Great and Minor Deaths

[Empty Cloud]

What are the Minor and Great Deaths that one experiences in meditation? If there are risks of dying at the moment of enlightment, how can one avoid it?

[RiverSnake]

IMO they are not reffering to a physcial death. The spiritual path IMO is a constant process of death and rebirth, it is unavoidable.

 

"When there is no self, you are ready for the super-self."

 

-My 2 cents, Peace

[gendao]

I believe the "small death experience" occurs when your left/ida/blue dragon & right/pingala/white tiger meridians collapse into your sushumna/chong mai. When this "depolarization" happens, "your outer breathing stops" and your breath becomes very soft & subtle (like the ocean beneath the waves).

So to an outside observer, you may appear to enter a "deathlike" state of suspended animation.. (Although you are still actually breathing with a pulse and alive.)

 

This happened to people all the freaking time in the old Kunlun workshops, lol...

 

 

Whereas, I believe a "major death experience" could last for days and might even actually qualify as a clinical death?

During this experience, Robert dissolved into a blazing light and realized infinite peace. He remained in this state of blissful, suspended animation for eight days showing absolutely no vital signs -- no discernible breath and no pulse -- until Xiao Yao finally guided him back to normal, waking consciousness.

Edited December 11, 2011 by vortex

[Ish]

I've read 2 very good books about the Tibetan Six Yogas of Naropa tradition. These deal with the death experience having an element of the "clear light" or the enlightenment experience.

 

Bliss of Inner Fire

 

and

 

Practice of the Six Yogas

 

There's a lot of other great info in these so you may be interested.

Edit : just wanted to point out that the mechanism is the practioner having energy enter and absorb into the central channel via Tummo practice. The energy interacts with the chakras and their "drops" eventually causing the death experience resulting in the clear light. Well thats the bare bones , read the books for a complete and correct explanation.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Ish