Rainbow body

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The Rainbow Body of Light or the Jalus, "Jalu" or "ja lus pa" 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. 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 (Tibetan ‘ja lus) 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”. (NB: original not meta-enhanced.)

Or 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.

Contents 1 Those who have realised the Rainbow Body 2 Cross-cultural correlates 3 Notes 3.1 References

[edit] Those who have realised the Rainbow Body

• Togden Ugyen Tendzin

[edit] 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."
• Satchitananda

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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