"Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

dpcalder
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"Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by dpcalder »

I am a student of eastern religions, especially Theravada Buddhism and Yoga. However, I am very interested in Vajrayana Buddhism, and was astonished to learn that Tantric traditions in Hinduism and Buddhism both practice a form of what Westerners would now refer to as past life regression. My understanding (which may very well be incorrect) is that this modality is called prati prasav sadhana. It is also my understanding that this is an esoteric practice.

In light of its esoteric nature, is there any way for me to learn more about this practice, either in Hindu or Buddhist texts? If there is a belief that reading relevant texts is karmically harmful, I would certainly not want to do that, but I am interested in possibly pursuing the appropriate route in experience this practice, as I genuinely believe in past lives, karma, and the efficacy of such a modality in eradicating karma.

There is an allusion to a past-life regression-adjacent practice in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, but he does not elaborate on it, and the only straightforward discussions of it I have been able to find are from Nithyananda and Osho, neither of whom are credible.

I have similar interests when it comes to a practice involving creating a new energy body. It is my understanding that it is possible to create a new energy body with a karmically clean slate. In general, I am interested in any texts I might be able to read from either the Hindu or Vajrayana Buddhist traditions on these topics, as I am having quite a difficult time finding reliable information.

It is my understanding that this is similarly esoteric. The tricky thing is that I have to mediate between my tremendous respect for these traditions (to say nothing of possible karmic dangers) and also the need to know what I would be getting into beforehand to ensure it is compatible with my beliefs and expectations. That said, I would be grateful for any resources you could direct me towards.
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Ayu
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by Ayu »

I think, you are asking about very deep teachings and in order to get them right you should stop to mix everything together and decide to discuss only one. It's difficult enough.
These things have to be distinguished properly, otherwise it's all wrong.
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by Tata1 »

If you want to know what your past lifes where look at your mind right now. If you want to know how they will be in the future, look at your mind right now.

There are many esoteric practices in buddhism but buddhism is not about experiences, its about beeing free from grasping.
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by pemachophel »

It is stated in a number of sutras by the Buddha Bhagawan, Shakyamuni, that the fruit of certain practices include knowing one's past lives. Knowing one's past lives can be useful if it results in greater renunciation of samsara and greater faith in the Three Jewels. It may also help a practitioner know what practices to concentrate on. However, it can also be an egoistic trap, a kind of spiritual materialism, and an impediment to progress on the path. In addition, in Tibetan Buddhism in particular, there are divinatory techniques whereby one can know their past lives or their Teacher can tell them their past lives. My Teacher, Lama Dawa Chodrak, was a mirror divination specialist/siddha and this was one of the most frequent questions people asked Him.

Here is an example of a sutric teaching which can result in knowing one's past lives.

From the Golden Light Sutra, Chapter on Dridha

I prostrate to Bhagawan Tathagata Ratnashikhin.
I prostrate to Bhagawan Tathagata Vimalojjvala-ratna-rashmi-prabhasa-ketu.
I prostrate to Tathagata Suvarna-jambu-dhvaja-kachanabha.
I prostrate to Tathagata Suvarna-bhasa-garbha.
I prostrate to Tathagata Suvarna-shata-rashmi-prabhasa-ketu.
I prostrate to Tathagata Suvarna-ratna-karacchatra-kuta.
I prostrate to Tathagata Suvarna-pushpojjvala-rashmi-ketu.
I prostrate to Tathagata Mahapradipa.
I prostrate to Tathagata Ratnaketu.
I prostrate to the Bodhisatva named Ruchiraketu,
The Bodhisatva named Suvarna-bhasottama,
The Bodhisatva named Suvarnagarbha,
The Bodhisatva named Dharmodgata.
I prostrate to the Tathgata in the east named Akshobhya,
In the south, the Tathagata named Ratnaketu,
In the west, the Tathagata named Amitayus,
In the north, the Tathagata named Dundubhisvara.

Whoever holds, recites, and commits to memory the names of these Tathagatas and Bodhisatvas will always remember their past lives.

Good luck & best wishes.
Pema Chophel པདྨ་ཆོས་འཕེལ
dpcalder
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by dpcalder »

Ayu wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 7:22 pm I think, you are asking about very deep teachings and in order to get them right you should stop to mix everything together and decide to discuss only one. It's difficult enough.
These things have to be distinguished properly, otherwise it's all wrong.
I am referring specifically to a guided meditation who directs the person through his past lives to encounter the occasion on which he created these lives in order to dissolve the karma associated with them
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by mahabuddha »

I don't think vajrayana thinks it's necessary or beneficial, practitioners can barely sit on a cushion to meditate and still scream at other drivers in traffic, what use if past lives if we're not fixing the current one?
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by dpcalder »

mahabuddha wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 11:56 pm I don't think vajrayana thinks it's necessary or beneficial, practitioners can barely sit on a cushion to meditate and still scream at other drivers in traffic, what use if past lives if we're not fixing the current one?
This is a good point, but the idea is that he is guided to past lives to encounter the occasion on which he created his karma in order to dissolve the karma associated with them
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by dpcalder »

dpcalder wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 11:32 pm
Ayu wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 7:22 pm I think, you are asking about very deep teachings and in order to get them right you should stop to mix everything together and decide to discuss only one. It's difficult enough.
These things have to be distinguished properly, otherwise it's all wrong.
I am referring specifically to a guided meditation who directs the person through his past lives to encounter the occasion on which he created these lives in order to dissolve the karma associated with them
I'm sorry, I meant "created these karmas", not "created these lives"
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by abcdef »

There is also a ritual with mantra described in The Seven Buddhas that makes one remember past lives, and other great benefits.

The Seven Buddhas - https://read.84000.co/translation/toh270.html
Then the blessed tathāgata Krakucchanda hovered in the sky above them and spoke the following root verses of the secret mantra in order to benefit all beings, pacify all manner of illnesses, and exorcise all manner of spirits:
namo buddhāya | namo dharmāya | namaḥ saṅghāya | namaḥ krakucchandāya |
tathāgatāya | arhate samyaksaṃbuddhāya | oṃ kaṭa kaṭa | kaṭha kaṭha | kiṭi kiṭi |
kiṭhi kiṭhi | kiṭāpaya namaḥ svāhā |
“Ākāśagarbha, this has been taught by tathāgata, arhat, perfect complete buddhas bearing the name Krakucchanda in numbers equal to the grains of
sand in the Ganges river, and now you must maintain this joyous root mantra.
“If this is received, born in mind, and mastered, then in the future, when monks, nuns, and laypeople gain faith in the Three Jewels, perform the
bathing rite, and make offerings of flowers, incense, and perfume to the Buddha while reciting this sacred mantra one hundred and eight times,
[F.16.a] they will be able to recall their past lives for seven lifetimes. They will become the greatest among gods or wheel-turning kings among humans. If
they perform this rite correctly, this will be their final human birth. After they die, they will be born in Sukhāvatī.
Does anyone know what the bathing rite actually is? A commentary exists that might have the details:
There is a substantial Tibetan commentary to the text written by the scholar Bodong Paṇchen Choklé Namgyal (bo dong paN chen phyogs las rnam rgyal, 1375/6–1451) entitled The General Sūtra Collection Ritual of the Seven Buddhas (sangs rgyas bdun pa’i mdo sde’i cho ga), which contains instructions for a ritual of the seven buddhas employing the mantras in this sūtra.13
Last edited by abcdef on Sat Jun 04, 2022 4:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by Sādhaka »

mahabuddha wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 11:56 pm I don't think vajrayana thinks it's necessary or beneficial, practitioners can barely sit on a cushion to meditate and still scream at other drivers in traffic, what use if past lives if we're not fixing the current one?

Touché
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

abcdef wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 3:52 am There is also a ritual with mantra described in The Seven Buddhas that makes one remember past lives, and other great benefits.

The Seven Buddhas - https://read.84000.co/translation/toh270.html
Then the blessed tathāgata Krakucchanda hovered in the sky above them and spoke the following root verses of the secret mantra in order to benefit all beings, pacify all manner of illnesses, and exorcise all manner of spirits:
namo buddhāya | namo dharmāya | namaḥ saṅghāya | namaḥ krakucchandāya |
tathāgatāya | arhate samyaksaṃbuddhāya | oṃ kaṭa kaṭa | kaṭha kaṭha | kiṭi kiṭi |
kiṭhi kiṭhi | kiṭāpaya namaḥ svāhā |
“Ākāśagarbha, this has been taught by tathāgata, arhat, perfect complete buddhas bearing the name Krakucchanda in numbers equal to the grains of
sand in the Ganges river, and now you must maintain this joyous root mantra.
“If this is received, born in mind, and mastered, then in the future, when monks, nuns, and laypeople gain faith in the Three Jewels, perform the
bathing rite, and make offerings of flowers, incense, and perfume to the Buddha while reciting this sacred mantra one hundred and eight times,
[F.16.a] they will be able to recall their past lives for seven lifetimes. They will become the greatest among gods or wheel-turning kings among humans. If
they perform this rite correctly, this will be their final human birth. After they die, they will be born in Sukhāvatī.
Does anyone know what the bathing rite actually is? A commentary exists that might have the details:
There is a substantial Tibetan commentary to the text written by the scholar Bodong Paṇchen Choklé Namgyal (bo dong paN chen phyogs las rnam rgyal, 1375/6–1451) entitled The General Sūtra Collection Ritual of the Seven Buddhas (sangs rgyas bdun pa’i mdo sde’i cho ga), which contains instructions for a ritual of the seven buddhas employing the mantras in this sūtra.13
Wow! Thanks for sharing!

The rituals described in sutras are something I was always troubled by. When the text is clear it is mostly impossible for me to do. When it is unclear well... I have no idea what to do.

So I personally just stick to reading aloud as an offering.
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by pemachophel »

The translation is maybe a little off. It means that first you bathe and then you do the practice. This is not an uncommon instruction in sutra practices. See, for instance, the Vajra Vidarani Dharani.
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dpcalder
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by dpcalder »

I definitely should have specified this, but I have in mind what is basically a guided meditation in which the teacher assists the student in directly encountering these memories in a manner that anticipates how past life regression is conducted in the modern, Western world.
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by PSM »

dpcalder wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 5:48 pm is there any way for me to learn more about this practice, either in Hindu or Buddhist texts?
You can find precise instructions in the Vishuddimagga:
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... on2011.pdf

See paragraph 22 on page 406 onwards. It is basically going into the 4th jhana then remembering the day carefully in reverse order and slowly working backwards through your life until you reach the last moments of the previous life and earlier. Kind of a logical method,really.
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by Lingpupa »

dpcalder wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 6:55 pm I definitely should have specified this, but I have in mind what is basically a guided meditation in which the teacher assists the student in directly encountering these memories in a manner that anticipates how past life regression is conducted in the modern, Western world.
It's hard to ever rule out the possibility of digging out an obscure exception, but the short answer is No. That's not how things are done in Tibetan Buddhism.
All best wishes

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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by Anders »



Ajahn Lee described a simple but difficult way - just get to the 1st jhana and then direct your mind towards it. The mind will then just start manifesting these memories.
"Even if my body should be burnt to death in the fires of hell
I would endure it for myriad lifetimes
As your companion in practice"

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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by Könchok Thrinley »

I wanted to post this video. :good:
Ajahn Brahm makes it sound easy, but in reality oomf.
“Observing samaya involves to remain inseparable from the union of wisdom and compassion at all times, to sustain mindfulness, and to put into practice the guru’s instructions”. Garchen Rinpoche

For those who do virtuous actions,
goodness is what comes to pass.
For those who do non-virtuous actions,
that becomes suffering indeed.

- Arya Sanghata Sutra
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by climb-up »

Ajahn Brahm's video is more or less the same process that you would go through with a hypnotist/hypnotherapist.
His "works straight away" test is one common test of a genuine regression (ie, if you have to think about it or work it out then you're not really regressed all the way). You can do the same process with self hypnosis as well; but for practitioners, of course, its probably better to just get good at deep meditation.
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

dpcalder wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 11:32 pm I am referring specifically to a guided meditation who directs the person through his past lives to encounter the occasion on which he created these lives in order to dissolve the karma associated with them
I’ve never heard of such a thing and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way. Karma isn’t a “thing” you can dissolve. It’s not like the dentist scraping plaque off your teeth.

What you experience at this point moment is the sum accumulation of all your karma up my to this very moment. You can’t go back in time and “undo” an action, because the results of that action (of all your actions) have already caused infinite repercussive effects (because all phenomena arises interdependently).

You can look at events in your past, maybe even your previous lives, and hopefully learn from your mistakes. You can change your future but you can’t change your past. And the present is a constantly changing “now” anyway. There’s no moment where it stops and you can say “rewind from here”.
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Re: "Past-life regression" in Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by climb-up »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 10:23 pm
dpcalder wrote: Fri Jun 03, 2022 11:32 pm I am referring specifically to a guided meditation who directs the person through his past lives to encounter the occasion on which he created these lives in order to dissolve the karma associated with them
I’ve never heard of such a thing and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way. Karma isn’t a “thing” you can dissolve. It’s not like the dentist scraping plaque off your teeth.

What you experience at this point moment is the sum accumulation of all your karma up my to this very moment. You can’t go back in time and “undo” an action, because the results of that action (of all your actions) have already caused infinite repercussive effects (because all phenomena arises interdependently).

You can look at events in your past, maybe even your previous lives, and hopefully learn from your mistakes. You can change your future but you can’t change your past. And the present is a constantly changing “now” anyway. There’s no moment where it stops and you can say “rewind from here”.
Totally agree.

I think there is a mix up with hypnotic regressions therapy (which may or may not include past lives), wherein you regress to an initial sensitizing event and then use various tools to release traumas, anxieties, etc.. Regression therapy is a debated technique within hypnosis circles, and even more so outside of them (or, probably even less so, since I think its probably just dismissed out of hand) but it's not about erasing karma.

Even the Buddha, who had perfect knowledge of all of his past lives, had to experience the fruition of his karma, her couldn't simply make it go away by awareness (although, being fully awake, he wasn't bothered by it and didn't suffer). I'm thinking of the story of him getting injured in the toe by a boulder that was rolled towards him.

But also, there are lots of vajrayana techniques for purification, so it seems unnecessary. Vajrasattva practice, or the purification of the five elements, or inner rushen, or prostrations, or any number of things will purify karmic seeds.
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