Tulpa (Wylie:
sprul-pa; Sanskrit:
nirmita and
nirmāṇa) is a
VajrayanaVajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle. The period of Vajrayana Buddhism has been classified as the fifth or final period of Indian Buddhism...
, Bonpo and Tibetan Buddhist
upayaUpaya is a term in Mahayana Buddhism which comes from the word upa√i and refers to something which goes or brings you up to something . It is essentially the Buddhist term for dialectics. The term is often used with kaushalya ; upaya-kaushalya means roughly "skill in means"...
concept, discipline and teaching tool. The term was first rendered into English as 'Thoughtform' by Evans-Wentz (1954: p. 29):
Inasmuch as the mind creates the world of appearances, it can create any particular object desired. The process consists of giving palpable being to a visualization, in very much the same manner as an architect gives concrete expression in three dimensions to his abstract concepts after first having given them expression in the two-dimensions of his blue-print. The Tibetans call the One Mind's concretized visualization the Khorva (Hkhorva), equivalent to the Sanskrit Sangsara; that of an incarnate deity, like the Dalai or Tashi Lama, they call a Tul-ku (Sprul-sku), and that of a magician a Tul-pa (Sprul-pa), meaning a magically produced illusion or creation. A master of yoga can dissolve a Tul-pa as readily as he can create it; and his own illusory human body, or Tul-ku, he can likewise dissolve, and thus outwit Death. Sometimes, by means of this magic, one human form can be amalgamated with another, as in the instance of the wife of Marpa, guru of Milarepa, who ended her life by incorporating herself in the body of Marpa."
In this quotation, "Sangsara" is an alternate English
orthographicOrthographic may refer to:* Orthographic projection** Orthographic projection ** Orthographic projection * Orthography...
representation of "
SaṃsāraSamsara is the endless cycle of suffering caused by birth, death and rebirth within Buddhism, Bön, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and other related religions....
", where
ṃM is the thirteenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English is spelled em.-History:The letter M derives its shape from the Phoenician Mem, via the Greek Mu . Semitic Mem probably originally pictured water. It is known that Semitic people working in Egypt c...
denotes a nasalisation in the pronunciation, and therefore rendered "ng".
KhorvaThe Bhavacakra or Wheel of Becoming is a complex symbolic representation of in the form of a circle. Sanskrit: mandala; Tibetan: khor.lo), used primarily in Tibetan Buddhism...
,
TulkuA tulku is an enlightened Tibetan Buddhist lama who has, through phowa and siddhi, consciously determined to take birth, often many times, in order to continue his or her Bodhisattva vow...
,
MilarepaJetsun Milarepa , is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and poets, a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism....
,
MarpaMarpa may refer to:* Marpa Lotsawa, Tibetan Buddhist teacher credited with the transmission of many Buddhist teachings to Tibet from India.* MARPA, Modification and Replacement Parts Association.* MARPA, Mini Automatic Radar Plotting Aid....
and the
illusory bodyGyulü or Yoga of the Illusory Body is a powerful spiritual modality and psychological practice and technique. Gyulu or Gyuma comprises one of the Six Yogas...
are mentioned. In Buddhist phenomenology, "appearances" and "phenomena" are English renderings of "dharmas" (Sanskrit). The mindstream communion affected by the wife of
MarpaMarpa may refer to:* Marpa Lotsawa, Tibetan Buddhist teacher credited with the transmission of many Buddhist teachings to Tibet from India.* MARPA, Modification and Replacement Parts Association.* MARPA, Mini Automatic Radar Plotting Aid....
in the abovementioned quotation, is an ancient mode of 'mind transmission' (Tibetan:
dgongs brgyud) or '
empowermentEmpowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the empowered developing confidence in their own capacities.-Definitions:...
' (Tibetan:
dbang bskur) in the Himalayan traditions, documented in the
folkloreFolklore is the body of expressive culture, including stories, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which...
and anthropological studies of Himalayan and Siberian
ShamanismShamanism comprises a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world. It is a prominent term in anthropological research. A practitioner of shamanism is known as a shaman, , noun...
. The Russian Psychiatrist
Olga KharitidiOlga Kharitidi is a Russian doctor and psychiatrist who emigrated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, where she lives and works. She was born in Siberia and worked for some years in a Soviet mental hospital...
published her direct experience of this phenomenon in the
Altay MountainsThe Altai Mountains are a mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the Turkic peoples' birthplace...
, where a shaman merged a stream of his
consciousness continuumMindstream, mind stream, or mental stream is the English translation of a Buddhist philosophical term for the moment-to-moment continuity of consciousness....
or 'spirit' with hers. This phenomenon is a variation of the spiritual discipline of '
PhowaPhowa is a Tibetan term for a Buddhist meditation practice that may be translated as the "practice of conscious dying", "transference of consciousness at the time of death" or "mindstream transference". The method of mind-transference, or “enlightenment without meditation” Phowa (Wylie: 'pho ba;...
' (Tibetetan:
'pho ba) and is often rendered as 'spirit possession' within English anthropological discourse.
In
mysticismMysticism is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or...
a
tulpa is the concept of a being or object which is created through sheer
willpowerWillpower may refer to:*Self control, the ability of a person to exert his/her will over the inhibitions of their body or self.*Will , a philosophical concept.*The Will to Power, a philosophical concept by Friedrich Nietzsche....
alone. It is a materialized thought that has taken physical form and is usually regarded as synonymous to a
thoughtformA thoughtform is a manifestation of mental energy, also known as a 'tulpa' in Tibetan mysticism. The thoughtform is also one of the expressed means of Samyama...
.
The term comes from the works of
Alexandra David-NeelAlexandra David-Néel born Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David was a Belgian-French explorer, anarchist, spiritualist, Buddhist and writer, most known for her visit to Lhasa, Tibet, in 1924, when it was forbidden to foreigners...
, who claimed to have created a tulpa in the image of a jolly,
Friar TuckFriar Tuck is a companion to Robin Hood in the legends about that character. He is a common character in modern Robin Hood stories, which depict him as a jovial friar and one of Robin's Merry Men. The figure of Tuck was common in the May Games festivals of England and Scotland during the 15th...
-like
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
which later developed a life of its own and had to be destroyed.
The tulpa phenomenon is vindicated through the
Consciousness-only DoctrineIn Buddhism, consciousness-only or mind-only ) is a theory according to which unenlightened conscious experience is nothing but false discriminations or imaginations...
first propounded within the
Yogacara SchoolYogācāra Yogācāra Yogācāra (Sanskrit: "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga" is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and (some argue) ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna...
and is part of the
MahayogaMahayoga is the designation of the first of the three Inner Tantras according to the ninefold division of practice used by the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism....
discipline of the '
Generation StageIn Tantric Buddhism, the generation stage is the first phase of meditative Buddhist sādhana associated with the 'Father Tantra' class of anuttara-yoga-tantras of the Sarmapa or associated with what is known as Mahayoga Tantras by the Nyingmapa...
' (Wylie:
kye rim; Sanskrit:
utpatti-krama) ,
AnuyogaAnuyoga is the designation of the second of the three Inner Tantras according to the ninefold division of practice used by the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism...
discipline of the '
Completion StageThe completion stage is one of the two stages of Anuttarayoga Tantra. Completion stage may also be translated as perfection stage or fulfillment mode...
' (Wylie:
dzog rim; Sanskrit:
saṃpanna-krama) and the Atiyoga perfection of effortless 'unification of the Generation and Completion stages' (Wylie:
bskyed rdzogs zung 'jug).
Nomenclature, etymology and orthography
- A similar orthographic and phonemic construction in Tibetan is 'phrul which has the various meanings: magic, miracle, black art, emanation, jugglery, trick, magical illusion, conjuring, manifestation.
- Another term that may be rendered "thoughtform" is 'yilu' (Tibetan: yid lus). 'Yidam
In Vajrayana Buddhism, an Ishta-deva or Ishta-devata is a fully enlightened being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a retreat or for life. The term is often translated into English as tutelary deity, meditation deity, or meditational deity...
' (Tibetan: yi dam) are tulpa.
Introduction
Vajranatha (1996: p. 350) in a note to his English translation of the life story of
Garab DorjePrahevajra or Pramodavajra was the semi-historical first human teacher of the Ati Yoga or Great Perfection teachings according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition...
defines a Nirmita thus:
A Nirmita (sprul-pa) is an emanation or a manifestation. A Buddha or other realized being is able to project many such Nirmitas simultaneously in an infinite variety of forms.
Thoughtform may be understood as a 'psychospiritual' complex of mind, energy or consciousness manifested either consciously or unconsciously, by a sentient being or in concert. In the
DzogchenAccording to some schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school, that is also practised by adherents of other Tibetan Buddhist sects. According to...
view, accomplished thoughtform of the
kye-rim (Tibetan) mode are sentient beings as they have a consciousness field or mindstream confluence in a dynamic of entrainment-secession and organization-entropy of emergent factors or from the mindstream intentionality of progenitor(s). Thoughtform may be benevolent, malevolent or of complex alignment and may be understood as a 'spontaneous or intentional manifestation' or '
emergenceIn philosophy, systems theory and science, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems.-Definitions:...
' (Tibetan:
rang byung) of the '
Five Pure LightsThe Five Pure Lights are a conceptual mystery in the Dzogchen tradition of Bön and Nyingma and are aspects of non-dual clarity and primordial luminosity of dharmakaya, Kunzhi and/or the Void. It is important to emphasize from the outset that their light-like essence-quality and their associated...
' (Tibetan:
'od lnga). The Five Pure Lights may be understood as the 'radiance' (Tibetan:
'od) or
Clear LightÖsel , the Yoga of the Clear Light Ösel (tib. hod-gsal; 'od gsal), the Yoga of the Clear Light Ösel (tib. hod-gsal; 'od gsal), the Yoga of the Clear Light (often translated as 'Radiant Light' (Sanskrit: prabhasvara), referring to the 'intrinsic purity' (Tibetan:...
(Tibetan:
'od gsal) substrate of '
mindstreamMindstream, mind stream, or mental stream is the English translation of a Buddhist philosophical term for the moment-to-moment continuity of consciousness....
' (Tibetan:
sems rgyud) and the base or root 'dimensionality of all dharmas' (Sanskrit:
dharmadhatu) of
NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
and
SamsaraSamsara is the endless cycle of suffering caused by birth, death and rebirth within Buddhism, Bön, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and other related religions....
. The mindstream is an entwining or confluence of the 'Eight Consciousnesses' (Tibetan:
rnam shes tshogs brgyad). Therefore, the Five Pure Lights are the 'root' (Tibetan:
gzhi) of the Western scientific conceptions of
matterThe term matter traditionally refers to the substance that all objects are made of. One common way to identify this "substance" is through its physical properties; a common definition of matter is anything that has mass and occupies a volume...
and
energyIn physics, energy is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of work that can be performed by a force, an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law...
. From the Dzogchen perspective energy is nondual to 'spiritual energy' or 'vital force' (Tibetan:
rlung). For the human species, defined in
Traditional Tibetan medicineTibetan medicine is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior and dietary modification, medicines composed of natural materials and physical therapies Tibetan...
as the class of entities which holds a human 'la' (Tibetan:
bla), the Five Lung are direct homologues of the Five Pure Lights.
Professor
H. H. PriceHenry Habberley Price was a British philosopher, known for his work on perception. He also wrote on parapsychology....
, an Oxford philosopher and parapsychologist, held that once an idea has been formed, it "is no longer wholly under the control of the consciousness which gave it birth" but may operate independently on the minds of other people or on physical objects. It is contended that a
memeA meme is a postulated unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, and is transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena...
is
not a thoughtform, unless it is sentient. Though, memetic theory may be deemed an informative correlation to thoughtform phenomena.
Tulpa
Tulpa (Tibetan:
sprul ba; Tibetan:
sprul pa where "sprul" holds the
semantic fieldA semantic field is a set of lexemes in a named conceptual area that interrelate and define each other in specific ways. For example, the semantic field of "dog" includes "canine" and "to trail persistently" . A general and intuitive description is that words in a semantic field are not synonymous,...
: "emanate", "manifest" and "pa" is a functional postposition employed to build nouns from verbs) is Tibetan for what has been rendered as "thoughtform" in English. Another similar orthographic and phonemic construction in Tibetan is
'phrul which holds the semantic field: magic, miracle, black art, emanation, jugglery, trick, magical illusion, conjuring, manifestation.
Another term that may be rendered "thoughtform" is 'yilu' (Tibetan:
yid lus). '
YidamIn Vajrayana Buddhism, an Ishta-deva or Ishta-devata is a fully enlightened being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a retreat or for life. The term is often translated into English as tutelary deity, meditation deity, or meditational deity...
' (Tibetan:
yi dam) are tulpa. The concept of "tulpa" is vindicated in the
Consciousness-only DoctrineIn Buddhism, consciousness-only or mind-only ) is a theory according to which unenlightened conscious experience is nothing but false discriminations or imaginations...
first propounded within the
Yogacara SchoolYogācāra Yogācāra Yogācāra (Sanskrit: "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga" is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and (some argue) ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna...
. The doctrine is entwined with the doctrine and lineage of the
MindstreamMindstream, mind stream, or mental stream is the English translation of a Buddhist philosophical term for the moment-to-moment continuity of consciousness....
and may even have ancient roots and antecedents in Bonpo traditions, Himalayan and Asian shamanism evident in
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
,
BhutanThe Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby state of Nepal to the west by...
,
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
,
NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
,
TuvaTyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:...
,
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
.
A
tulpa is, in
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
an
mysticismMysticism is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or...
, a being or object which is created through
willpowerWillpower may refer to:*Self control, the ability of a person to exert his/her will over the inhibitions of their body or self.*Will , a philosophical concept.*The Will to Power, a philosophical concept by Friedrich Nietzsche....
, visualisation, attention and focus, concerted intentionality and ritual. In other words, it is a materialized thought that has taken physical form.
The tulpa
memeA meme is a postulated unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, and is transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena...
or concept was brought to the West in the 19th century by
Alexandra David-NéelAlexandra David-Néel born Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David was a Belgian-French explorer, anarchist, spiritualist, Buddhist and writer, most known for her visit to Lhasa, Tibet, in 1924, when it was forbidden to foreigners...
, who claimed to have created a tulpa in the image of a jolly,
Friar TuckFriar Tuck is a companion to Robin Hood in the legends about that character. He is a common character in modern Robin Hood stories, which depict him as a jovial friar and one of Robin's Merry Men. The figure of Tuck was common in the May Games festivals of England and Scotland during the 15th...
-like
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
which later developed a life of its own and had to be destroyed. There is a teaching story inherent in Néel's experience as it is evocative of the English rendering of the famous instruction of
ZenZen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, translated from the Chinese word Chán. This word is in turn derived from the Sanskrit dhyāna, which means "meditation" ....
Master Lin Chi: "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." Just as the '
mandalaMandala is a concentric diagram having spiritual and ritual significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism...
' (Tibetan:
dkyil 'khor) is created and also destroyed. The 'destroying' or "
blowing outIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
" of the kye-rim stage is the completion of the
dzog-rim; yielding an integration, an iteration of the mindstream, a
communionCommunion is a polyvalent term. Though not Christian-specific, the term "communion" has several denotations within the Christian traditions. It may refer to:*Communion , the relationship between Christians as individuals or Churches...
.
Freeman (c2007: unpaginated) in his musings on dragons and
ForteanFortean refers to:*Charles Fort's ideas and philosophy and the people and things inspired by it*Fortean Society, formed by New York's literati led by Theodore Dreiser, Booth Tarkington, Ben Hecht...
phenomena, tentatively explores tulpas and thoughtforms in relation to
worship'Worship' is acts, expressions or a state of religious devotion typically directed to one or more deities.Worship is etymologically derived from Old English words meaning "worth-ship". Giving worth to something...
and
fearFear is an emotional response to a threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. Some psychologists such as John B. Watson, Robert Plutchik, and Paul Ekman have suggested that fear is one of a small set of basic or...
; energetic reciprocity and lifecycle; and 'spirits of place' (Latin:
genius lociIn Roman mythology a genius loci was the protective spirit of a place. It was often depicted as a snake. In contemporary usage, genius loci usually refers to a location's distinctive atmosphere, or a "spirit of place", rather than necessarily a guardian spirit.Usage: "Light reveals the genius loci...
):
Areas of intense Fortean phenomena are called window areas. Many of them were places of former religious importance that have now waned or fallen from use. Could the worship or occult use of an area over hundreds of years create a sort of artificial life form? Something that fed on the worship. When the worship is taken away the "thing" still needs to feed. It now feeds by creating fear with paranormal manifestations. Another idea is that they are a massive, collective, sub-conscious, thought form. The thought form or tulpa is said to be a 3-D semi solid image created by the power of the mind. Buddhist llamas [sicSic is a Latin word meaning "thus", "so", "as such", or "in such a manner". In writing, it is placed within square brackets and usually italicized – [sic] – to indicate that an incorrect or unusual spelling, phrase, punctuation, and/or other preceding quoted material has been reproduced verbatim...
] in Tibet are said to be able to summon up tulpas during intense meditation. Western explorer Dame Alexandra [David-Néel] was said to have created a tulpa of a monk whilst studying in Tibet. Polish medium Franek Klusk was said to have summoned up huge cats, birds, and even ape-men during séances. Perhaps, considering the types of beast he called up, he was creating tulpas. If individuals can create tulpas imagine what the collective, gestalt mind of humanity as a species could do. Perhaps dragons are a giant worldwide thought form emanating from our innermost fears.
Three aspects of energy
In the
DzogchenAccording to some schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school, that is also practised by adherents of other Tibetan Buddhist sects. According to...
tradition, there are three indivisible modes of energy that govern manifestation, and therefore thoughtform phenomena. According to the Dzogchen tradition, there is nothing which is non-sentient, or stated differently, everything is sentient, refer pansentience. That said, sentient beings have their energy manifested in three aspects:
- 'dang' (Wylie: gDangs)
- 'rolpa' (Wylie: Rol-pa)
- 'tsal' (Wylie: rTsal)
Van Schaik (2004: p. 33) explains the Dzogchen doctrine of the triunic complex of the manifesation of energy further:
In terms of energy – there are three characteristic ways in which the energy manifests – Dang, Rolpa, and rTsal (gDang, rol pa, and rTsal). Dang is the energy in which ‘internal’ and ‘external’ are not divided from that which manifests. It is symbolised by the crystal sphere which becomes the colour of whatever it is placed upon. Rolpa is the energy which manifests internally as vision. It is symbolised by the mirror. The image of the reflection always appears as if it is inside the mirror. rTsal is externally manifested energy which radiates. It is symbolised by the refractive capacity of the faceted crystal. For a realised being, this energy is inseparable in its manifestation from the dimension of manifest reality. Dang, Rolpa, and rTsal are not divided.
Dang, Rolpa and rTsal are not divided and neither are the ku-sum (sKu gSum – the trikaya) the three spheres of being. Chö-ku (chos sKu – Dharmakaya), the sphere of unconditioned potentiality, is the creative space from which the essence of the elements arises as long-ku (longs sKu - Sambhogakaya) the sphere of intangible appearances – light and rays, non material forms only perceivable by those with visionary clarity. Trülku (sPrul sKu – Nirmanakaya), the sphere of realised manifestation, is the level of matter in apparently solid material forms. The primordial base manifests these three distinct yet indivisible modes.
The triunic modality of the energy of manifestation and the
TrikayaThe Trikaya doctrine is an important Buddhist teaching both on the nature of reality, and what a Buddha is. By the 4th century CE the Trikaya Doctrine had assumed the form that we now know...
are indivisible, though particular aspects, qualities or properties of these may be foregrounded and backgrounded according to time, place, circumstance and intention. The
dang energy of a sentient being is essentially a mystery, infinite, spacious and formless, it relates to the
DharmakayaThe Dharmakāya is a central concept in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñā-pāramitā , composed in the first century BCE...
.
Rolpa energy is that of an interior vision, or the 'eye of the mind' of
visualizationThe term visualization or visualisation may refer to:* Creative visualization* Flow visualization* Geovisualization* Illustration* Information graphics, visual representations of information, data, or knowledge* Information visualization...
; it relates to the
SambhogakayaThe Sambhogakāya is the second mode or aspect of the Trikaya. Sambhogakaya has also been translated as the "deity dimension", "body of bliss" or "astral body". Sambhogakaya refers to the luminous form of clear light the Buddhist practitioner attains upon the reaching the highest dimensions of...
.
Tsal is the energetic manifestation of what is generally considered 'corporeal' phenomena and it relates to the Nirmanakaya. The interplay of these energies and the profundity and elegance of this doctrine provides a hypothesis of thoughtform phenomenon,
emergenceIn philosophy, systems theory and science, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems.-Definitions:...
,
poltergeist, or recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis denotes an ostensibly paranormal phenomenon attributed to an an invisible spirit or ghost that manifests itself by moving and influencing objects, generally in a particular location such as a house or room or place within a...
activity, Will-o'-the-wisp,
psychokinesisThe term psychokinesis , also known as telekinesis , sometimes abbreviated PK and TK respectively, is a term coined by publisher Henry Holt to refer to the direct influence...
,
levitationLevitation is the process by which an object is suspended against gravity, in a stable position, without physical contact....
and other
siddhi' (Sanskrit; Tibetan:
bsgrub), spiritual healing, intercessory prayer, and the logistics of the doctrine of
Pratītyasamutpāda amongst innumerable other 'mysteries'.
Spiritual lineage
Jansen (1990: p. 7-8) in her treatise on singing bowls relates the experience that
David-NéelAlexandra David-Néel born Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David was a Belgian-French explorer, anarchist, spiritualist, Buddhist and writer, most known for her visit to Lhasa, Tibet, in 1924, when it was forbidden to foreigners...
narrated in her book
Tibet, Bandits, Priests and Demons:
When she entered the temple of the Bön monastery of Tesmon, the service that was being conducted was rudely interrupted. While a lama was busy with a kyilkhor, a magic diagram, and sacred cakes, called tormas, one of her bearers entered the temple, clearly indicating that he was not very impressed by the sacred rituals. He was ordered away by the monks. Objecting and cursing violently he insulted the lamas by shouting out that the tormas were only made of momo dough (bread dough).
-
- '(...)Then, as the man came forward, the bonpo grasped a chang, which was standing next to him, and swung it around. Strange, savage sounds filled the room with a tidal wave of vibrations that pierced my ears. The disrespectful peasant screamed and staggered back with his arms held up as though he was warding off something threatening. 'Get out', the lama repeated again. The other bearers grabbed their friend and rushed out of the temple, greatly disturbed. Bong! Bong! continued the drum. The accompanying bonpo returned unpurturbed, sat in front of the kyilkhor, and continued the muffled singing and chanting. What had happened? I hadn't noticed anything, except for that extraordinary sound. I went outside and asked my bearers. The troublemaker who had disturbed the sacred ritual had lost his bravado. 'It was a snake. I tell you', he said, nodding to the others who sat around him. 'A snake of fire came out of the chang.' 'What? Did you really see a snake of fire?' I asked. 'Is that why you recoiled?' 'Didn't you see it?' they replied. 'It came out of the chang when the lama beat upon it.' 'You must have dreamt it,' I said. 'I didn't see anything.' 'We didn't see the snake, but we did see flashes of light shoot out of the chang,' the other bearers interjected. In fact, they had all been witnesses to a miracle. (...)
Later David-Néel questions the
bonpo that emanated the thoughtform, and the
bonpo affirmed:
'That it was the power of the zoung that I cast,' declared the lama emphatically. Speaking more softly he said: 'The sound creates shapes and beings..[.]the sound inspires them.
Thoughtform are evident in
VajrayanaVajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle. The period of Vajrayana Buddhism has been classified as the fifth or final period of Indian Buddhism...
BuddhismBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
, Bönpo traditions, indigenous cultural traditions throughout the world such as
CherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people from the Southeastern United States...
of North America and
Indigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands, and these peoples' descendants. Indigenous Australians are distinguished as either Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders, who currently together make up about 2.6% of Australia's...
(who understand the waking, created world to be a thoughtform
subsetIn mathematics, especially in set theory, a set A is a subset of a set B if A is "contained" inside B. Notice that A and B may coincide...
of
The DreamingIn Australian Aboriginal mythology, The Dreaming or Altjeringa is a sacred 'once upon a time' in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed The Creation....
), shamanic traditions, echoes are evident in ghosts or
supernaturalThe term supernatural or supranatural pertains to an order of existence beyond the scientifically visible universe. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are spells and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others...
agency,
folk religionFolk religion consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of an organized religion, but outside of official doctrine and practices...
, esoteric philosophies such as
TheosophyTheosophy is a doctrine of religious philosophy and metaphysics. Theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by the "Spiritual Hierarchy" to help humanity in evolving to greater perfection, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth...
and what is construed as the
New AgeThe New Age is a decentralized Western social and spiritual movement that seeks "Universal Truth" and the attainment of the highest individual human potential. It includes aspects of cosmology, astrology, esotericism, alternative medicine, music, collectivism, sustainability, and nature...
.
Though
Alice BaileyAlice Ann Bailey , known as Alice A. Bailey or AAB, was born as Alice LaTrobe Bateman, in Manchester, England—at 7:32 AM GMT, according to Dane Rudhyar. She moved to the United States in 1907, where she spent most of her life as a writer and teacher...
may have been inspired (and comparable to a
tertönA tertön is one who finds terma. Many tertöns are considered incarnations of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava. A vast system of transmission lineages developed. Nyingma scriptures were updated by terma discoveries and terma teachings have guided many Buddhist and Bön practitioners.Guru...
), her collaborative work with
Djwal KhulDjwal Khul , is supposed by some Theosophists and others to be a Tibetan Master in the tradition of ancient esoteric spirituality...
,
A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, that evocatively described the process for working with thoughtforms, is not formally recognised by the
HimalayanHimalayan can refer to:* Himalayas the mountains* Himalayan , the type of cat* Himalayan, the breed of rabbit...
dharmic traditions. Thoughtform are not only the energetic
phantasmagoriaPhantasmagoria can refer to:* Phantasmagoria, a type of show using an optical device to display moving images* Phantasmagoria * Phantasmagoria, a Lewis Carroll poem* Phantasmagoria...
of our
consciousnessConsciousness is subjective experience or awareness or wakefulness or the executive control system of the mind. It is an umbrella term that may refer to a variety of mental phenomena...
and
mindstreamMindstream, mind stream, or mental stream is the English translation of a Buddhist philosophical term for the moment-to-moment continuity of consciousness....
, either intentional or unconscious, but may also constitute an emotional filter (refer
tranceTrance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term "trance" may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
,
NLPNeuro-linguistic programming is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "a model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behaviour and the subjective experiences Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is defined in the Oxford English...
) or lens that shapes the play of our phenomenal experience; as per the incisive quotation of Bailey
et al.(1951: p. 489) in
A Treatise on White MagicA Treatise on White Magic is a book by Alice Bailey. It is considered to be among the most important by students of her writings, as it is less abstract than most, and deals with many important subjects of her works in an introductory, even programmatic fashion. It was first published in 1934 with...
:
"A thought-form can also act as a poisoning agent, and poison all the springs of life....A violent dislike, a gnawing worry, a jealousy, a constant anxiety, and a longing for something or someone, may act so potently as an irritant or poison that the entire life is spoilt, and service is rendered futile. The entire life is embittered and devitalized by the embodied worry, hatred and desire....and is held back by the poison in his [sic.] mental system. His vision becomes distorted, his nature corroded, and all his relationships impeded by the wearing, nagging thoughts which he himself embodies in form and which have a life so powerful that they can poison him."
It may be valuable to extend the water metaphor of "the springs of life" aformentioned to include the
mindstreamMindstream, mind stream, or mental stream is the English translation of a Buddhist philosophical term for the moment-to-moment continuity of consciousness....
. We now know from emergent disciplines that thoughts and emotions are chemical as well as electrical processes, refer
neuropeptideNeuropeptides are small protein-like molecules used by neurons to communicate with each other. They are neuronal signaling molecules, influence the activity of the brain in specific ways and are thus involved in particular brain functions, like analgesia, reward, food intake, learning and...
s, and may be potentially toxic. So we may indeed be driven, railroaded and
possessedPossessed may refer to:* Possession, having some degree of control over something else**Spirit possession, whereby gods, daemons, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body...
by our thoughtforms and emotions: called in popular currency 'our
demonIn religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God. A demon is frequently depicted as a force that may be conjured and insecurely controlled...
s'. These 'demons' or 'poisons' in Hindu and Buddhist traditions are known as kleśa (Sanskrit). Moreover, kleśa is often renderered into English as "poison", "obscuration" and "demon". This understanding is not to diminish the reality of adverse as well as benevolent possession and
tranceTrance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term "trance" may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
-forms but to establish a complex of views.
In the Vajrayana Buddhist view promulgated by
PadmasambhavaPadmasambhava , The Lotus Born, was an Indian sage Guru and is said to have transmitted Tantric Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet in the 8th century. In those lands he is better known as Guru Rinpoche or Lopon Rinpoche, where followers of the Nyingma school regard him as the second Buddha...
&
Jamgön KongtrülJamgon Kongtrul was a prominent Tibetan Buddhist teacher and is also the name shared by members of a lineage held by tradition to be his subsequent reincarnations ....
(1999: p. 84), the thoughtform of the
six lokasSix Lokas refers to a Bönpo and Nyingmapa spiritual practice or discipline that works with chakras and the six loka that is dimensions or planes as well as the six classes of sentient beings in the Bhavachakra...
or "six classes of beings" of 'dependant co-arrising' and the obscurations forded by the samsaric view is held to be a dream:
Due to the great demon of coemergent and conceptual ignoranceThe doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda , often translated as "dependent arising," is a cardinal doctrine within Buddhist Philosophy. Common to all schools of Buddhism, it states that phenomena arise together in a mutually interdependent web of cause and effect...
,
From the solidified habitual patterns of grasping and fixation,
And the different perceptions of worlds and inhabitants,
The six classes of beingsThe 6 realms , are the six categories of rebirths within the system of traditional Buddhist cosmology. These six realms include all the possibilities, advantageous and less advantageous, of lives in ....
appeared as a dream. (NB: original text not meta-enhanced.)
...evocative of
Edgar Allan Poe'sEdgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the...
: “All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream”.
Scientific lineage
Thoughtforms, in the sense of being homunculi of awareness with the attribute of self-will and self-determination – also figure in various cognitive and psychological theories.
Marvin MinskyMarvin Lee Minsky is an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence , co-founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, and author of several texts on AI and philosophy.-Biography:...
's "agents" are amongst the best known of these. Lester (1995: p. 123) in framing Minsky's "agents" and the logistics of their contingency states:
Minsky (1986), cofounder of the artificial intelligence laboratory at MIT, proposes that there are agencies of the mind, by which he means any and all psychological processes. Although he grants that a view of the mind as made up of many selves may be valid, he suggests that this may be a myth that we construct.
However, when introducing the concept of agencies (a broad term that includes selves as one type of agency), Minsky (1986) does suggest several important questions to ask about agencies: How do agents work? What are they made of? How do they communicate? Where do the first agents come from? Are we born with the same agents? How to make new agents and change old ones? What are the most important kinds of agents? What happens when agents disagree? How could networks of agents want or wish? How can groups of agents do what separate agents cannot do? What gives them unity or responsibility? How could they understand anything? How could they have feelings and emotions? How could they be conscious or self-aware? Not all of these questions, of course, apply to subselves. But the questions of origins, heredity, learning, character, authority, and competence are pertinent to subselves.
Andras AngyalAndras Angyal was born in rulal Transylvania , Angyal received his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna in 1927 and his M.D. from the University of Turin in 1932....
's work and the Dzogchen triunic modality of the manifestation of energy deserve a dialogic analysis.
Carl JungCarl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology known as Jungian psychology. Jung's approach to psychology has been influential in the field of depth psychology and in countercultural movements across the globe...
's technique of
Active imaginationActive Imagination is a concept developed by Carl Jung between 1913 and 1916. It is a meditation technique wherein one's emotions are translated into images, narrative or personified as separate entities. It can serve as a bridge between the conscious 'ego' and the unconscious and includes working...
involves interacting with thoughtforms of the subconscious mind. Jung identified certain universal thoughtform archetypes such as
AnimaAnima may refer to:*the Latin term for the "animating principle", see vital force**the Latin translation of Greek psyche**in Christian contexts, the soul**see also spirit...
and
Animus-Music:*Animus , an American music group* "Animus", a track on the album Music of the Spheres by Mike Oldfield-Television:*Animus , fictional character in Etheria...
which are characteristic of all humans. Psychological Archetypes are thoughtforms.
The chief difference between these scientific formulations and magickal / spiritual definitions of thoughtforms is that the former are created unconsciously whereas the latter are created deliberately.
Thoughtform phenomena, by any other name, are worked with variously in
Imaginal PsychologyImaginal Psychology is a recent branch of psychology which considers soul to be psychology’s primary concern. Central to this new discipline is the idea that the 'soul' expresses itself in images, and that care of the soul requires that we pay great attention to the images we 'inhabit'...
and
Process Oriented PsychologyProcess Oriented Psychology refers to a body of theory and practice that encompasses a broad range of psychotherapeutic, personal growth, and group process applications. It is more commonly called "Process Work" in the United States, the longer name being used in Europe and Asia...
and is evident in the work of
Gregory BatesonGregory Bateson was a British anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields. Some of his most noted writings are to be found in his books, Steps to an Ecology of Mind and Mind and Nature...
.
Jean HoustonJean Houston, Ph.D. has been a leading figure in the cross-cultural study of New Thought spirituality and ritual processes. A prolific author of books, her PBS Special A Passion for the Possible has been widely viewed....
, a disciple of
CampbellJoseph John Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience...
and
MeadMargaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, who was frequently a featured writer and speaker in the mass media throughout the 1960s and 1970s....
(and in the direct lineage of
JungCarl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology known as Jungian psychology. Jung's approach to psychology has been influential in the field of depth psychology and in countercultural movements across the globe...
), was a modern pioneer of engaging thoughtform in what she termed the 'imaginal realm', and in the associated discipline of aspecting or 'carrying'
deityA deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
,
dæmonThe words daemon, dæmon, are Latinized spellings of the Greek δαίμων , used purposely today to distinguish the daemons of Ancient Greek religion, good or malevolent "supernatural beings between mortals and gods, such as inferior divinities and ghosts of dead heroes" , from the Judeo-Christian...
or other somesuch (Houston, 1996).
Phenomenal world as thoughtform
Tenzin NamdakLopön Tenzin Namdak is Bön religious leader.-Birth, family & early education:Lopön Tenzin Namdak born in Khyungpo Karu in Kham province of Eastern Tibet to a family of famous artists. In 1933, at the age of seven he entered Tingchen Monastery in the same district...
(2002: p. 37) translates the 'fruit' (Tibetan:
'bras) of the 'Khorde Rushen' (Tibetan: khor-'das ru-shan
) 'preparatory practice' (Tibetan: ngondroNgöndro refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational 'practices' or 'disciplines' common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bön...
) of the
BönBön is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, has recently recognized the Bön tradition as the fifth principal spiritual school of Tibet, along with the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug schools of Buddhism, despite the long historical competition of...
DzogchenAccording to some schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school, that is also practised by adherents of other Tibetan Buddhist sects. According to...
lineage thus:
All things are created by your thought and mind - and if you look back to the source of your thought and mind you find that it disappears. It dissolves and goes back to its nature. That is the limit; every individual thing is dependent on the mind. All worldly life, all the beings in the six realms are in the same situation. The purpose of this practice is to stop all desire for worldly life - to see that it is all created by our mind. The world is like a common mind.
Towards the end of his life, the visionary biologist Gregory Bateson intuited the manifested realm to be a thoughtform of the unmanifested. Lawlor (1991: p. 43) cites Bateson from
LovelockJames Ephraim Lovelock, CH, CBE, FRS is an independent scientist, author, researcher, environmentalist, and futurist who lives in Devon, England...
(1995: p. 218):
The individual mind is imminent but not only in the body. It is imminent also in pathways and messages outside the body, and there is a larger mind of which the individual mind is only a sub-system. This larger mind is comparable to God and is perhaps what some people mean by God, but it is still imminent in the total interconnected social systems and planetary ecology.
Buddha Shakyamuni employed ten traditional similes in explanation of 'phenomena' (Sanskrit: dharmas
) these are known as the "Ten Similes of Illusory Phenomena" (Wylie: shes-bya sgyu-ma'i dpe-bcu
):
The ten similes which illustrate the illusory nature of all things are: illusion (
sgyu-ma
), mirage (smig-rgyu
), dream (rmi-lam
), reflected image (gzugz-brnyan
), a celestial city (dzi-za'i grong-khyer
), echo (brag-ca
), reflection of the moon in water (chu-zla
), bubble of water (chu-bur
), optical illusion (mig-yor
), and an intangible emanation (sprul-pa
).
Varṇamālā (Garland of Phonemes)
Varṇa
(Sanskrit) holds the semantic field "colour", "class", "phoneme", "syllable", "letter"; mālāA Japa mala or mala is a set of beads commonly used by Hindus and Buddhists, usually made from 108 beads, though other numbers, usually divisible by 9, are also used. Malas are used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or the name or names of a deity...
(Sanskrit) holds the semantic field "garland", "ley", "wreath", "prayer beads", "rosary". Varṇamālā denotes the alphabet of
DevanagariDevanagari , also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right, lacks distinct letter cases, and is recognizable by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that links them together. Devanāgarī is the main script used to...
, that has come to be common for
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
post-
medieval IndiaThe Middle Ages in the Indian subcontinent:*Early Middle Ages: Middle kingdoms of India*Hoysala Empire*Kakatiya dynasty*Late Middle Ages: Islamic empires in India...
. Indeed, Varṇamālā not only denotes the set of phonemes of Sanskrit and languages evolved from it, but denotes the glyphs in the
abugidaAn abugida , also called an alphasyllabary, is a segmental writing system which is based on consonants, and in which vowel notation is obligatory but secondary. This contrasts with an alphabet proper, in which vowels have status equal to consonants, and with an abjad, in which vowel marking is...
scripts for such languages. Rongzompa realised the 'thirteenth bhumi of Mantrayana' which may also be rendered in English as "Chakra of Letters" (Sanskrit: Varṇamālā
; Wylie: yi ge
'khor lo tshogs chen gyi sa
). It should be noted that the term Deva+Naga+ri is constructed from a conjunction of devaDeva can refer to:A religious concept:* Deva , Hindu deity or deities* Deva , a superhuman being in traditional Buddhist cosmology* Deva , spiritual forces or beings behind nature...
"divinity" and nāgaNaga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Naga people, an diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India* Naga , from Kashmir* Naga Regiment, of the Indian Army...
"serpent", and that snakes often form a "circular" garland-like shape, refer Ourorboros, and are evident throughout Dharmic iconographyIconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek εἰκών "image" and γράφειν "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons...
as girdles, malas, garlands, torques, armbands, etc., as investitureInvestiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent in public office, especially by taking possession of its insignia...
of adornment are 'symbolic attributes' (Tibetan: phyag mtshan). Devanagari seceded from Brāhmī script which is even more visually serpentine.
ConzeEberhart Julius Dietrich Conze was an Anglo-German scholar probably best known for his pioneering translations of Buddhist texts.-Life and work:...
(1980: p. 12) states:
For the last two thousand years Buddhism has mainly flourished in rice-growing countries and little elsewhere. In addition, and that is much harder to explain, it has spread only in those countries which had previously had a cult of Serpents or Dragons, and never made headway in those parts of the world which view the killing of dragons as a meritorious deed or blame serpents for mankind's ills.
In addition to the circular formation of snakes (and dragons), their
boonPlaces:* Boon Township, Warrick County, Indiana* Boon Township, Michigan* Boon Lake Township, Minnesota* Boon Lay, Singapore* Boon Tat Street* Boon Keng MRT StationPeople:*Clint Boon, musician and member of indie rock group the Inspiral Carpets...
as holders and givers of wisdom as well as their
baneBané is a town in the Bané Department of Boulgou Province in south-eastern Burkina Faso. As of 2005, the town has a population of 1,095....
as bringers of deception and illusion, is evident throughout
folkloreFolklore is the body of expressive culture, including stories, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which...
of the
human conditionThe human condition refers to the distinctive features of human existence. As finite and mortal entities, there are series of features that are common to most human lives, and some that are inevitable for all. These features and the human response to them constitute the human condition...
and reveals the fundamental qualitative dichotomy of
languageA language is a system for encoding and decoding information. In its most common use, the term refers to so-called "natural languages" — the forms of communication considered peculiar to humankind. In linguistics the term is extended to refer to the human cognitive facility of creating and using...
and
codeIn communications, a code is a rule for converting a piece of information into another form or representation , not necessarily of the same type. In communications and information processing, encoding is the process by which information from a source is converted into symbols to be communicated...
as both conduits of
informationInformation as a concept has many meanings, from everyday usage to technical settings. The concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, instruction, knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus, pattern, perception, and representation.The English...
and
noiseIn common use, the word noise means unwanted sound or noise pollution. In both analog and digital electronics, noise or signal noise is an unwanted random addition to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the audible noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission...
. The inherent flexibility and elongation of the snake-form, lends itself to making rudimentrary shapes and forms, and for the ancient Vedic tradition and its cultural tributaries of the
Indo-europeanIndo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan, a 19th century term for Indo-European speakers.* Proto-Indo-European language, the reconstructed common ancestor of all Indo-European languages....
language family, is the
fontIn typography, a font is traditionally defined as a complete character set of a single size and style of a particular typeface...
of archetypal signification. It should also be stated that nāga as concealers and revealers of 'treasures' (Tibetan:
TermaTerma are key Tibetan Buddhist and Bön teachings, which the tradition holds were originally esoterically hidden by various adepts such as Padmasambhava and his consorts in the 8th century for future discovery at auspicious times by other adepts, known as tertöns. As such, they represent a tradition...
) are endemic in Terma literature, as are
DakiniA dakini is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered Khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'...
.
NagarjunaAcharya Nāgārjuna was an Indian philosopher and the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism....
received the
PrajnaparamitaPrajñāpāramitā Prajñāpāramitā Prajñāpāramitā (Devanagari: प्रज्ञा पारमिता, ་ཤེས་རབ་ཕ་རོལ་, , Japanese: Korean: banya-paramilda (般若波羅蜜多/반야파라밀다) Vietnamese: Bát Nhã Ba La Mật Đa (般若波羅蜜多), Tibetan: Yumchenmo, and , translated as the "Perfection of Wisdom", is one of the aspects of a bodhisattva's...
from the Nāga. In discussing the thoughtform Varṇamālā, it should be noted that particular 'energetic signatory glyphs' (Tibetan: gter ston gter btags) are inseparable from the tradition of
TertönA tertön is one who finds terma. Many tertöns are considered incarnations of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava. A vast system of transmission lineages developed. Nyingma scriptures were updated by terma discoveries and terma teachings have guided many Buddhist and Bön practitioners.Guru...
s.
Khanna (2003: p. 21) links
mantraFor secular and business interpretation, see Motto.A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of "creating transformation"...
s and
yantraYantra are 'instruments'. The meaning is contextual. Much like the word 'instrument' itself. It can stand for symbols, processes, automata, machinery or anything that has structure and organization. One use popular in the west is as symbols or geometric figures. Traditionally such symbols are used...
s to thoughtforms:
Mantras, the Sanskrit syllables inscribed on yantras, are essentially 'thought forms' representing divinities or cosmic powers, which exert their influence by means of sound-vibrations.
In the Dharmic traditions, all phenomena are essentially the 'formation of vibration and resonance' (Sanskrit:
namarupaNāmarūpa is a dvandva compound in Sanskrit and Pali meaning "name and form ".Synonyms:*名色 Cn: míngsè; Jp: myōshiki; Vi: danh sắc*Tibetan: ming.gzugs-Nāmarūpa in Buddhism:...
). Mookerjee and Khanna (1977: p. 33) state how all form arises from the the
AumAum Aum Aum (also Om, written in Devanagari as , in Chinese and Japanese as , in Tibetan as , in Sanskrit known as lit. "to sound out loudly" or lit...
:
The Primal Sound as the monosyllabic mantra Oṃ is the basis of cosmic evolution. All the elemental sound-forms of mantras emanate from this eternal sound. Sound and form are interdependent, and every form is a vibration of a certain density; conversely, every sound has a visual equivalent. Sound is the reflex of form and form is the product of sound. All that is animate and inanimate are vibrations of a particular frequency. All the mantras have their colour forms, and when a mantra is pronounced properly its visual correlates begin to manifest. The dynamic power-pattern rooted in sound by which it is revealed is called a yantra.
Hence, all phenomena are constituted by
BījaIn Hinduism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit term bīja , literally seed, is used as a metaphor for the origin or cause of things and cognate with bindu....
, known in Tibetan as sprul pa cho 'phrul gyi yi ge
, "spontaneously emergent magical phonemes/letters/symbols", which is another way of perceiving the all-pervasive buddha-natureBuddha-nature is a doctrine important for many schools of Mahayana...
, the 'Thirteenth Bhumi' or the 'Third Bhumi of Enlightenment' (Tibetan: yi ge 'khor lo tshogs chen
; "the bhumi where the Universe is present as a rotating procession of spell-letters").
What the!
A principal tenet in the film What the Bleep Do We Know!?What the Bleep Do We Know!? is a 2004 film which combines documentary-style interviews, computer-animated graphics, and a narrative that posits a spiritual connection between quantum physics and consciousness...
is that the
UniverseThe Universe comprises everything that physically exists, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy, and the physical laws and constants that govern them...
is envisioned as constructed from thought (or ideas) rather than from substance. The movie is a vehicle exploring the views of
JZ KnightJudy Zebra Knight is a self claimed channel and the CEO of JZK, Inc., parent company of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. Knight says that on February 7, 1977 an entity she calls Ramtha, The Enlightened One, appeared to her and her husband in the kitchen of her Tacoma, Washington mobile home...
/Ramtha. This idea is also explored by
Fred Alan WolfFred Alan Wolf is a theoretical physicist and writer on the subjects of quantum physics, consciousness, and their relationship. He is a science popularizer on the Discovery Channel, and has authored a number of books...
(1994) and
Amit GoswamiAmit Goswami is a theoretical nuclear physicist and member of The University of Oregon Institute for Theoretical Physics since 1968, teaching physics for 32 years...
. Goswami, a proponent of lucid dreaming, has affirmed that "during a dream that felt like an admonition...[that he heard]...so clearly: '
The Tibetan Book of the DeadThe Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State , sometimes translated as Liberation Through Hearing or Bardo Thodol is a funerary text...
is correct. It's your job to prove it!' The Bardo Thodol is a
DzogchenAccording to some schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school, that is also practised by adherents of other Tibetan Buddhist sects. According to...
cycle of teaching.
Dream YogaDream Yoga or Milam ) — the Yoga of the Dream State are a suite of advanced tantric sadhana of the entwined Mantrayana lineages of Dzogchen...
is a senior
sadhanaSādhanā , is a term for "a means of accomplishing something" or more specifically "spiritual practice". It includes a variety of disciplines from Hindu and Buddhist traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives. The word is also used in the same...
of Dzogchen. Dzogchen, a confluence and complex of practices, philosophies and worldviews of the mystical shamanic Bönpo and tantric Vajrayana Buddhism that yields the view that phenomena is a thoughtform or a dreamform. Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche (2002), a Dzogchen Master, expounds this view (refer Dzogchen#Reality vs dreams).
Working definitions
A number of prima facie unrelated definitions have been suggested:
- An image or images held in the mind of a practitioner which aids in the manifestation
Manifestation may refer to any one of the following:* the Manifestation of God, which are the prophets of the Bahá'í Faith* the Law of Attraction is a New Age thought that people can manifest reality using thoughts* manifestation of glass, ie...
of intent. An agency of psychic effect which exists and takes form on the pre-physical realms of existence, which acts in accord with the Intent of its creator(s).
- A living spiritual being created by humans. It could be a magical person's helper, or a being created by the belief in it from masses of people.
- A homunculus of awareness: an instantaneous observer / observed duality. Homunculi appear in various theories of cognitive philosophy and psychology to account for different facets of conscious self. They are created by everyone every moment (in some formulations they are everyone every moment); and they possess wills of their own.
Thoughtforms and Annie Besant
Thought Forms is a
bookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
, by
Annie BesantAnnie Wood Besant was a prominent Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.-Early life:...
and C.W. Leadbeater, which is a study on the nature and power of
thoughtThought and thinking are mental forms and processes, respectively . Thinking allows beings to model the world and to deal with it according to their objectives, plans, ends and desires. Words referring to similar concepts and processes include cognition, sentience, consciousness, idea, and...
s. (ISBN 0-8356-0008-4)
The authors state that thoughts have two effects: "a radiating
vibrationOscillation is the repetitive variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value or between two or more different states. Familiar examples include a swinging pendulum and AC power...
and a floating form".
Thought forms are divided into three classes:
- That which takes the image of the thinker.
- That which takes the image of some material
Material is synonymous with substance, and is anything made of matter hydrogen, air and water are all examples of materials. Sometimes the term "material" is used more narrowly to refer to substances or components with certain physical properties that are used as inputs to production or manufacturing...
objectIn philosophy, an object is a thing, an entity, or a being. This may be taken in several senses. In its weakest sense, the word "object" is the most all-purpose of nouns, and can replace a noun in any sentence at all...
.
- That which takes a form entirely its own, expressing its inherent qualities in the matter
The term matter traditionally refers to the substance that all objects are made of. One common way to identify this "substance" is through its physical properties; a common definition of matter is anything that has mass and occupies a volume...
which it draws round it.
The effect of
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, emotions, and colors on thought forms is also studied in the book.
The effect of the music of
MendelssohnMendelsohn is a Jewish family name, meaning "son of Mendel", Mendel being a Yiddish diminutive of the Hebrew given name Menahem, meaning "consoling" or "one who consoles".Mendelssohn is the surname of a number of people:...
(No. 9 of his "Songs without words"), Gounod (Soldiers Chorus from "Faust") and
Richard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas...
(Overture to "The Meistersingers") is studied. The music of Wagner produced a "marvellous mountain-range" on the thought forms.
Tulpa in popular culture
Many authors and artists have since used tulpas in their works, both in the context of fiction and in writing about mysticism. Horror author
Clive BarkerClive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction....
, for example, envisioned his famous "Candy Man" killer to be nothing more than a myth gone terribly awry in his original story.
Music
- "Tulpa" is a series of atmospheric tunes by Swedish
Swedes are a Scandinavian people, mostly inhabiting Sweden and the other Nordic countries, with descendants living in a number of countries....
dark ambientDark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of new synthesizer and sampling technology in the electronic music genre and other technical advances in music...
composer Peter AnderssonPeter Andersson is a music composer within the ambient, noise, industrial, electronic and experimental genre....
.
- "My Tulpa"is a song title by the Manchester post-punk band Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles, generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
on their album titled, "Real Life". It was written by Howard Devoto, the lead singer/songwriter.
- "The Tulpa" is a series of black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It often employs fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, double-kick drumming, and unconventional song structure....
tunes by Swedish multi-style composer Chaan.
- Tulpa is a psychedelic rock band from Toronto, Canada that started performing together in 1981. Eventually releasing a single "Apologize to your Mother", an LP "Mosaic Fish" and "Live From CBGB".
Television
- In the X-Files
The X-Files is an American cult science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. It first aired in September 1993 and ended in May 2002...
episode Arcadia (6X13), the president of the homeowners' association for an exclusive gated community uses a tulpa to enforce the neighborhood rules; those who repeatedly violate the guidelines meet a grisly fate at its hands.
- The Supernatural
Supernatural is an American drama/horror television series starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, brothers who hunt demons and other figures of the paranormal. The series, which is filmed in Vancouver, BC, debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now...
episode Hell House (1.17) features a haunted house in which the resident malevolent spirit turns out to be a tulpa, created when the beliefs of thousands of website visitors are focused through a Tibetan sigilA sigil is a symbol created for a specific magical purpose. A sigil is usually made up of a complex combination of several specific symbols or geometric figures, each with a specific meaning or intent....
painted on one wall of the house.
- In the So Weird
So Weird is a television series shot in Vancouver, British Columbia that aired on the Disney Channel as a midseason replacement from January 18, 1999 to September 28, 2001. The series at first centered around teenage girl Fiona Phillips who toured with her rock star mom , encountering paranormal...
episode PK (or Tulpa). Fi meets a little boy who is troublesome and it is caused because of a Tulpa he creates. He thinks it is an imaginary friend but Fi tells him it's some type of energy he created and helps him solve it.
- In Tears of Kali by Andreas Marschall, an entity becomes an evil murderer that can't be controlled.
- In Paranoia Agent
is a Japanese anime television series created by director Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse about a social phenomenon in Musashino, Tokyo caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Lil' Slugger...
, the character Lil' Slugger (Shonen Bat) is revealed to have materialized thanks to the growing hysteria caused when Tsukiko Sagi claimed he attacked her.
- The Tulpa is a Canadian short film.
Literature
- Authors Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is an author of books on a number of topics, including cryptozoology, who was born in 1947 in Norfolk, Virginia and grew up in Decatur, Illinois.-Education:...
and Jerome ClarkJerome Clark is an American researcher and writer, specializing in unidentified flying objects and other anomalous phenomena; he is also a songwriter of some note....
, in their writings for Fate MagazineFate is a magazine of paranormal phenomena co-founded in 1948 by Raymond A. Palmer and Curtis Fuller.Promoted as the world's leading magazine of the paranormal, it has published expert opinions and personal experiences relating to UFOs, psychic abilities, ghosts and hauntings, cryptozoology,...
in the early 1970s and their first two books, "The Unidentified" (Warner Books, 1975) and "Creatures of the Outer Edge" (Warner Books, 1978), modernized and popularized tulpas for a new generation of ufologists and cryptozoologists. The surviving "zooform" movement in the United Kingdom can be traced to Clark's and Coleman's reworking of the tulpa concepts. Coleman and Clark have since rejected the tulpa theories as the foundation to unexplained phenomena, and have written a new introduction to the combined republishing of these two works by Anomalist Books in 2006: The Unidentified & Creatures of the Outer Edge: The Early Works of Jerome Clark and Loren Coleman (NY: Anomalist Books, 2006, ISBN 1-933665-11-4).
- In Nightingale's Lament by Simon Green, a tulpa in the image of John Taylor's client is sent after him at one point, tracking him by a hair the client left on his jacket; it disappears when the hair is destroyed.
- In Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison
Kim Harrison is a nom de plume of American author, Dawn Cook. Under the name of Harrison, she is best known for her Rachel Morgan urban fantasy series set in an alternate history where a worldwide pandemic caused by genetically modified tomatoes led to the death of a large portion of the world's...
, 'Tulpa' is the focus word used to create a three-dimensional circle in the main character, Rachel Morgan's imagination, and is used to hold an overflow of power.
- In American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, audio theatre, and films. His notable works include The Sandman comic series, Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
, various deity-like beings are created through cultural belief, a certain society's perception of, say, Odin, creating a form of that god particular to that society.
- In It
It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The story is about seven children being terrorized by a shape-shifting, child-killing malevolent entity - known as "IT" - that takes the form of their deepest fears but primarily appears in the form of a clown, calling itself "Pennywise the...
by Stephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American writer of contemporary horror fiction, science fiction, fantasy literature, and screenplays. An estimated 300–350 million copies of King's novels and short story collections have been sold, and many of his stories have been adapted for film, television, and...
, the eponymous entity's various manifestations are given form and power by the belief of the townspeople.
- In Outcast by Lynne Ewing
Lynne Ewing is an American author and a screen writer.She always had to move around a lot when she was growing up because her father was in the Marine Corps. She has two sisters. Lynne graduated from high school in Lima, Peru after attending seven other schools. While she was in Peru, she learned...
, the main character, Kyle, is confronted and pestered by a tulpa of his own creation, that convinces him that he is his lost twin brother.
- In Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. He is best-known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings.-Early years:...
’s MarvelMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
graphic novel ‘Fantastic FourThe Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new naturalism in the medium...
1234’ (2002) Reed Richards muses on a fictitious journey to TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
where, with the help of BönBön is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, has recently recognized the Bön tradition as the fifth principal spiritual school of Tibet, along with the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug schools of Buddhism, despite the long historical competition of...
priest, he creates a Tulpa, a “thoughtform”. After Richards names it ‘Victor’ the Tulpa takes on a life of its own, becoming Richards’ opposite number. This was an alternative, fantastical, origin for Richards’ arch enemy Dr Doom (aka Victor Von Doom).
- According to the book The Teachings of Don Juan Matus, a Mexican shaman by the name of Don Juan Matus
Don Juan Matus is a major character in the series of books on Native shamanism by Carlos Castaneda. He is described as a Yaqui Indian to whom Castaneda was introduced somewhere around the U.S.-Mexico border beginning in the early 1960s...
, who had taught his student Carlos CastanedaCarlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-born American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his purported training in traditional Mesoamerican shamanism. His 12 books have sold more than 8 million copies in 17 languages...
, the books author, about the true nature of the physical universe and how intense concentration can summon, apportAn apport is supposed to be the paranormal transference of an article from one place to another, or an appearance of an article from an unknown source. They are supposed to be associated with poltergeist activity, and on rare occasions are said to be witnessed landing on the floor, in a person's...
, and even materialize objects out of thin air. It was said that Carlos CastanedaCarlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-born American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his purported training in traditional Mesoamerican shamanism. His 12 books have sold more than 8 million copies in 17 languages...
was able to materialize a living squirrel on the palm of Don Juan's hand based on the latter's instruction. Many of his claims have been disputed by members of the anthropologicalAnthropology is the study of human beings, everywhere and throughout time....
profession.
- In Secrets & Mysteries of the World by Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne is an American author on the subject of spirituality who performs as a psychic and spiritual medium...
, chapter 7: Tulpas, explains brief story of old Tulpas and new Tulpas from England.
- In The Mothman Prophecies by John A. Keel, the author alludes to several ghost and UFO sightings as likely being tulpas.
- In Las Ruinas Circulares by Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , best known as Jorge Luis Borges, was an Argentine writer and poet born in Buenos Aires. In 1914, his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school and traveled to Spain. On his return to Argentina in 1921, Borges began publishing his poems and...
, the hole tale is about the creation of a tulpa that become evil and dangerous.
- Smith, Russell James (2003). Tulpa. Writers Advantage. ISBN 0595274900 / ISBN 978-0595274901 (a work of fiction)
- In The Wheel of Darkness
The Wheel of Darkness is a 2007 novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.-Plot summary:This novel picks up shortly following the events depicted in The Book of the Dead....
by Douglas PrestonDouglas Preston is an author of seventeen popular techno-thriller and horror novels, four alone and the rest with Lincoln Child...
and Lincoln ChildLincoln Child is an author of seventeen techno-thriller and horror novels. Often paired with writing partner Douglas Preston, many of their novels have become bestsellers and one, Relic, was adapted into a feature film...
, a tulpa is created.
- Alvin Schwartz, writer of Superman comics during the '40s and '50s, writes in his book, An Unlikely Prophet about a tulpa he meets, named Thongden. The tulpa educates Schwartz about his own tulpa, Superman. ISBN 0965952126 and ISBN 978-0965952125
- Starting in July 1989, Alan Grant (writer) wrote a story arc for Batman
The Batman, originally referred to as the Bat-Man, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger , appearing in publications by DC Comics...
entitled "Tulpa", in which a Tibetian man creates entities to steal for him in order to repay a mob boss.
- The concept of tulpas is discussed (and may figure prominently) in the comic book series Doktor Sleepless
Doktor Sleepless is a monthly comic book series written by Warren Ellis with art by Ivan Rodriguez that is published by Avatar Press, launched in July 2007...
by Warren EllisWarren Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, well known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
.
- A tulpa that created by Niccolo Machiavelli who makes its body from wax fights the main characters in Michael Scott's "The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Magician is a 2008 novel by Irish author Michael Scott, the second part in the six-book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, and is the sequel to The Alchemyst: The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel. It was released on 5 June 2008 in the United Kingdom, and on the 24 June...
".
Games
- In the RPG (Role-Playing Game) Over the Edge, Tulpas are used as background characters (NPC's). They also have natural enemies, sociopathic individuals called Sandmen, who prey on them to create either "Nightmare" (a drug) or "Dreamweb" (gossamer webs that can capture dreams from people). Dreamweb are typically used to capture the nightmares of neurotic individuals, which are also sold as something like a drug.
- Although the word "Tulpa" is never used in the Changeling: the Dreaming RPG, creatures known as "Chimera" fulfill a role very similar to Tulpa. Chimera may be sentient or non-sentient entities made manifest in the mental alternate reality of "The Dreaming". They typically arise spontaneously due to the force of human thought and emotion, sometimes from the dreams of individuals but potentially as amalgams of all human thought. These beings are typically weakened by exposure to human doubt, but nevertheless some have the necessary strength and abilities to manifest as tangible entities in the mundane world of humans, at least for a time.
- In the ARG (Alternate Reality Gaming), The Hunt for Sammex83, it is said that the Sammex83 is a tulpa that lives both in the Internet and the real world.
Tulpas as explanation for unverified creatures
Tulpas have been suggested as an explanation for the existence of a number of
cryptidCryptid is a term which is used in cryptozoology to refer to a creature whose existence has been suggested but lacks scientific support. This includes purported organisms such as Bigfoot, Yeti, and the Loch Ness Monster....
s. Some among them have almost become distinguishing features for the geographical locations they are inhabiting, such as the
Loch Ness MonsterThe Loch Ness Monster is a creature reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is the most famous of the supposed lake monsters reported throughout Scotland and elsewhere...
(
Loch NessLoch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 km southwest of Inverness. Its surface is 15.8 metres above sea level...
,
Scottish HighlandsThe Scottish Highlands include the rugged and mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east...
) and the
YetiThe Yeti or Abominable Snowman is a mythological creature and an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
(
HimalayaThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
n region of
NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
).
This would also be a possible explanation for why the creatures are so rarely seen. Some tulpas seem to have an ability to appear and disappear whenever they want to; hence just showing short fragments at a time.
See also
- Bardo
The Tibetan word Bardo means literally "intermediate state" - also translated as "transitional state" or "in-between state" or "liminal state". In Sanskrit the concept has the name antarabhāva....
- Dream yoga
Dream Yoga or Milam ) — the Yoga of the Dream State are a suite of advanced tantric sadhana of the entwined Mantrayana lineages of Dzogchen...
- Egregore
Egregore is an occult concept representing a "thoughtform" or "collective group mind", an autonomous psychic entity made up of, and influencing, the thoughts of a group of people...
- Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated being created entirely from inanimate matter. In modern Hebrew the word golem literally means "cocoon", but can also mean "fool", "silly", or even "stupid". The name appears to derive from the word gelem , which means "raw material"...
- Imaginary friend
Imaginary friends, also known as "imaginary companions", are pretend characters often created by children. Imaginary friends often function as tutelaries when they are engaged by the child in play activity. Imaginary friends may exist for the child into adolescence and sometimes adulthood...
- String theory
String theory is a developing branch of theoretical physics that combines quantum mechanics and general relativity into a quantum theory of gravity...
- Dialogue
A dialogue is a conversation between two or more people. It is also a literary form in which two or more parties engage in a discussion.-Literary and philosophical genre:...
- Egregore
Egregore is an occult concept representing a "thoughtform" or "collective group mind", an autonomous psychic entity made up of, and influencing, the thoughts of a group of people...
- Thought Forms
Thought Forms is a book, by Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater, which is a study on the nature and power of thoughts. The authors state that thoughts have two effects: "a radiating vibration and a floating form"....
- Alexandra David-Néel
Alexandra David-Néel born Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David was a Belgian-French explorer, anarchist, spiritualist, Buddhist and writer, most known for her visit to Lhasa, Tibet, in 1924, when it was forbidden to foreigners...
Literature
- In Nightingale's Lament by Simon Green, a tulpa in the image of John Taylor's client is sent after him at one point, tracking him by a hair the client left on his jacket; it disappears when the hair is destroyed.
- In Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison
Kim Harrison is a nom de plume of American author, Dawn Cook. Under the name of Harrison, she is best known for her Rachel Morgan urban fantasy series set in an alternate history where a worldwide pandemic caused by genetically modified tomatoes led to the death of a large portion of the world's...
, 'Tulpa' is the focus word used to create a three-dimensional circle in the main character, Rachel Morgan's imagination, and is used to hold an overflow of power.
- In American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, audio theatre, and films. His notable works include The Sandman comic series, Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
, various deity-like beings are created through cultural belief, a certain society's perception of, say, Odin, creating a form of that god particular to that society.
- In It
It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The story is about seven children being terrorized by a shape-shifting, child-killing malevolent entity - known as "IT" - that takes the form of their deepest fears but primarily appears in the form of a clown, calling itself "Pennywise the...
by Stephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American writer of contemporary horror fiction, science fiction, fantasy literature, and screenplays. An estimated 300–350 million copies of King's novels and short story collections have been sold, and many of his stories have been adapted for film, television, and...
, the eponymous entity's various manifestations are given form and power by the belief of the townspeople.
- In Outcast by Lynne Ewing
Lynne Ewing is an American author and a screen writer.She always had to move around a lot when she was growing up because her father was in the Marine Corps. She has two sisters. Lynne graduated from high school in Lima, Peru after attending seven other schools. While she was in Peru, she learned...
, the main character, Kyle, is confronted and pestered by a tulpa of his own creation, that convinces him that he is his lost twin brother.
- In Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, well known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
's Doktor SleeplessDoktor Sleepless is a monthly comic book series written by Warren Ellis with art by Ivan Rodriguez that is published by Avatar Press, launched in July 2007...
the title character creates a Tulpa of himself allowing for one to be imprisoned while the other goes free.
- In Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. He is best-known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings.-Early years:...
’s MarvelMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
graphic novel ‘Fantastic FourThe Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new naturalism in the medium...
1234’ (2002) Reed Richards muses on a fictitious journey to TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
where, with the help of BönBön is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, has recently recognized the Bön tradition as the fifth principal spiritual school of Tibet, along with the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug schools of Buddhism, despite the long historical competition of...
priest, he creates a Tulpa, a “thoughtform”. After Richards names it ‘Victor’ the Tulpa takes on a life of its own, becoming Richards’ opposite number. This was an alternative, fantastical, origin for Richards’ arch enemy Dr Doom (aka Victor Von Doom).
- According to the book The Teachings of Don Juan Matus, a Mexican shaman by the name of Don Juan Matus
Don Juan Matus is a major character in the series of books on Native shamanism by Carlos Castaneda. He is described as a Yaqui Indian to whom Castaneda was introduced somewhere around the U.S.-Mexico border beginning in the early 1960s...
, who had taught his student Carlos CastanedaCarlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-born American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his purported training in traditional Mesoamerican shamanism. His 12 books have sold more than 8 million copies in 17 languages...
, the books author, about the true nature of the physical universe and how intense concentration can summon, apportAn apport is supposed to be the paranormal transference of an article from one place to another, or an appearance of an article from an unknown source. They are supposed to be associated with poltergeist activity, and on rare occasions are said to be witnessed landing on the floor, in a person's...
, and even materialize objects out of thin air. It was said that Carlos CastanedaCarlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-born American author. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his purported training in traditional Mesoamerican shamanism. His 12 books have sold more than 8 million copies in 17 languages...
was able to materialize a living squirrel on the palm of Don Juan's hand based on the latter's instruction. Many of his claims have been disputed by members of the anthropologicalAnthropology is the study of human beings, everywhere and throughout time....
profession.
- In Secrets & Mysteries of the World by Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne is an American author on the subject of spirituality who performs as a psychic and spiritual medium...
, chapter 7: Tulpas, explains brief story of old Tulpas and new Tulpas from England. Alexandra David-NéelAlexandra David-Néel born Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David was a Belgian-French explorer, anarchist, spiritualist, Buddhist and writer, most known for her visit to Lhasa, Tibet, in 1924, when it was forbidden to foreigners...
's Friar Tuck-like monk tulpa is also mentioned.
- In The Mothman Prophecies by John A. Keel, the author alludes to several ghost and UFO sightings as likely being tulpas.
- In Las Ruinas Circulares by Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , best known as Jorge Luis Borges, was an Argentine writer and poet born in Buenos Aires. In 1914, his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school and traveled to Spain. On his return to Argentina in 1921, Borges began publishing his poems and...
, the hole tale is about the creation of a tulpa that become evil and dangerous.
- Smith, Russell James (2003). Tulpa. Writers Advantage. ISBN 0595274900 / ISBN 978-0595274901 (a work of fiction)
- In The Wheel of Darkness
The Wheel of Darkness is a 2007 novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.-Plot summary:This novel picks up shortly following the events depicted in The Book of the Dead....
by Douglas PrestonDouglas Preston is an author of seventeen popular techno-thriller and horror novels, four alone and the rest with Lincoln Child...
and Lincoln ChildLincoln Child is an author of seventeen techno-thriller and horror novels. Often paired with writing partner Douglas Preston, many of their novels have become bestsellers and one, Relic, was adapted into a feature film...
, a tulpa is created.
- Alvin Schwartz (author)
Alvin Schwartz is an American novelist, poet, essayist, and comic-book writer best known for his Batman and Superman stories, in the latter of which he introduced DC Comics' popular Bizarro World...
, writer of Superman comics during the '40s and '50s, writes in his book, An Unlikely Prophet about a tulpa he meets, named Thongden. The tulpa educates Schwartz about his own tulpa, Superman. ISBN 0965952126 and ISBN 978-0965952125
- Starting in July 1989, Alan Grant (writer) wrote a story arc for Batman
The Batman, originally referred to as the Bat-Man, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger , appearing in publications by DC Comics...
entitled "Tulpa", in which a Tibetian man creates entities to steal for him in order to repay a mob boss.
- Horror author Clive Barker
Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction....
envisioned his famous "Candy Man" killer to be nothing more than a myth gone terribly awry in his original story.
Film and television
- In the X-Files
The X-Files is an American cult science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. It first aired in September 1993 and ended in May 2002...
episode Arcadia (6X13), the president of the homeowners' association for an exclusive gated community uses a tulpa to enforce the neighborhood rules; those who repeatedly violate the guidelines meet a grisly fate at its hands.
- The Supernatural
Supernatural is an American drama/horror television series starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, brothers who hunt demons and other figures of the paranormal. The series, which is filmed in Vancouver, BC, debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now...
episode Hell House (1.17) features a haunted house in which the resident malevolent spirit turns out to be a tulpa, created when the beliefs of thousands of website visitors are focused through a Tibetan sigilA sigil is a symbol created for a specific magical purpose. A sigil is usually made up of a complex combination of several specific symbols or geometric figures, each with a specific meaning or intent....
painted on one wall of the house.
- In the So Weird
So Weird is a television series shot in Vancouver, British Columbia that aired on the Disney Channel as a midseason replacement from January 18, 1999 to September 28, 2001. The series at first centered around teenage girl Fiona Phillips who toured with her rock star mom , encountering paranormal...
episode PK (or Tulpa). Fi meets a little boy who is troublesome and it is caused because of a Tulpa he creates. He thinks it is an imaginary friend but Fi tells him it's some type of energy he created and helps him solve it.
- In Tears of Kali by Andreas Marschall, an entity becomes an evil murderer that can't be controlled.
- In Paranoia Agent
is a Japanese anime television series created by director Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse about a social phenomenon in Musashino, Tokyo caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Lil' Slugger...
, the character Lil' Slugger (Shonen Bat) is revealed to have materialized thanks to the growing hysteria caused when Tsukiko Sagi claimed he attacked her.
- The Tulpa is a Canadian short film.
- In the movie "Forbidden Planet" a malevolent entity exists which is created by the violent subconscious thoughts of otherwise civilized beings.
- In the animated television show, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is an American animated television series created and produced at Cartoon Network Studios by animator Craig McCracken. It first premiered on Cartoon Network on August 13, 2004, as a 90-minute television movie, which led to a series of half-hour episodes...
, imaginary friends are depicted as corporeal, living thoughtforms, brought to life upon being imagined by a child.
- In The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters is an American animated television series based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television, DiC Entertainment and Coca-Cola. "The Real" was added to the title over a dispute with Filmation and its Ghost...
episode "Elementary My Dear Winston", the fictitious characters Sherlock Holmes, Watson and Moriarty materialize as ghosts despite having never been alive. Egon explains their existence as "popularity ghosts", characters brought to life through the combined thoughts of thousands of readers over decades of constant mental focus.
Games
- In the RPG (Role-Playing Game) Over the Edge, Tulpas are used as background characters (NPC's). They also have natural enemies, sociopathic individuals called Sandmen, who prey on them to create either "Nightmare" (a drug) or "Dreamweb" (gossamer webs that can capture dreams from people). Dreamweb are typically used to capture the nightmares of neurotic individuals, which are also sold as something like a drug.
- Although the word "Tulpa" is never used in the Changeling: the Dreaming RPG, creatures known as "Chimera" fulfill a role very similar to Tulpa. Chimera may be sentient or non-sentient entities made manifest in the mental alternate reality of "The Dreaming". They typically arise spontaneously due to the force of human thought and emotion, sometimes from the dreams of individuals but potentially as amalgams of all human thought. These beings are typically weakened by exposure to human doubt, but nevertheless some have the necessary strength and abilities to manifest as tangible entities in the mundane world of humans, at least for a time.
- In the Survival Horror game Silent Hill 2, the Maria character is a highly-eroticized tulpa of the main character's late wife.
Further reading
- Annie Besant and Leadbeater: Thought forms
- Makransky, Bob (2000). Thought Forms. Dear Brutus. ISBN 0-9677315-3-4
- Smith, Russell James (2003). Tulpa. Writers Advantage. ISBN 0595274900 / ISBN 978-0595274901 (a work of fiction)