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Rainbow body
The rainbow body or Jalü or Jalus (Wylie 'ja' lus) in the Tibetan language,
is the physical mastery state of Dzogchen of the Nyingmapa and the Bönpo
where the trikaya is in accord and the nirmanakaya is congruent with
bodymind and the integrity of the mindstream (the heartmind) is realised.
The corporeal body of the realised Dzogchenpa which is now hallowed, returns
to the pure primordial energetic essence-quality of the Five Pure Lights of
the five elemental processes of which it is constituted. This is then
projected as the mindstream through the process of phowa. The realiser of
Jalus resides in the 'once upon a time' time out of time, timeless eternal
state that is considered a mystery.
According to Dzogchen lore, the attainment of the Rainbow Body is the sign
of complete realisation of the Dzogchen view. As Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
(2002: p.141) states: “The realised Dzogchen practitioner, no longer deluded
by apparent substantiality or dualism such as mind and matter, releases the
energy of the elements that compose the physical body at the time of death”.
More specifically, the rainbow body is constituted by the Five Pure Lights.
When the view of Dzogchen and the integrity of the mindstream which links
the Trikaya is realised prior to the death-Bardo (Tibetan bar do; Sanskrit
antarabhava), the bodymind of the Nirmanakaya (Tibetan sprul sku; Sanskrit
nirmanakaya) Dzogchenpa enters samadhi[1] (Tibetan ting nge ‘dzin; Sanskrit
samadhi) and commences Phowa (Tibetan ‘pho ba) or the ‘transferral of
consciousness’ into the constituent Five Pure Lights of the Sambhogakaya[2]
(Tibetan longs sku; Sanskrit sambhogakaya) to the Dharmakaya, sometimes
leaving the non-living faecal elements of the bodymind such as hair and
nails.
There have been a number of documented sightings of the Jalus process
through the Bardo of death which may take a number of days to complete. The
bodymind of the Nirmanakaya in samadhi, all the time decreasing its
dimentionality as the constituent Five Pure Lights of the mindstream are
transmuted into the 'glorious body' of Sambhogakaya.
From the case studies of those who have realised the rainbow body the
practices of tregchöd and thödgal are key.
Those who have allegedly realised the rainbow body
* Togden Ugyen Tendzin
* Khenpo A-chos
Cross-cultural correlates
Though the Jalus is particular to Dzogchen, there are interesting
cross-cultural correlates:
* In the Judeo-Christian tradition refer "resurrection body" and "glorified
body".
* In Taoism, refer "diamond body," and those who have attained it are
referred to as "the immortals".
* In Tantrism and some schools of yoga, a comparable state is called "vajra
body," or the "adamantine body".
* In Gnosticism and Neoplatonism, refer the "radiant body."{{fact}
Notes
1. ^ Samadhi may refer to any one of a number of meditative states or
trance.
2. ^ Sambhogakaya or “enjoyment body” is constituted entirely of light. The
sambhogakaya manifestation of various buddha is often visualized in tantric
and sutric sadhana. In Dzogchen, the mystery of the dharmakaya manifestation
is visualised such as Yab-yum Samantabadra~Samantabadri.
References
* Norbu, Chögyal Namkhai Rinpoche (Edited by John Shane) (1988). The Crystal
and the Way of Light.. Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0140190848
* Norbu, Chögyal Namkhai (1999). The Crystal and The Way of Light: Sutra,
Tantra and Dzogchen. Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1-55939-135-9
* Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (2002). Healing with Form, Energy, and Light.
Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1559391766
* Rinpoche, Sogyal; Harvey, Andrew (Editor) & Gaffney, Patrick
(Editor)(1993). Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. (Rev and Updated ed.).
HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN-13: 9780062508348 ISBN: 0062508342
* Reynolds, John Myrdhin (1996). The Golden Letters. (1st ed edition). Snow
Lion Publications. ISBN-10: 1559390506 ISBN-13: 978-1559390507
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