What is at stake with “Tukdam”?

Screen capture Tukdam, Between Worlds

Arte TV presents a documentary (2022) by the Irish film-maker Donagh Coleman on “Tukdam” (“Tukdam: Between Worlds”, “Tukdam : méditer jusqu’à la mort”, “Tukdam: Meditation bis in den Tod”), with the appearance of the Dalai-lama and interviews with Richard Davidson, Dylan Lott, David M. Perlman and Daniel Westcott.

Richard Davidson “The Tukdam project traces its origins to conversations that I had with the Dalai Lama concerning the relationship between the mind and the brain. And, of course, in modern Western Neuroscience, the mind is regarded as, if you will, what the brain does. I don't think anybody would deny that they are somehow extremely importantly related, but whether they should essentially be regarded as one and the same is a question.

In the phenomenon of Tukdam, there is said to be the presence of the most rudimentary form of awareness, which still occurs after the point at which they would be considered dead by a conventional Western definition. So if any of that is true, it would raise serious questions about the mind and the brain and it would begin to introduce some problems in that conception. And so the Dalai Lama encouraged me to start studying Tukdam. We already have some kind of project to further investigation”

Dalai-lama: “We already have a project for further investigation, we call “Tukdam”, after death, when the body remains fresh. So, we have the full explanation. Mind has many levels. At this very moment we experience the mind on a grosser level, with five sensory organs. Then during sleep, dreaming, we experience another level of mind. Then deep sleep without dreams, even further and deeper. When we faint, the sixth mind [consciousness] shifts to a deeper level. At the time of death, it reaches the deepest level, of the sixth mind consciousness.”

So during Tukdam, that I already mentioned, the person remains at the deepest level of consciousness, and the deepest level of energy.”

“This phenomenon is something mysterious and is worthwhile to investigate.”

Dalai Lama in conversation with Richard Davidson (screen capture)

The Buddha Nature website of Tsadra gives the following description:

“Persons who have experience in meditation on the nature of the mind or emptiness are said to be able to remain in a meditative equipoise after death. Although they have stopped breathing and are clinically dead, they are said to be able to retain their body without decay, often with lustre and flexibility. They are believed to have actualised their buddha-nature at the time of death and attained the state of enlightenment.”

Measuring the temperature of the heart region with their hands (screen capture)

It points to an article on the website Bhutan Cultural Library on “Tukdam: Spiritual Practice” that goes into more yogatechnical and metaphysical details, involving Bardo cycle teachings, such as the “psycho-somatic dissolution”, the “intermediate state of death”.

“ The physical body breaks down, losing its life-supporting functions and the person subsequently gradually loses his/her physical motor functions, sensory perception, cognitive abilities, and emotions. This process of existential dissolution is presents generally through the disintegration of various neuro-centres for vital energy and the dysfunction of five elements, which make up the physical bases of life and consciousness.”

The following summary is based on the explanations of Penor Rinpoche (1932-2009. The body-mind is a combination of physical (5 elements), pneumatic (life force energy, subtle body) and conscious (mind) functions, that are said to disintegrate at the time of death. The links between these functions cease, producing residual sensory, pneumatic and mental experiences.

“Water dissolves into fire, fire into air, air into space, and the neuro-centres of heart, throat and reproductive organs cease to function. The active process of breathing, also known as lékyi lung (ལས་ཀྱི་རླུང་), becomes shallower and eventually fades. At this stage, the white fluid which is the quintessence of genetic material received from the father descends down from the neuro-centre at top of the head to the heart and the red fluid which is the quintessence of the genetic material passed down from the mother rises from the navel centre to the heart. The person encounters different forms of light at this time. Once the red and white merge at the heart, the person goes through an intense experience of being knocked into an utterly blank and unconscious state.”

This is the state where according to the Dalai-lama “the person remains at the deepest level of consciousness, and the deepest level of energy”. The link between the physical body and the subtle body has ceased. The subtle body and the awareness are active at the lowest level.

“The dying person loses all sense of individuality and is momentarily in the state of Ground Luminosity, zhi ösel (གཞིའི་འོད་གསལ་), and has a split-second opportunity to realise the true nature of existence and fully align him- or herself with the way things are, unobstructed by concepts, thoughts, prejudices and emotions.”

“Many persons, who are said to have remained in tukdam, effectively grasp this opportunity and become a Buddha by merging into the Ground Luminosity. Their existential identity as sentient beings cease to exist, and they achieve full enlightenment.”

“An experienced meditator with deep insight into emptiness (སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་) will be able to grasp that moment, remain in that state, and merge with the dharmakāya (ཆོས་སྐུ་) or innate nature of reality.”

“If the deceased person succeeds in viewing the experience of bardo as enlightened energies and connects with them, the person realizes the sambhogakāya (ལོངས་སྐུ་) state of enlightenment. Such a person would also be considered to remain in tukdam. If one fails to become enlightened in the chikha or chönyi bardo stages, the consciousness then actively seeks rebirth in the cycle of existence.”

This Bardo theory, that places itself above madhyamaka, allows for three possibilities. A person with insight in emptiness will merge with dharmakāya. This was the case for e.g. “Maitrīpa”, Atiśa and other Mādhyamika, and for many great teachers who didn't come back as "tulkus". Persons trained in Luminosity practice can through their connection with Luminous entities and energies realize the sambhogakāya. Persons who do not connect with emptiness or Luminosity will go further with their next saṃsāric existence.

This article seems to suggest that only those who connect with Luminosity, at the moment of death (‘chi ka'i bar do) or during the “Luminous Bardo of Dharmatā” (t. chos nyid 'od gsal gyi bar do) could remain in “Tukdam”, probably because of their previous work on the subtle body.

“Those who succeed in these chikha or chönyi bardo stages remain in tukdam and experience a spiritual transformation of the mind and their bodies, and as a result, also do not undergo the usual course of disintegration. The muscles may remain tight, skin remains lustrous, and the body retains some warmth at the heart as if still subliminally functioning. Externally, the inner transformation may show in forms of unusual lights, rainbows, mild earthquakes, and an auspicious drizzle. When the body becomes sloppy, loses hue, and emits excretions or smells, the person is said to have woken from tukdam.”

The “Great Seal Bestowed upon Gönpawa” (t. Jo bo rjes dgon pa ba la gnang ba’i phyag chen) attributed to Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (982-1054 CE), I mentioned in my blog Kadampa Mahāmudrā with or without "blessing"?, explains what can happen next.

“Then, [878.5] having taken up a deity’s body unified from within the state of empty clear light [t. gsal stong pa’i ngang las zung ’jug lha’i skur langs nas], anyone trained in this who manifests such a body produces benefit for sentient beings, and further helps others through taking up an illusion-like mental body consisting of uncontaminated karma. If one does not meditate in this way, the natural clear light [t. rang bzhin gyi ’od gsal ba] will not be recognized." translation by James B Apple

I remind that, as I wrote in a previous blog, it is unlikely that Atiśa wrote about Bardo instructions, that were only to appear later and in Tibet. A Tibetan Buddhist practitioner who remains in “Tukdam” therefore is an experienced practitioner of Luminosity practice and Bardo teachings. Meditation on emptiness and remaining in a meditative equipoise won’t do for Luminism.

Various terms for the “Ground Luminosity” that Luminous practitioners merge into at the time of death or during the “Luminous Bardo of Dharmatā”.

Luminosity of the time of death ('chi dus kyi 'od gsal°
Ground luminosity of full attainment (nyer thob gzhi'i 'od gsal)
First luminosity. The ground luminosity of primordial purity (dang po'i 'od gsal)
Ground luminosity of the natural state (gnas lugs gzhi'i 'od gsal)
First bardo. Usually the moment of "ground luminosity." (bar do dang po)
Ground luminosity of the 1st bardo (bar do dang po gzhi'i 'od gsal)
Mother luminosity. The ground luminosity of the natural state inherent as the enlightened essence of all sentient beings (ma'i 'od gsal)
The basic luminosity, ground luminosity. The Clear Light of the ground (gzhi'i 'od gsal)
Basic luminosity, ground luminosity (gzhi'i 'od gsal - 'chi ba 'od gsal)
The primordially pure dharmakāya of ground luminosity (gzhi'i 'od gsal ka dag chos kyi sku)

What seems to be at stake with Tukdam, is the separation between the physical body and a Luminous soul with a Luminous energy body (pneuma, angelic or daimonic) that are able to merge into the Ground Luminosity. Being bodhisattvas they can also re-emerge from Luminosity for the benefit of sentient beings, or rather Luminosity manifests as bodhisattvas.

"Mañjuśrī, just as the sun (śūrya) and moon (candra), without ever leaving their palaces (vimāna), illuminate villages (grāma), towns (nagara) and districts (nigama), so the bodhisattvas, without ever swerving from the Śūraṃgamasamādhi, manifest themselves everywhere in innumerable universes and expound the Dharma according to the aspirations (adhimukti) of beings." (Śūraṃgamasamādhi, tr. Sara Boin-Webb)

As says Richard Davidson: “So if any of that is true, it would raise serious questions about the mind and the brain and it would begin to introduce some problems in that conception.” Hence the eagerness of Luminists, spiritualists and spiritual scientists to scientifically prove that a practitioner who died can still continue meditation with his Luminous self and Luminous subtle energy body.

 

Screen capture Tukdam, Between Worlds