Essential practice of phowa

Adapted from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

The best and easiest way to help a dead person is to do the essential practice of phowa as soon as we hear that someone has died. This is a simple practice which anyone at all can do. Try to do the phowa in the place where the person died, or at least picture that place very strongly in your mind. There is a powerful connection between the dead person, the place of death, and also the time of death, especially in the case of a person who died in a traumatic way.


	You can visualize a buddha when you do the phowa practice or an enlightened being or saint from your own tradition with whom you have a strong connection, such as Christ or Virgin Mary

Those who have suffered violent or sudden death have a particularly urgent need for help. When you practice the phowa for them, do it more strongly and with more fervor than you have ever done it before:

Imagine tremendous rays of light emanating from the buddhas or divine beings, pouring down all their compassion and blessing. Imagine this light streaming down onto the dead person, purifying them totally and freeing them from the confusion and pain of their death, granting them profound, lasting peace. Imagine then, with all your heart and mind, that the dead person dissolves into light and his or her consciousness, healed now and free of all suffering, soars up to merge indissolubly, and forever, with the wisdom mind of the buddhas.

When you pray for someone who was close to you, you can, if you wish, extend the embrace of your compassion to include other dead people in your prayers: the victims of atrocities, wars, disasters, and famines, or those who died and are now dying in concentration camps, such as those in China and Tibet. You can even pray for people who died years ago, like your grandparents, long-dead members of your family, or victims of wars, such as those in the World Wars. Imagine your prayers going especially to those who lost their lives in extreme anguish, passion, or anger.

Whenever your dead relative or friend comes into your mind, whenever you hear his or her name being mentioned, send the person your love, and then focus on doing the phowa, and do it for as long and as often as you wish.

Full description of the Essential phowa practice

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