Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 31-minute teaching, Kyabje Rinpoche explains the moment-by-moment dissolution of consciousness at death—a foundational subject for the Six Yogas of Naropa practices. Rather than elements literally dissolving, he clarifies that their capacity to support consciousness deteriorates serially, giving rise to specific internal experiences: the white appearance (emptiness pervaded by white light), the red appearance (emptiness pervaded by red light), and the black near attainment (a gap before the extremely subtle consciousness activates). The teaching culminates in clear light—the non-conceptual, subtlest consciousness that ordinarily appears only at death. Kyabje Rinpoche shows how a yogi practicing the path can generate this state through meditation by directing wind energies into the central channel, then use the blissful clarity to realize emptiness and progress toward Buddhahood. For practitioners who have received Six Yogas initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1993-12-07 – 5A – Inner Heat Retreat – KR.mp3
UUID: c19d75e8-7777-4e3a-8ad6-459c6dc435bb
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Six Yogas of Naropa
Date: 1993-12-07
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~1,399
So when we say that the earth dissolves in the water, we don’t mean that the element earth is somehow dissolving into water. That’s not what is meant here. That the elements serve as supports for consciousness. That at the time of death, the the elements serially the elements deteriorate in a serial fashion. The the the the capacity of the elements to act as supports for consciousness deteriorates serially.
They’re no longer able to act their capacity to act as supports for levels of consciousness deteriorates and this happens serially. So when the earth element is no longer able to function as a support for its consciousness, then the consciousness which is being supported by the next element, water, becomes more predominant, becomes much more clear. And this deterioration of the former and the emphasis of the latter is experienced as certain appearances, is seen as experienced as certain appearances as the previous element degenerates and the former becomes more clear. So then, lastly, we said that the wind energy element dissolves into consciousness. So then serially, this is a subtle consciousness and slowly the subtle consciousness begins to deteriorate.
And that is to say there is a deterioration in the levels of levels of subtle consciousnesses. These subtle consciousnesses are termed the 80 indicative conceptions. There is a serial appearance, appearance, red appearance, black near attainment, and finally the clear light. So there is a dissolution of the coarseness of conceptuality serially. It is due to these 80 indicative conceptions that one circles within cyclic existence and these are slowly the conceptions are slowly not being able they are deteriorating or disappearing in a gradual manner, these 80 indicative conceptions as the mind becomes more and more subtle.
So I think what is happening here in the course of the disappearing of these 80 indicative consciousnesses is that the winds from the right and left channels are dissolving into the central channel. So, the wind energy dissolves into subtle the consciousness bringing that was the appearance of the butter lamp. Then the consciousness begin to dissolve into a finer levels of consciousness. That’s what brings about the lessening and finally the diminishment and finally the disappearance of the 80 indicative conceptual consciousnesses. Then there arises what is called the white appearance.
So it’s a serial dissolution into more subtle levels of consciousness. What is called the white appearance. So this is caused by the white bodhicitta, the white constituent which is held at the crown coming from the father that the wind energies are no longer able to support it and are moving, being drawn down. And so the white element also begins to fall. And this induces an inner experience which is an empty sky pervaded by the light of a white moon.
So the mind is being drawn down toward the heart area and and it draws along the white element, the white constituent. So, I think that this white appearance is experienced possibly when the element, the constituent gets about here, like say the shoulder blades, the level of the shoulder blades. Now, then, also the same is occurring in terms of the mind which is associated with the red constituent. It is being drawn upward because the winds supporting it are diminishing and it begins to rise upward and when it gets to about the breastbone here, one experiences the red appearance which is an empty sky pervaded by a red sun. So the vacuity completely pervaded with a a a a sun appearance, a radiant sun appearance.
So when we say the white appearance and red appearance, these are internal experiences which are appearances occurring to the subtle consciousness, the subtle mind. There is no coarse mind at present in which we could experience some kind external appearance. So we’re not talking about an external appearance, but some an internal experience which is occurring to the subtle mind. These these appearances are being experienced by a subtle mind internally. So all the the the consciousness perceiving externals has have ceased by this time?
So then the white continues the white constituent continues to descend, the red continues to ascend toward the heart where there is a within a vacuole are the essential elements from the fertilized ovum along with a subtle consciousness. As these constituents entrap and cover over the vacuole and this bringing about what is called black near attainment and the internal experience is the appearance of an empty sky pervaded by blackness. So that’s the black appearance or the black near attainment? So the first moment of of this, of the dawning of this appearance, there is still an element of mindfulness. One is able to, comprehend this appearance, but the second moment it is as if onward, it is as if one becomes unconscious, there’s no element of mindfulness.
So the reason that this, there is the occurrence of this black near attainment is that there is an interval between the, within the vacuole is an extremely subtle consciousness and the subtle consciousness has disappeared. There’s no subtle consciousness. There’s no subtle consciousness. And there is an interval between the time when the subtle consciousness becomes in no longer is operating and the extremely subtle consciousness becomes activated. So there is an interval where the person is just like totally unconscious, like someone falls in a swoon and completely out of it.
So there is an interval between the diminishment, the complete diminishment of the subtle consciousness and the activation of the extremely subtle consciousness. So that interval is the occurrence of this this near attainment. So there is abiding in this vacuole an extremely subtle consciousness and extremely subtle wind energy. But these cannot operate as long as they’re even as long as these do not operate as long as there is any coarser wind energy or consciousness operating. As long as there’s even a slightly more coarse wind or energy operating, these do not operate.
Dissolution of the extreme due to the dissolution of the coarser wind energies and consciousnesses, then the, extremely subtle wind energy and consciousness manifest. So so this is this is an extremely subtle consciousness and it is and it only is able to take as its object a concordant level of object. That is an object which is also extremely subtle. The coarse winds and the coarse consciousness have ceased and these were able to take a concordant coarse object of consciousness as their object. Here, so this extremely subtle consciousness cannot take a coarse object as its object of consciousness.
It takes, and its object which it takes is in the nature of emptiness. It’s that subtle of an object. It’s almost almost like a vacuity, almost empty. So this this extremely subtle consciousness is termed clear light. So, this mind of clear light is actualized at the time of death of ordinary individuals.
But it also dawns for the yogi who is meditating on the path, who in practicing has directed the caused the the winds to dissolve within the central channel that there also arises the clear light. There is no need for him to die to experience this. So the yogi meditating on the path experiences a simultaneous great bliss using this blissful consciousness to realize emptiness, this awareness is transformed into the path which by means of which he attains Buddhahood. He is able to generate the exalted wisdom of bliss, which is the simultaneous with simultaneous great bliss and wisdom, which is the realization of emptiness. So there he attains a realization of emptiness.
So there is a consciousness, but there is also a subtle wind which accompanies this consciousness. So, there is a combination of a consciousness realizing emptiness and the subtle wind accompanying this consciousness, it depends upon which we designate the person. And it’s this person which attains Buddhahood. It’s this person who abandons the afflictive emotions and the knowledge obstructions? But in the case of an ordinary person, this combination of subtle consciousness and subtle wind is that which is going to go on to take rebirth.
It goes into the intermediate state and then dependent upon its collection of creative potential, it will either search out a particular site of rebirth In accordance with that level of creative potential, whether it’s negative or positive, will take either a fortunate or positive rebirth.