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Last year my wife and I attended a weekend seminar on the Tibetan Buddhist practice called phowa. It is one of many foundational meditation practices that is central to Tibetan Buddhism. It was taught by a master of this practice, a Tibetan lama who spent decades practicing and teaching this practice in Tibet and India. It is often referred to as the practice of conscious dying and the transference of consciousness at the time of death. In traditional Tibetan Buddhism, a master is called upon to be present at the time of one’s passing to assist the dying person to transfer their consciousness through the top of their head directly into a so-called “Buddha field” of one’s choice. By so doing, one bypasses some of the typical experiences that are said to occur after death. Usually, the assisting lama would enable the dying person to merge their consciousness through the top of their head with a Tibetan deity, such as Amitabha. Read More »Considerations for Dying Consciously