Tulpa - What exactly is it and how is it recognized in the Taoist tradition?

[Oneironaut]

What are Tulpas and what do Taoists recognize them to be?

 

How do Taoists go through with bringing them about energetically speaking?

Edited July 28, 2016 by Oneironaut

[Oneironaut]

Anybody?

[Jox]

I am curious too ...  

[Easternmost Frontier]

My understanding is that the word "tulpa" carries a lot of different meanings and connotations.

 

Tibetan Buddhism seems to use it as a teaching tool, e.g. the tulpa as the "thought body" created by a contemplative life. Later sources start to use the term to describe a "thought being"--i.e. something created by thought, intention, or focus. By later I mean 20th century, at least according to my understanding.

 

New Age and later pop cultures ran with the idea and turned it into a paranormal manifestation like a ghost or a poltergeist. There's a fun episode of the X-Files about that, if you've got NetFlix.

 

While I'm unfamiliar with any Daoist use of the term, I can certainly see how it might be applied.

[Forwards]

I may be wrong in this, as I only read about this topic once in passing awhile ago, but since no one has a definite idea I'll give it a go lol

 

Once the alchemist reaches a certain phase in their cultivation advancement, they create their tulpa, but at the time it is more Servitor status. They flesh the entity out and it grows and advances with them on their path. It becomes their companion and its abilities increase continually as will happen with a cultivator, and it helps them accomplish a number of things which i forget. Eventually they reach the phase where the entity is another attachment that has to be let go and they will destroy and absorb the entity. This is basically the equivalent of willingly killing the family dog you've had for 15 years and is apparently a very challenging thing to do, as by this time you've spent day and night with the entity and now you're having to kill your best friend.

 

That's all I remember about it but found it to be an interesting idea at the time.

[Oneironaut]

I can only find sources that link back to Tibetan Buddhism. I wanted to know what uses this may serve for a Taoist and how Taoists go about in creating them.

 

As far as I know people online create them through meditation (takes many months) and there are also ways (which I'm unable to find) to create them energetically and it's typically much quicker and not limited to psychological phenomenon. 

[Gerard]

Hi friend,

 

It doesn't matter what tulpas are...EVERY SINGLE THING AND EVENT ARISES FROM YOUR OWN MIND. For instance, when I start meditating on the floor and let things go then the wind starts to blow, then I know my liver is moving since it is relaxed and being nourished by the kidney being very active during the seated position, hence wind is created from within (Wood/liver) and manifested outside. Same it goes with anything else you can think of: sun-Heart, moon-Kidney, intense sexual desire: moon-meeting the sun (kidney and heart) in the microcosmic orbit during the full-moon cycle of the month; trees, plants and birds-another expression of the Wood element, etc.

 

Same goes with people you meet in life or even online. They are a product of your own mind.

 

Your task is to identify where and what your mind really is and remove all the fetters, the conditions that cause rebirth. This is a monumental effort and deserves the utmost respect.

 

Best.

[Zhongyongdaoist]

What are Tulpas and what do Taoists recognize them to be?

 

How do Taoists go through with bringing them about energetically speaking?

I can only find sources that link back to Tibetan Buddhism. I wanted to know what uses this may serve for a Taoist and how Taoists go about in creating them.

 

As far as I know people online create them through meditation (takes many months) and there are also ways (which I'm unable to find) to create them energetically and it's typically much quicker and not limited to psychological phenomenon.

The quick answer is that Daoist recognize and practice “Tulpa-like” phenomena.

 

That of course, is hardly much of an answer is it?

 

First let's clarify what I mean by “Tulpa-like”. At is most basic level this is only bio-energy infused with intent. The most general name being “thought form”, whether you call it qi or prana, spirit, odic force or whatever it is basically the same energy and the same energy with similar practices.

 

On the Buddhist side, it goes back to Indian Buddhism and yogic practices.  In China there certainly does seem to be a native tradition and it makes sense within the overall context of Chinese physiology and cosmology going back to ancient times. I say Chinese because both Daoists and Confucians are rooted in the same cosmology and likely to use such practices.

 

On the practical side Jerry Alan Johnson describes the creation and use of “thought forms” of various complexity for a variety of uses in both his qigong healing and Daoist magic books. There may be other sources, but I am very familiar with these books, where "thought forms" very much a part of the teaching and are used in both healing and magic.

 

I could have said all this a week ago, but I have been busy and also the question stimulated a certain curiosity about the subject and its Chinese background. I know a lot about magic East and West, and while Dr. Johnson's treatment seems very strongly grounded in Chinese beliefs and practices, I always feel a little better if I can find a Chinese name for something, so I wanted to look a little deeper, and went to this site:

 

Spirit Possession on Magic SEA Underground

 

which I discovered a few years ago and is really interesting and informative, though you do have to have a good background in order to make any practical use of it. The particular link above is one of the results of my search for “thought form”, which shows that at least in contemporary discussion the term is used among native practitioners, at least when writing in English, however, that really was not good enough for me, so I dug a little deeper and went to his Chinese section where “thought form” came up with this:

 

思想的形状 (Thought Form) on SEA Rojak Talk

 

I took 思想的形状 to my standard online Chinese-English dictionary, MDBG and came to the conclusion that 思想的形状 was a modern translation into Chinese of “thought form” and thus had no bearing on traditional usage, however I was able to dig deeper into the page thanks to Google Translate, which, by the way, has really improved a lot since I first tried using it, and came up with this:

 

Shape Thought (Thought Form)

 

Buddhists say that our heart has a lot of power, it can make a dream come true, but also immortality Buddha; or hell. But the mind can be very abstract thing, there will be the shape of it? I think only in the West have the magic world now!

 

Let us call this a good thing for the TF.

 

In fact, TF is what we are talking about Taoism poly gas refining shape. It's a lot of action: this TF can be used to help us in everyday life, for example, if we are afraid to forget to lock the door; on this TF to say: that when we go out, it is "TF please remind me to remember to lock the door." will suddenly have a voice in our head reminds us. I can assure you that this is a very effective assistant TF it!

 

To make this TF difficult. First, we have to let my mind calm down, etc., you do not have any anger or inappropriate thoughts. Because this will ensure that we TF purity. Otherwise, we can only produce to the devil. Next, we need first together, then separate palms, palm to palm. Palms distance of about four inches.

 

Hold this position for about ten minutes later, there will be a heart palms cloud of gas. Then you can join this group gases do. For instance, we want to help our TF attract customers, we can inject this idea within the TF.

 

If we continue to practice, then we suddenly found that our guests will be more and more.

 

This TF as our pets, the need for day care. To maintain TF approach is very simple, as long as every night before going to sleep TF provoke slowly feel its feelings; if it appears TF weak, let it add some loving energy.

 

Every morning before going out on the day that we do for TF, there is nothing to TF concern. That day we will feel as if there is another hands to help us.

 

Of course, TF usage still a lot better after discussed later.

Which is almost an intelligible translation!

 

I have bolded the key phrae, poly gas refining shape, which is a translation of 聚气炼形, in which 聚气, is translated as "poly gas", but in this context would be better translated as "condensing qi".  The character 炼, "refining", is used a lot in Daoist discussion, meaning to refine or smelt, as in metallurgy, and has references to alchemy.  Among other things metal ores were purified or refined before they were molded into a shape (形).  So here we have a traditional phrase associated with Daoist practice and which could have been taken from a "Thought Forms 101" course.

 

I  hope this is helpful

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: Minor word usage, changed "of" to "and" somewhere above.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Zhongyongdaoist

[NotVoid]

"Tulpa - What exactly is it and how is it recognized in the Taoist tradition?"

 

Your question is a loaded question as, IMO, there is no such thing as "the Taoist tradition".

 

IMO, what is called 'Taoism' is really just a loose collection of different groups and traditions and practices and points of view. From what I have observed, the amount of overlap in point of view and practices and beliefs between these various groups and traditions can vary quite a bit. It can be confusing because not only do many Westerners just assume that there is and always has been some coherent well-formed long standing tradition called 'Taoism', but there are many Chinese as well who seem all too happy to continue to promote such a view.

 

It seems to me that a number of centuries ago in China, that in order for the various native folk and religious and philosophical traditions and groups to have a better chance to survive and 'compete' against the growing strength and influence of Buddhist traditions in China, that these various disparate native traditions and groups had to combine and join forces, so to speak, at least to some extent to try to hold up better against the competition of Buddhism. For example, attempts were made in the past to collect a whole bunch of different 'Taoist' writings from various traditions and groups and times, and combine them all together into one 'Taoist Canon'. The idea seems to have been that this would help to promote the appearance that there really was some cohesive and coordinated and connected body out there called 'Taoisim'. Since those times there have always been those who continue to try to propagate this idea. In modern day China, this effort to promote the idea of there always having existing a single very cohesive body of practices and beliefs called 'Taoism' is going on in earnest by many. Again, from what I have personally observed however, the amount of commonality and interaction seems to have varied widely. However, this can probably apply to other major religions or 'schools of thought' as well if a person looks deeply enough into it.

Edited August 11, 2016 by NotVoid