Funerary Esoteric Buddhism

Distraught disciples mourning the Buddha, Gandhara ca. 2nd century, Walters Museum

In his article The Funerary Transformation of the Great Perfection (Rdzogs chen) (2005), David Germano makes a distinction between two trajectories in the Great perfection, that he labels “pristine[1]” and “funerary[2]” or “visionary[3]”. The “pristine” version, the more ancient one, is “marked by the absence of presentations of detailed ritual and contemplative technique, and by the absence of funerary Buddhism”. “Transcendence Yoga” (Ati-yoga)[4] is an important part of Pristine Great Perfection (PGP). The “funerary” Great Perfection starts developing in Tibet from approximately the 11the century, with the rise of the Seminal Heart (snying thig) tradition, into which “diverse ritual and contemplative techniques and funerary elements” are gradually incorporated, and will later (14th century) be boosted by the revelations of Karma Lingpa’s cycle of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of Self-Liberated Wisdom Mind (Zhi khro dgongs pa rang grol) which contains the famous “Tibetan Book of the Death” material. I am not a specialist of Nyingma Buddhsm and have not done research into the names that are used, at different times, to designate different parts of the “Great Perfection” tradition, that has been syncretizing, adopting & adapting and systematizing during its whole history, that doesn’t go back as far as it likes to think (8th century) it does, and that ended up with a most complete religious offer as a result.

“[Pristine and funerary Great Perfection] were intertwined at a number of points, beginning with the ritualistic approach to death in dying and post-death states. In addition, it is clear that the former’s visionary contemplations and the latter’s innovative postmortem state of visionary apparitions of Buddhas known as the intermediate process of reality are understood as a single process.

The fourteenth century then marks the clear triumph of the Seminal Heart synthesis with its radical position on extensive incorporation of both factors, a triumph above all else indicated in Klong chen rab ’byams pa’s redaction of The Seminal Heart in Four Parts (Snying thig ya bzhi) and his composition of The Seven Treasuries (Mdzod bdun). Karma gling pa’s later revelations thus represent a consolidation and deepening of the commitment of the Great Perfection to funerary and ritual Buddhism.” Funerary Transformation, Conclusion.

What according to David Germano was missing in Pristine Great Perfection:

“ritual presentations, meditative systems with discrete prescriptive techniques, visionary practices of light images, mantric technology, subtle body practices and ideology, sexological rhetoric and practices, generation phase texts and iconographic detail, and death/funerary Buddhism with its associated violent, exorcistic ideology and praxis.” Funerary Transformation

Basically, everything concerning Mahāyoga (Guhyagarbha, Hidden Luminous Essence) material. The more Yogic Seminal Heart synthesis combines Transcendence Yoga (Ati Yoga), ritual techniques and funerary elements, and offers the possibility of “Direct Transcendance” (thod rgal), through pneumatic & visionary funerary practices. The funerary material of Karma Lingpa (from the 14th century onwards) adds funeral traditions, instructions on death and dying, and guidance of the deceased (ascending) through the intermediate Bardo stages, adding the worship of Pure Celestial Spheres (chos nyid bar do) as a supplementary stage. Depending on the deity practice done during one’s lifetime, visions of Buddhas may appear after dying, “just like” visions of Buddhas practiced during daytime, may appear in dreams at night. These would be visions through “nurture” as opposed to natural visions of "internal Buddha-nature".

“This version of post-death visions of Buddhas is thus still based on the generation phase (bskyed rim) ideology of visions following strenuous contemplative exertions, rather than a natural efflorescence of internal Buddha-nature. In addition, the post-death intermediate process is still presented as a single unitary period, while the general stress is on visions of five-colored light rather than on anthropomorphic visions of deities.” Funerary Transformation

Other visions appear “naturally”, not due to habit, but as a “natural efflorescence of internal Buddha-nature [tathāgata-garbha]”.

“The discussion clearly points to a Seminal Heart-like scheme: the intermediate process of reality [chos nyid bar do] is defined as the cessation of distorted appearances (’khrul snang) followed by luminous manifestation of one’s own primordial gnosis for up to five days. [the Secret Cycle, The Totally Radiant Seminal Nucleus (Thig le kun gsal)] also has a discussion of light channels in the body, a characteristic of Seminal Heart texts that is bound up with the internal illumination of buddha-nature that shines externally in the postmortem visions.” Funerary Transformation

Syncretism goes up a notch here.

The Pristine Great Perfection through “Transcendance Yoga” (Ati Yoga) is present here as the spontaneously present Ground, and elements of Tathāgata-garbha theory, where primordial Buddhahood is only veiled by distorted appearances (’khrul snang). The Funerary Great Perfection takes care of the Ascension, or at least the attempt thereof. During the intermediate process of Reality (chos nyid bar do), Reality appears “as it is”, i.e. the Pure Celestial Spheres (maṇḍala) appear without being veiled by distorted appearances. Seasoned practitioners will use this stage for worshiping and will be welcomed, non-practitioners will be puzzled, at a loss and miss the "crucial" opportunity.

“Even more striking is the Secret Cycle text entitled The Victorious Intention of the Quintessential Esoteric Precepts (Man ngag snying gi dgongs pa rgyal ba). It gives a detailed discussion of the one hundred peaceful and wrathful deities (zhi khro rigs brgya) located in the tsitta [citta] of the heart and the conch chamber of the brain (klad pa dung khang). These are the iconographic representations of the body’s internal buddha-nature, which form the visual content of the postmortem visions in which they are externalized.” Funerary Transformation

This vision is thought to appear to all, because of their body’s internal “buddha-nature”. Whether one has done deity practice or not. Everybody has “buddha-nature”, tathāgata-garbha. Garbha is “snying po” in Tibetan, essence. A soul or a spirit some might call it. It’s the most “Real” thing of an embodied being, and it’s directly connected with the pure Pure Celestial Reality above. The Logos (≈gzhi) is the link between the macrocosmic Reality and the microcosmic embodied Reality. It’s like a Light tube or optical fiber. The natural “visions” that “effloresce” from the “internal Buddha-nature” are like direct visions of the Celest Reality high up (or the Logos), epiphanies (gzhi snang)[5], no longer “veiled by distorted appearances (’khrul snang)” an embodied being is exposed to in the sensible realm.

“This single process of the spontaneous efflorescence of Buddhas from a concealed interior is found, as specified above, not only in the postmortem visions, but also in the central contemplative process of direct transcendence [thod rgal], the cosmogonic process known as ground-presencing [gzhi snang], and the process of a Buddha’s manifestations or displays [ston pa]. This single process found in four different contexts forms the new visionary basis of the Seminal Heart in all its aspects: contemplative, philosophical, psychological, cosmogonic, and so forth.” Funerary Transformation

“Cosmogonic”, because what happens at the microcosmic level also happens macrocosmically. The Pure Celestial Reality, the intelligible realm, is the only Reality without the “distorted appearances” “sentient beings” are exposed to in the sensible realm. The human body is the imperfect sensible reflection of its intelligible model, but it also is said to contain an immaterial Luminous subtle body that is a perfect reflection, where the higher cakras (circles of deities) etc. symbolize celestial spheres, making internal ascension possible. Yogic (seminal and pneumatic) practices deal with this microcosmic Luminous subtle body and prepare it for its postmortem ascension. Funerary practices deal with the macrocosmic Reality and ascension.

Remember the Quietist Pristine Great Perfection was devoid of these aspects. This was the Great Perfection that Rechungpa was told to have practiced in his hagiographies[6]. After his master Milarepa…

"I am a sinful man of La-stod. I ask that you tie to my heart a teaching."

The Lama Rong-ston replied, "It is good that you have come. I have unerring precepts called Great Perfection, teachings which purify and awaken even the greatest of sinners in a forceful way. It is victorious in the roots, the sprout, the trunk and leaves. Those who learn it in the morning are purified and awakened in the morning. Those who learn it in the evening are purified and awakened in the evening[7]”.

These attacks on the Quietist aspect of the Pristine Great Perfection, and later on “Sūtra Mahāmudrā”, show the more positive and proactive Yogic path Milarepa, Rechungpa, and Tibetan esoteric Buddhism in general started following, and the Nyingma schools in particular.

“It has distinct and varied roots in Indian Buddhism, and each of its four contexts must be investigated individually as to possible separate developments – especially in relationship to death – prior to their unification within Seminal Heart. In other words, what is the history of such a process in describing cosmogony, contemplation, death, and Buddhas? Clearly, the process itself has its most ancient roots in the description of a Buddha as unfolding endless arrays of pure lands and multiple divine bodies out of his/her own enlightenment experience. This process then was interiorized – at least implicitly – through the notion of Buddha-nature, a notion that was radicalized and worked out contemplatively with the much later rise of subtle body practices in Buddhist tantra.” Funerary Transformation

I am convinced there are other, non-Buddhist, non-Indian roots. Persian, Hellenist, Middle-Eastern, Arabic and Central-Asian influences, including on Pure land Buddhism, Maitreya and “Tuṣita-nautism” and other Celestial Ascent materials. All this remains to be explored more thoroughly. Similarities are no proof but still an invitation to look deeper into how religious memes are similar and different.

There are Buddhist materials that present the Buddha as a human being, following a śramaṇa ascesis and who discovered a path to nirvāṇa that would put an end to dukkha. At his death, intensely mourned by his disciples, there was no “ascension”. His body was incinerated and his relics were distributed, preserved in stupas, that became the object of worship. Is this the “core” story of the Buddha? Is there a historical human being behind the legend of the Buddha? Or is it merely an orientalist, rationalist, antireligious, nihilist interpretation forged in the last centuries? We will probably never know. Buddhism comes in many forms: ascetic, phenomenological, skeptical, non-dualist, idealist, esoteric, theurgic, magic, supranormal, alchemic, Pristine, seminal, pneumatic, haṭhayogic, Funerary etc. Perhaps reception history applied to Buddhism could shed some more light.

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[1] “simple anti-technique [traditions], philosophical poetry”.

[2] “(i) the focus on charnel grounds and their corpses, (ii) funerary rituals, (iii) the signs of dying and death (particularly relics), (iv) “intermediate process” (bar do, antarābhava) theory, and (v) contemplative yogas based on death.”

[3] “ I have labeled the latter traditions “funerary,” but they could just as appropriately be termed “visionary” since these two tendencies go hand-in-hand in the relevant Great Perfection traditions.”

[4] The Collected Tantras of Vairocana (Bai ro’i rgyud ’bum), app. 12th century or later..

[5] See Jean-Luc Achard. Epiphanie de la Base (gzhi snang; gzhi yi snang ba). 2022.

[6] “According to Gyadangpa, Rechungpa travelled to Nepal with a group of people that included the Nyingma master Kyitön (Kyi-ston). He is described as a former hunter who adopted the religious life after being deeply moved by the suffering of a deer he had shot.
He was a vegetarian and had many lay pupils.”

“Kyitön’s presence in the narrative serves as an opportunity for an attack on Dzogchen practice. Kyitön gives some Dzogchen teachings that Rechungpa attends. Rechungpa notices a Newar woman who initially listens respectfully to Kyitön, but becomes displeased and stops listening. She tells Rechungpa that Dzogchen is a practice found only among Tibetan yogins, and is erroneous because it denies the existence of deities or demons, which are the source, respectively, of siddhis and harm.” The Biographies of Rechungpa, The evolution of a Tibetan hagiography, Peter Allen Roberts, Routledge (2007)

[7] Dan Martin, 'The Early Education of Milarepa' in The Journal of the Tibet Society, vol. 2 (1982), pp. 52-76.