, Amitābha Buddha who is to be seen as one and inseparable from one’s main lama. And around Amitābha Buddha, one then visualized all countless Buddhas, enlightened beings, and realize our dedicated practitioners working for others, the bodhisattvas.
So in that way, the entire space in front of oneself around is filled with such assembly of enlightened beings, as if like a sky overcast with thick clouds everywhere. And then to your left, you imagine all female sentient beings are seated next to you, and to your right, you imagine all male sentient beings seated next to you. This can include and in this way, all around oneself are all sentient beings. And to make the visualization more effective, one can visualize one’s enemies or whom one labeled as enemies in front of oneself and one’s relatives and friends behind oneself. And oneself in the middle is like the chant leader doing the actual part of recitation that is to follow again.
For our voyage for our voyage up there to the Pure Land, we have to think in most broad perspective of caring for others. In such broad perspective, we can have every possibility of actually arriving there, instead of having a very narrow perspective, self centered and all that. One, therefore, at this point needs to think and include the welfare of all sentient beings. So in this way, by thinking about all sentient beings and wishing oneself as well along with them to be born up there. One then, as a chant leader, recite their prayer, actual going for refuge on page six.
And this then is followed by aspirational mind of enlightenment, where the lines goes to the Buddha, Dharma and Supreme Assembly. Until enlightenment, I go for refuge. By the merits of my generosity and others, may I attain Buddhahood to benefit the migrators. And when one does that, especially with the last two lines, that part includes thinking about the merits which one has gained by doing practice of the six perfections, generosity and so forth, and dedicating all that to attain enlightenment in order to benefit all others. So in this way, that part becomes the aspirational mind of enlightenment.
So it is in the book, the text, page six. So in that way, that is the aspiration of the mind of enlightenment, the mind wishing enlightenment in order to benefit all beings. So that and presently it is only on aspirational level. It is just a wish, presently as a wish. In a case of a person going to a certain place, it is like the person at the stage of only thinking and wishing to go to the place where the actual act of going there with walking, taking the steps, has not yet done.
Therefore, the next part is the actual engaging mind of enlightenment on page seven, where the lines read: To the three humans are go for refuge, go for refuge. All negativities are declared individually, and so forth. So in this way, that part is where one thinks about the seven limb practices and all the necessary practices which constitute towards attaining which constitutes the means by which one attains enlightenment. So one actually engaged in the means by which enlightenment can be attained, and that is the engaging mind of enlightenment. And I came to emphasize the point with reference, to example, this part, engaging mind of enlightenment is like the person actually taking a step and going towards the place one wishes to go.
And then one needs to develop special special mind cherishing others more important than oneself. And, this is developed by means of thinking on the four immeasurable thoughts. And, that is why we have done in the practice the four immeasurables or the four immeasurable thoughts to interpret where the line reads: May all sentient beings be with happiness and the causes of happiness. May all sentient beings be free of suffering and the causes of suffering. May all sentient beings be not separated from happiness, free of suffering.
May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, of distance, closeness and distance, attachment and hatred. So one really, as one recites and thinks on that line, really wishes for each of them with reference to all sentient beings. Following that is the special mind of enlightenment or special bodhicitta. And this part becomes included because the practice here concerns secret tantric path, the mantra path where one has to have a special intensified bodhicitta or mind of enlightenment. And what sort of special mind of enlightenment one needs?
That part is to be understood from the actual lines as we contemplate on its meaning. For the welfare of all mother and father sentient beings, quickly and quickly emphasizes on quickly, quickly. Quickly and quickly, I must at any rate, attain the precious state of the perfectly and fully enlightened state. For that purpose, I will do the practice of the profound part of transference consciousness. Now in order for oneself to make the voyage upward towards Purim, there has to be two part combination.
One is from one’s own side, one actually does the practices of applying wisdom and altruism method and wisdom through which the making up to Purim is possible. But that as well has to go inherently inherently with the other necessary part, which is to make a request to those already enlightened, who have the capability and who have the experience of arriving there, of having arrived there. So to them, one makes a request and by way of making request, one is actually relying on them to please give the guidance about how to make the rebirth up there or how to make the transference up there to the pure realm. Even in normal conventional way things go, we can relate that if the road to a certain place is very narrow and full of risk and all sorts of danger, then one needs to depend on someone who has the experience of all the possible risk and danger along the way. So, one needs to rely on such a person who already has some experience.
In the absence of such a reliance person, an experienced one, then there is every risk that one might end up wrong way. And even if one does make a little bit ahead progress, one might face certain risk and danger and all that. So you perhaps agree that this is how things even conventionally happen. Because we are making the prayers and the response is being bestowed in shower form. So then one needs to make the supplication, the prayer request, and if it is done extensively, then one can start from the very first supplication on page eight, supplication to the Linneesh Lama.
And if one wants to do briefly, then one can do the brief supplication from this page ten, second last verse, by seeing well the smiling faces and the marks and exemplification of limitless light and eight cross seons, or their offsprings, the bodhisattvas. So in this way, according to the lines of the supplication of the request, one make the request to please be led and guarded towards the Amitābha Buddha’s pure realm. So that’s so far whatever is covered up to this becomes the preparatory parts which makes one which makes ones prepared to do the actual practice and thus to become the more qualified mental ability to go up towards the pure end. As how that happens is by doing the part so far, the preparatory part, one has overcome the past obscurations by way of purification. And as well one has accumulated vast amount of merits.
So in this way one has got rid of the adverse factors and acquired the necessary factors to make one potentially qualified, meaning to do the actual practice. So that’s how it covered. And what follows next will be the actual practice. So this so far covers amongst the three sections within this part. The first part, which is the preparatory part.
And then we have two more on this part, the actual practice and the training, and then applying it at the time of death being the third point. Now, and this is what we then have covered for this afternoon. And now, as far as the preparatory part goes, and then the actual training before applying it actually at the time of death goes, it is necessary that one needs to prepare very well in advance. And not only have the prerequisite preparation, the actual training needs to be rehearsed and well developed through training again and again and again. To give an example, it would be like in the classical periods when soldiers go to the battlefield and have hand to hand combat, then already the soldiers would know that they need to be on the spot when the battle is on.
They need to have smartness, the flexibility of the body, strength of the body, and able to maneuver the opponent in the best way. By knowing that, then already the soldier during the practice time goes through all the possible moves and all that and needs to train on it. And then it becomes quite good when the actual battle happens. Now, if the soldier has not done the training well, then when he goes to the battlefield, the moment he challenges the opponent, he would be just toppled down, straight away. So that’s where the laughter was.
But when put into bed, it was very funny. As you might say, oh, it just came a big deal. It was just chucked down like that. So that sort of language was good, the right one. So that’s why there was laughter.
So one might think one is going to wage a great battle, but one would be straight away, toppled down by the opponent. So in that way, we can see the relevance of training and being used to all the necessary manure again and again during the training sessions. So it is quite similar to that here. So this afternoon, we have covered the way how to bring about the wish and strong intention to go to the Puran by way of thinking about the excellent qualities, and then we have gone through the necessary preparatory parts, such as supplication to the lineage teachers by which one becomes potential and qualified to go up there. And now from tomorrow we go through the actual training and the practice by which one can make to go up there.
So then we shall stop here and as time is bit over time, we’ll have no questions. Instead, after the break, you can have discussion and exchange each other’s views upon whatever has been explained. And already there is a material of the practice, the book, the text prepared, and then as well the commentary you as well have noted down. Therefore, you have a quite adequate material to have a good discussion between amongst yourselves. And then in the morning in your meditation, you can think about whatever has been gone through, Especially you might during the nighttime and evening might have on your own certain points and issues which you want to more seriously meditate upon.
So in the morning you can meditate on them, and as well during the breaks and so forth discuss about the topic, the actual instructions. So if you, in this way, do the discussions thoroughly, then all doubts will be removed. And then when actual meditation is done, goes, meaning it goes quite straight, unobstructed. So it would be good in that way. Otherwise, that will be the case.
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Think I know.