Tukdam

In the Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, tukdam (Tibetan: ཐུགས་དམ, Wylie: thugs dam་) is a post-mortem meditative state observed in advanced Tibetan Buddhist practitioners. This state occurs after clinical death, wherein the body shows minimal signs of decomposition, retaining a lifelike appearance for days or even weeks. Practitioners are believed to be in a profound state of meditation, merging their consciousness with the Clear Light, a fundamental concept in Tibetan Buddhism signifying the primordial nature of mind and reality. The tradition states that the tukdam is available to all people, but only the expert practitioners of meditation, when dying, can recognize it and use for spiritual purposes. The tradition became more popular among Tibetan exiles after the 14th Dalai Lama's call for the scientific research of the matter.

Description

The practice of tukdam involves the practitioner's consciousness remaining in a meditative state known as the "Clear Light Stage" after death, a process of inner dissolution of the five elements and consciousness back into the Primordial Light. A person might spend in this state anywhere from a minute to weeks, depending on the level of their realization, but only the expert practitioners of meditation, when dying, can recognize it and use for spiritual purposes. As Sogyal Rinpoche describes it in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying:

A realized practitioner continues to abide by the recognition of the nature of mind at the moment of death, and awakens into the Ground Luminosity when it manifests. He or she may even remain in that state for a number of days. Some practitioners and masters die sitting upright in that state for a number of days. Some practitioners and masters die sitting upright in meditation posture, and others in the "posture of the sleeping lion". Besides their perfect poise, there will be other signs that show they are resting in the state of the Ground Luminosity: There is still a certain color and glow in their face, the nose does not sink inward, the skin remains soft and flexible, the body does not become stiff, the eyes are said to keep a soft and compassionate glow, and there is still a warmth at the heart. Great care is taken that the master’s body is not touched, and silence is maintained until he or she has arisen from this state of meditation.

The appearance of people that entered tukdam, in tantric view, is described as "radiant", with the skin maintaining its softness and elasticity. Exit is manifested by the body beginning to decompose.

Cultural and religious significance

Tukdam holds profound cultural and religious significance within Tibetan Buddhism, symbolizing the pinnacle of meditative practice and spiritual realization. It is viewed as a manifestation of a practitioner's mastery over the mind and the death process, reflecting their deep understanding and experience of the nature of consciousness and reality.

In Tibetan Buddhism, death is not seen as an end but a transition. The state of tukdam represents an advanced level of spiritual attainment where the practitioner’s consciousness remains in meditation after clinical death, merging into the Clear Light or Ground Luminosity. This concept is extensively discussed in Tibetan texts such as The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. The book describes how a realized practitioner recognizes the nature of mind at the moment of death and awakens into the Ground Luminosity, remaining in that state for several days.

Tukdam is considered a sacred and awe-inspiring state that demonstrates the potential of Buddhist meditation practices. It provides a powerful example of the mind’s ability to transcend physical death, serving as both inspiration and instruction for other practitioners. The phenomenon underscores the importance of meditation, ethical living, and the development of wisdom and compassion, core tenets of Tibetan Buddhism.

Moreover, the cultural practices surrounding tukdam are carefully observed to support the deceased practitioner’s meditative state. The body is typically not disturbed or moved until signs of tukdam have ceased, reflecting the belief that the consciousness is still present and active. These practices highlight the deep respect and reverence for the meditative achievements of advanced practitioners.

Books such as Death and Rebirth in Tibetan Buddhism by Lati Rinpoche and Jeffrey Hopkins, and Mind Beyond Death by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, further explore the spiritual and philosophical underpinnings of tukdam, detailing the processes and significance of post-mortem meditation. These works emphasize the continuity of consciousness and the profound states of awareness that can be achieved through dedicated practice. Additionally, scholarly research and personal accounts of tukdam, as compiled in Testimonies of Tibetan Tulkus: A Research Among Reincarnate Buddhist Masters in Exile by Dieter Bärlocher, provide invaluable insights into the lived experiences and teachings of those who have attained this state.

See also

• Consciousness after death – Common metaphysical theme in society and culture
• Death and culture – Role of death in several cultures

References

Works cited

• Allione, Tsultrim (1986). Women of Wisdom. Penguin Arkana. ISBN 0-14-019072-4.
• Bärlocher, D. (1982). Testimonies of Tibetan Tulkus: A Research Among Reincarnate Buddhist Masters in Exile. Tibet-Institute. ISBN 978-3-7206-0009-5.
• Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche (2006). Mind Beyond Death. Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-1-55939-276-1.
• Jessup, Sarah (13 December 2022). "Documentary on Death in Tibet Explores Space Between Science and Belief". Modern Tibetan Studies Program. Columbia University in New York. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
• Lati Rinpoche; Hopkins, Jeffrey (1979). Death and Rebirth in Tibetan Buddhism. Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-0-09-139321-2.
• Kirsten, Dorje (3 September 2014). "Dudjom Sangyum, Kusho Rigdzin Wangmo Enters "Thug dam"". Buddhistdoor Global. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
• Lewis, Craig (21 December 2020). "Ka-nying Shedrub Ling Announces Parinirvana of Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche". Buddhist Door Global. Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
• Lott, Dylan T.; Yeshi, Tenzin; Norchung, N.; Dolma, Sonam; et al. (28 January 2021). "No Detectable Electroencephalographic Activity After Clinical Declaration of Death Among Tibetan Buddhist Meditators in Apparent Tukdam, a Putative Postmortem Meditation State". Frontiers in Psychology. 11. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.599190. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 7876463. PMID 33584435.
• Lott, Dylan T. (21 November 2023). "Can't You Tell By the Waves? Vision and Aroma in Tibetan Buddhist Epistemologies of Death". Flashpoint Epistemology Volume 1. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003461838-5. ISBN 978-1-003-46183-8.
• Phuntsho, Karma (n.d.). "Tukdam: Spiritual Practice". Mandala Collection. University of Virginia. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
• Rabten, Sangay (4 March 2016). "The Mahaparinirvana Ceremony of His Holiness Chatral Sangay Dorje Rinpoche". Buddhistdoor Global. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
• Sogyal Rinpoche (2002). The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-250834-2.
• Tomlin, Adele (9 January 2023). "Tukdam: Between Worlds". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
• Tricycle (3 March 2024). "Talking 'Tukdam' with Documentary Filmmaker Donagh Coleman". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved 12 July 2024.

Further reading

• Gouin, M. (2012). "Immediately After Death". Tibetan Rituals of Death: Buddhist Funerary Practices. Taylor & Francis. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-136-95918-9.
• Hale, Tom (30 September 2021). "Scientists Look At The Strange "Half-Dead" State Of Meditating Buddhist Monks". IFLScience. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
• Jackson, R. R. (2022). Rebirth: A Guide to Mind, Karma, and Cosmos in the Buddhist World. Shambhala. ISBN 978-0-8348-4424-7.
• Namdul, Tenzin (Fall 2019). Facilitating an Ideal Death: Tibetan Medical and Buddhist Approaches to Death and Dying in a Tibetan Refugee Community in south India (PhD thesis). Emory University. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
• Namdul, Tenzin (2021). "Re-Examining Death: Doors to Resilience and Wellbeing in Tibetan Buddhist Practice". Religions. 12 (7): 522. doi:10.3390/rel12070522.
• Prude, Alyson (2019). "Death in Tibetan Buddhism". In Knepper, Timothy D.; Bregman, Lucy; Gottschalk, Mary (eds.). Death and Dying: An Exercise in Comparative Philosophy of Religion. Springer International Publishing. pp. 125–142. ISBN 978-3-030-19300-3.
• Thompson, Evan (2014). Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-53831-2.
• Tidwell, T. L. (2024). "Life in suspension with death: Biocultural ontologies, perceptual cues, and biomarkers for the tibetan tukdam postmortem meditative state". Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry. doi:10.1007/s11013-023-09844-2. PMID 38393648.
• Tiso, F. V. (2019). "Methodology in Research on the Rainbow Body: Anthropological and Psychological Reflections on Death and Dying". Journal of Religion & Health. 58 (3): 725–736. doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0733-9. PMID 30443848.
• Zivkovic, T. M. (2010). "The Biographical Process of a Tibetan Lama". Ethnos. 75 (2): 171–189. doi:10.1080/00141841003678767.
• Zivkovic, T. (2013). Death and Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism: In-Between Bodies. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-134-59369-9.
• Zivkovic, T. (2013). "Returning from the dead: Contested continuities in Tibetan Buddhism". Mortality. 18 (1): 17–29. doi:10.1080/13576275.2012.752352.

External links

• In depth discussion with Beri Sonam Wangchuk about meditative state of Thugdam on YouTube (in Tibetan), hosted by Radio Free Asia Tibetan. A Gelug monk describes how the four elements deteriorate during death.
• The Field Study of Long-term Meditation Practitioners and the Tukdam Post-death Meditative State at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The study explores how advanced Tibetan Buddhist meditators in the tukdam state resist bodily decay post-death.
• Tukdam: Between Worlds at IMDb, a documentary on the University of Wisconsin's Tukdam Project, featuring the Dalai Lama and neuroscientist Richard Davidson. Filmmaker Donough Coleman discusses the making of the documentary in Presence in Death at the website of The Rubin Museum of Art.