Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Tumo: Recipe for a Sea of Fire





(The source of this following page I no longer know – it was page 129 though – as I had it from somewhere and stuck it in the back of my copy of Trungpa’s “Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism.”  What you’re reading here is for real, I have made it my practice in one form or another, including this form –  my own discipline, my very religion so to speak – over four decades, and counting.  Everyone has his/her pace in development.  This comes naturally for me, as I’ve always been extremely fond of goats.  In-joy, and good luck.)

 http://www.grit.com/~/media/Images/GRT/Editorial/Articles/Magazine%20Articles/2010/01-01/Raising%20Goats%20for%20Fun%20and%20Profit/Grt-JF10-goats-kid-i.jpg

"Tumo?"
"Means, the art of warming oneself without fire up  in the snows."
That caught my interest.  "Another lama talent?"
"You bet. It comes in handy for naked hermits in the winter."
"I can see that.  Tell him to lay it on us."

With some crashing about Kunga got in the lotus position, an impressive feat with his big snow boots still on.

He took his mitts off, and we did the same.  Then he began breathing in a regular, deep rhythm, staring at nothing.  This went on for almost half an hour, and I was beginning to think we would all freeze before he warmed up, when he held his hands out toward Freds and me.  We took them in our own.

They were as hot as if he had a terrible fever.  Fearfully I reached up to touch his face – it was warm, but nothing like his hands.  "My Lord," I said.

"We can help him now," Freds said softly.  "You have to concentrate, harness the energy that’s always inside you.  Every breath out you push away pride, anger, hatred, envy, sloth, stupidity.  Every breath in, you take in Buddha’s spirit, the five wisdoms, everything good.  When you’ve gotten clear and calm, imagine a golden lotus in your belly button. ... Okay?  In that lotus you imagine the syllable ram, which means fire.

"Then you have to see a little seed of flame, the size of a goat dropping, appearing in the ram.  Every breath after that is like a bellows, fanning that flame, which travels through the tsas in the body, the mystic nerves.  Imagine this process in five stages.

"First the uma tsa is seen as a hair of fire, up your spine more or less. ... Two, the nerve is as big around as your little finger. … Three, it’s the size of an arm. … Four, the body becomes the tsa itself, and is perceived as a tube of fire. … Five, the tsa engulfs the world, and you’re just one flame in a sea of fire."


The Five Tibetan Rites and Breathing Practice - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJASBgyRStE

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