By Tulku Yeshi Rinpoche
Date: Sunday, December 8
Time: 1:30-3:30 pm
Location: Shrine Room
Suggested donation: $20 Members, $30 Non-Members
In Tibetan Buddhism, it is said that certain meditation practices can alter the appearance of the body, transforming it into five radiant lights. The name given to this physical fluorescence is “rainbow body.”
In Vajrayana traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, tangible matter is considered to be made up of five elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth. As described in Tibetan literary sources, including The Tibetan Book of the Dead, the elemental energies that make up the cosmos are understood to be undifferentiated from those that make up the human body. Therefore, the body is simultaneously an individual person and the cosmic whole.
Certain Buddhist meditation practices are meant to alter the gravitational field of these five elements that constitute the body, transforming them into the five radiant lights of the color spectrum. The Tibetan name given to this physical fluorescence is jalu, literally meaning, “rainbow body.” Rainbow body is also the name given to the transformation of the ordinary physical body as a result of years of specific disciplined practices.
In Tibetan Buddhism there is a phenomenon of the Rainbow Body which involves the dissolution of the physical body into pure light that may occasionally be achieved by practitioners on or around the time of death. The process of obtaining the Rainbow Body is achieved by the practice of Tögal or “Direct Crossing” which is a way of directly perceiving the “Clear Light” which is believed to be the direct root of consciousness. An advanced practitioner of Tögal may potentially achieve one of three levels of this phenomenon.
Tulku Yeshi Rinpoche is a Dzogchen master and the reincarnation of Dzogchen Gyaltsab Thodo Rinpoche. He was recognized by H.H. Dalai Lama’s Nyingmapa teacher Kyabje Trulshig Rinpoche. He received teachings from twenty-five masters representing all five schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He has been teaching Buddhism and Tibetan culture to thousands of followers all over the world and has set up many Dharma centers, including the Heruka Dharma Center. Tulku Yeshi has published over thirteen books including biographies of Lama Yongzin and H.H. Jigdal Dagchen Dorje Chang. His written works also include literature and poetry. Currently, he is working with the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives to publish his autobiography, Journal of a Thousand Days, which numbers over 1,000 pages.