All language subtitles for The Lost Secret of Immortality

To enter the Tao and
experience enlightenment is

to answer the question,
what was your original face

before your mother
and father were born?

What is immortality?

Is the promise of everlasting
life merely an illusion

created to shield you from
the truth about death,

or is there proof that
immortality is real?

What secrets are hidden in
spiritual traditions about life

after death?

You can achieve
the ultimate dream.

You can unlock the secret
to who you really are.

You can open the hidden door to
discover the genius within you.

You can achieve
enlightenment and realize

your ultimate potential.

For thousands of years,
the spiritual quest

of the human race
has been to discover

the true self-- the eternal
light of the Kundalini.

At last, from the wisdom
of enlightened teachers,

you will discover
your true nature,

which is far more powerful
than you have ever imagined.

You will experience
total inner illumination.

The ordinary reality,
every day stuff

that we go through,
good, bad or indifferent,

is of extreme value.

It's like gold.

It is jewels.

But only through
spiritual practice

do you develop the sensitivity,
which is actually innate.

So it's more like bringing
out the sensitivity

to know that this moment
is the only moment you're

going to get, and it's going
to be wide open, luminous

and blissful.

You have the ability to
master spiritual alchemy

and achieve enlightenment.

Early historical records show
that man has searched almost

endlessly for the
secret of immortality.

The first people who studied
the natural world around them

became known as alchemists.

They experimented with
animals, plants and minerals.

Their work and
observations eventually

led to the creation
of chemistry, physics

and medicine.

Eastern alchemists
searched for immortality

through the study of meditation,
yoga and the martial arts.

They believed immortality
could be achieved

by recreating conception
within their own bodies

through diligent practice.

Many Western alchemists
believed there

was a secret formula that could
turn base metals into gold.

This Philosopher's
Stone was also

thought to be an elixir
of immortality that

could rejuvenate the body.

They believed if it could
turn a corruptible metal

to incorruptible gold,
it would certainly

be able to transform
human beings

from mortals to immortals.

The goal of the early alchemists
was described in Latin

as finding the secret method
to unite the soul, called

the anima, with the spiritus,
or spirit, within the corpus,

or physical body.

This is believed to represent
the original trinity which

underlies Christianity,
Buddhism, Darwinism,

many other ancient
alchemical sciences.

Every human being
has the potential

to fully master
spiritual alchemy.

Because if you only learn
the practice that gives you

enlightenment, how are you going
to enlighten other people who

might be different from you?

The Kundalini is the
enlightened energy within you,

waiting to be awakened.

The search that spanned the
centuries and covered the earth

eventually centered around inner
alchemy, and the attainment

of immortality through the
activation of a hidden power

known as Kundalini.

Kundalini is a dormant,
enlightened energy

which resides within the
lower torso of the human body

and is activated through
yogic practice or meditation

and results in enlightenment,
inner illumination

and immortality.

Many of the legendary
figures of antiquity,

including Buddha and Jesus, were
successful spiritual alchemists

who believed in the spark of
light within human beings.

Jesus confirmed this when
he said, "the Kingdom of God

is within you."

When Buddha spoke of the
middle path to achieve nirvana,

he may have been describing
the central channel

of the body through which
the Kundalini energy travels.

China, India and Tibet
are all civilizations

which are based on the complete
evolution of consciousness

being achieved through
a Kundalini activation.

A Kundalini activation,
particularly

if achieved through the
practice of sexual yoga,

represented the ultimate threat
to the religious establishment

because it enabled
the human being

to achieve enlightenment
which freed

their person from the control
of the religious authority

of the time.

The Philosopher's
Stone was linked

with magic and with
early religions,

and was greatly
feared by the church

because it linked human
sexuality, or sexual yoga,

with higher consciousness
or enlightenment.

The basic theory of
the Philosopher's Stone

is in the process of being
rediscovered by science

because it represents the
reality of the ability

of the individual to unite
the energy of the body

with the energy of the universe.

In the hermetic
tradition of alchemy,

this was called
"squaring the circle."

People have
striven for centuries

to find out about
how to get back

to their primordial energy.

Some people have,
of course, clicked

into those states,
almost spontaneously,

and have been astonished
at what's possible,

and then have tried to find
ways to get us all, or least

sudden disciples, to move
into those patterns of energy,

those patterns of
the body-mind complex

that are for most people
even hard to conceive of.

There are descriptions of
the power of the Kundalini

experience in the esoteric
teachings of China, India,

Tibet, Egypt, Africa
and the Americas.

The Kundalini has been
described in the Bible

as the solar principal
in man, and is the basis

of the secret teachings
of Gnostic Christianity,

the Kabbalah, and the
hermetic tradition of alchemy.

In the I Ching, "The
Book of Changes,"

the oldest sacred
text of China, it

is called the "original spirit."

In the east, the Philosopher's
Stone, or Buddha hood,

is a complete
Kundalini activation

in which the meditator sees
a golden, embryonic version

of himself at the
time of enlightenment.

This genetic blueprint,
which is created

at the time of a
person's conception,

is dormant in the lower torso
until it is fully awakened

by activating the original chi.

When you successfully cultivate
the original chi of your body

and fully open the
energy meridians,

your own chi unites with
the chi of the universe.

Can you hold the body and spirit
as one, concentrating your chi

and becoming pliant?

Can you become like a newborn
baby, clearing your mind

and contemplating the profound?

Can you remain unknown?

In understanding all things,
can you remain detached?

In Indian yoga
scriptures, the Kundalini

was illustrated as a golden
serpent coiled within the body

to describe the potential power
of its energy and awakening.

And the serpent
swallowing its tail

is the oldest known symbol
of alchemical knowledge.

You have the potential
to achieve Buddha hood.

You can become enlightened.

You can discover your true power
if you fully open the energy

meridians of the body.

When you see your original
face, when you fully

activate the Kundalini
within your body,

this has been described
as union with God

in all the theistic traditions.

True success in
activating the Kundalini

is dependent on
finding the secret

of the real spiritual
gold within yourself

through meditation and other
mental and physical practices.

Kundalini yoga theory
is based on the concept

that there is a
tremendous reservoir

of stored energy within the
lower torso of the body.

When this energy is fully
activated and raised

to the top of the
head, it results

in enlightenment or immortality,
and this is the most

ancient secret of yoga.

What many alchemists
throughout the world

have called the
legendary golden elixir

is actually the fully activated
starting point of the body.

In its most complete form,
it is the realization

of Buddhahood, or the
attainment of immortality,

which results in permanent,
deathless consciousness.

It is this recreation
of conception

that has the potential to
transform a normal person

into a fully enlightened
being that has transcended

birth, death, space and time.

Buddha succeeded in awakening
the Kundalini energy

within himself.

At that moment, he
saw his original face

dissolve into emptiness.

From this golden vision, he
created the basic philosophy

of spiritual freedom that
has benefited humanity

throughout the world
for thousands of years.

The word Buddha means "awake."

When asked are you
a man or a god,

the Buddha is said to have
replied, "I am awake."

The ancient Chinese
medical system

describes the starting point
of the body as a spark of light

from the beginning of time.

It is midway between your
navel and your spine.

It exists within
everyone, and is created

at the time of conception.

This point of light has been
described as the face of God,

and alchemists called
it "the prima materia,"

the first matter.

Milarepa has a great line
in one of his teachings.

Milarepa was this Tibetan
master that I wrote

my doctoral dissertation about.

He appeared to me once,
too, by the way, in a dream.

He says, the best
realization of openness

is right in the center of
your body, in the avadhuti,

in the central channel.

This means that all of those
energies of the Bindus,

the elements of consciousness
moving through your body,

should move into
that open space.

And what seems to be a confined
place around the heart chakra

is actually the place where
the whole universe opens out

to realization,
to enlightenment.

So all of the
things that we talk

about, the Bindus, the
channels, the drops, all

of that kind of stuff,
these esoteric teachings

about the subtle
body, you might say

are accompanying
subtle body that goes

with this gross material body.

Working with those
energies allows

you to loosen up the entire
physical, electronic, chemical

and mental aspects
of the human person.

This is no joke.

How does a Milarepa become
the model of a civilization?

And of course, what we've
been talking about here

is the fully
awakened, enlightened,

the fully realized
Buddha is the model.

And so a person like
Milarepa who did

become a fully awakened,
enlightened Buddha,

was totally available to people
and animals and phenomena

throughout the universe.

That is the ideal.

That is the archetype.

That is the model for
whatever you're doing.

So that whatever
you're doing, even

if it is building
a principality,

as in fact Milarepa's
guru, Marpa, did,

he built himself a principality.

But while he was building
the principality,

he developed himself
as a Buddha as well.

And he handed out
to Milarepa who

in a different form, in
the form of a hermit,

in the form of an ascetic,
also manifested the same Buddha

nature.

So that suddenly
becomes the basis out

of which you can leave
an entire civilization.

And that is the thing that
I think we're missing.

We're missing the
civilization that

emerges out of the cave where
a person goes to meditate.

Out of the hermitage
where a person

discovers the fullness
of being itself

through spiritual practice.

What's the natural state?

The natural state is
this complete openness

so that your mind and body are
completely open to something

much greater than what
we are, and yet is not

separate from what we are.

It's one of those things
that goes beyond words.

But once you've seen
it and once you've

touched human beings who
live that all the time,

you'll never forget it.

Am I a man dreaming
I am a butterfly,

or am I a butterfly
dreaming I am a man?

One of the most ancient
Tibetan spiritual practices

is called Dream Yoga.

Dream Yoga is known to be
one of the primary practices

of the legendary
Six Yogas of Naropa.

Imagine as you are watching
right now that you are actually

dreaming.

What is it that makes you think
that you are awake right now?

How can you be certain
if you are dreaming

or if you are awake?

What is you learn to
control your own dreams?

You can do this
with the practice

of Dream Yoga, an
ancient method used

by Mahasiddhas and immortals.

Dreams can be so powerful that
they can change the world.

Artists, writers,
scientists and inventors

have all been
inspired by dreams.

Solutions to complex
problems have

been made clear within dreams.

Dreams also occur outside
of three-dimensional space

and time and can
reveal the future.

Padmasambhava in
8th century Tibet

described a dream where he saw
a future time in which the iron

bird flies, and
horses run on wheels,

and the Tibetan people were
scattered around the Earth,

and the Dharma came to
the land of the red man.

He was clearly seeing
the world as it

became in the 20th century.

Many of the great
scientific discoveries

are the result of
parallel probable versions

of the scientists communicating
within dreams according

to the mini world's
interpretation of quantum

mechanics.

As you are watching
right now, there

are multiple, parallel,
probable and alternate versions

of yourself doing the same
thing, simultaneously,

in multiple dimensions.

To control the dreams
while you were dreaming

enables you to access creative
information that can completely

transform your
experience of reality.

And to have what
is known as elusive

dream is to understand
your waking life

is also a part of your
personal dreamscape.

During the course of the day,
it is necessary to ask yourself

repeatedly, is this a dream?

To discover your true self
while in elusive dream,

go to a mirror and embrace
the image of yourself

that you see there.

Elusive dreaming is a
metaphor for enlightenment.

To realize you are dreaming
while you are dreaming

represents the ability
of each human being

to realize that their own
perception is dreamlike,

and to achieve greater
and greater levels

of awakening through their
own spiritual practices.

One of the primary ways of
realizing that you are dreaming

while you are dreaming is
to recognize an incongruity

within the dream.

To realize that
you are flying, you

are walking on water,
that because you

are walking through
a wall, that this

means that this is a dream
because you could not possibly

be doing this in
three-dimensional reality.

The goal of dream yoga is to
discover who you really are.

So to see a golden embryonic
version of yourself

within your dreams through a
complete Kundalini activation

represents complete
self-discovery

and ultimate enlightenment.

Now there are certain
prayers and practices

also that the Tibetans give for
how to position your body when

you sleep so that the channel's
in the proper position,

so that you're
breathing properly.

Also, they give a number of
prayers that can be said.

And I say one of these
prayers from time

to time about being able
to see dreams as lucid,

and also to recognize the
awake state as dreamlike

in some ways, because
this way you see

through the patterns of energy.

It doesn't mean that
they're not there,

it means that you see through
them, you see their qualities

and the woven quality
of all phenomena.

It is the dream
of enlightenment

which makes achieving
immortality possible.

The deepest level of our dreams
has always been enlightenment.

That's a great blessing.

And these are the
kinds of things

that the Lamas, the
tradition of dream yoga

really is a wonderful
gift, because then you

can use your nocturnal
experience as part

of your practice.

And it goes right
along with what

I was saying about
everything being an oblation,

everything being an offering.

Because if you waste
your valuable sleep time,

you're losing several hours
of practice every day.

But if you turn sleep
into a practice,

then you're practicing
all the time.

And so your body at
all times is engaged

in some kind of spiritual
activity-- a pretty good thing.

To know other is wisdom,
but to master oneself

is enlightenment.

Those who conquer others
require great strength.

But to conquer oneself
requires true power.

You can enter the Tao
through the true mastery

of martial arts.

The traditional goal of
higher martial arts in China

has always been to
enter the Tao, which

is the achievement
of enlightenment.

Seeing your original
face was successfully

cultivating the spiritual
embryo which transforms you

into an immortal.

So traditionally, the
greatest martial artists

reached this ultimate
level in which

you unite the energy of the
body with the energy of the Tao

and actually become
a living Buddha.

The secret of martial arts
is a Kundalini activation

which results in the
enlightened warrior seeing

his original face and
achieving inner illumination.

The master martial
artist actually

unites the microcosm of
the body with a macrocosm

of the universe, and
in doing so discovers

the holographic
nature of reality.

This process unites the
mind of the individual

with the universal mind.

Bodhidharma, the
founder of Zen Buddhism,

is the most well known and
respected Buddhist teacher

in East Asia.

In the 5th century, he
traveled from India to China

to teach the monks of
the Shaolin temple.

It was there that he created
Shaolin martial arts,

a method of self-defense
which included

meditation and enlightenment.

Bodhidharma taught there
was no enlightenment

outside of the mind,
and that the mind

is enlightenment itself.

Enlightenment is not just
an awakening of the mind,

it is a physical
process as well.

Many of the greatest
teachers of wisdom

have activated the original
mind using the source

energy of their bodies.

This experience is called
seeing your original face,

or returning the
original spirit to void.

The Tao is based on the unity of
the essential triad of heaven,

earth and humanity.

The ideal of the
Shaolin temple is

to enter the way by mastering
meditation and chi cultivation

as well as martial arts.

The creation of Tai Chi is based
on the thousand-year-old story

in which the founder
Chang San-Feng observed

an epic battle between
a crane and a snake.

He watched intently as the bird
fiercely attacked the snake

again and again.

With each attempt of the
bird to kill the snake,

the serpent's agility,
yielding and flowing movements

enabled it to survive.

The crane used its
speed and mobility

to avoid the snake's
counter attacks,

and also remained unharmed.

Chang San-Feng is
also said to have

had a dream the following
night in which he

was visited by the legendary
God of War, Kuan Ti.

Kuan Ti taught him the methods
of celestial martial arts

and the alchemical secret
of the golden embryo.

Chang San-Feng
combined these lessons

with a style of fighting based
on the movements he observed

of the crane and the snake.

This method relies
upon internal power,

or chi, and is based
on the principal that

yielding overcomes aggression,
and softness overpowers

hardness.

Chang San-Feng called
it Tai Chi Chuan,

or "the supreme, ultimate fist."

The highest level
of martial arts

is based on the
enlightened warrior

seeing his original face
and successfully cultivating

the spiritual embryo.

This has the potential of
transforming an individual

into an immortal,
or a living Buddha.

Many of the greatest
Chinese martial artists

actually achieved this
level of enlightenment,

and use their incredible
skills and power

to protect and
benefit their people.

A major aspect of
Chinese martial arts

is the transformation of
your three inner treasures--

jing, chi and chen--
within the body.

Often translated as reproductive
energy, vital bodily energy

and mind and spirit, they
are the most important aspect

of internal power development.

Their complete
refinement results

in the spiritual embryo and
immortality, a permanent state

of enlightened
consciousness that

is not limited by the
physical body and even

exists after death.

Complete mastery of
the sword has always

been a metaphor
for enlightenment.

The true sword represents
the enlightened mind.

And the enlightened
mind represents

discovering who you truly are
by seeing your original face.

Mastery of the sword
is based on the concept

that it is possible
to enter the Tao

and realize compete inner
illumination by combining

meditation and qi cultivation
with a martial arts practice.

The legendary
alchemist and founder

of Tai Chi, Chang
San-Feng, said the Tao

is something miraculous.

It is empty and has no
form, yet it has an essence.

It is hard to
understand and exists

like a shadow or an echo.

No one knows why this is.

Great spiritual warriors have
attained the Tao in the past,

and it is transmitted
in the present

by mysterious and subtle ways.

The great Tao has the
power to transform

both the body and the spirit.

In this way, the
body is transformed,

united with spirit.

One who has attained this is
called a spiritual warrior.

The shen, or spirit, is
fluid and ever-changing

though its primal
substance is unchanging.

Once the warrior
has entered the Tao,

he no longer fears
birth or death.

In this way, the body is
the same as spirit or shen.

Once revealed, the spirit is
the same as qi, or vital energy.

This is how the warrior is able
to move through water or fire

without being harmed
and to cast no shadow,

whether in the
sunlight or moonlight.

At this point, whether to
remain in the body or not

is entirely up to you.

At this stage, there
is no difference

between being in the
world and being out of it.

If the body, being
material, can achieve

these levels of subtle
integration, how much more

so can the shen, or spirit,
reach even deeper and further.

It is said when the spirit and
body are united they become

the true body, because when the
body and spirit unite as one

they live forever.

However, there are differences
in the depth of power

the warrior may attain.

If his spiritual power
is deep and profound,

this will affect
his body as well.

If it is small and shallow,
it only affects the mind.

One whose body and spirit are
united is an immortal warrior.

While one whose mind only is
affected cannot escape death.

In this way, we see that the
Tao is difficult to master.

But if one can
fully enter the Tao,

he achieves what is
called "leaving no body."

The warrior hides his light and
conceals his brilliance-- this

is how one attains the Tao.

By stabilizing the spirit
and cultivating their chi,

they study the Tao
without ceasing.

When their spirit
merges with the Tao,

it is called "entering the Tao."

It is said that those
who enter the Tao

are themselves
absorbed by the Tao.

If people will
cultivate the Tao,

their bodies will be strong.

By cultivating the
Tao for a long time,

one can transform
substance to spirit,

refine their body into subtle
energy, and merge with the Tao.

Then their knowledge
is boundless,

and their physical
body is transcendent.

This is the power of the Tao.

Speaking for a moment
from the Tibetan,

or the tantric
point of view, it's

not enough just to fall in
love, to give yourself to family

life, to raise children.

There is another way
of seeing all of that.

Because as we know, family
life, raising children,

being responsible
for your family

can be a tremendous attachment.

And every spiritual tradition
has warnings about sex, family,

relatives, money, houses and
all of those other things

as becoming obstacles
on the spiritual path.

So it's almost as if by claiming
that sexuality in some way

is a way to get enlightenment
is like telling people go down

that road that's just full
of potholes, and boulders,

and stray pieces of
metal, and you're

going to attain enlightenment.

But the beauty of
the tantric system

is that it takes life
as it is and sees

something sacred,
something wise, something

liberating in the
potholes, and the iron

chunks, and the boulders,
and the broken roads,

and the earthquakes and
everything else that occur.

There is an ancient
tantric saying

that Buddhahood can be found
in the vagina of a woman.

One of the oldest methods of
fully activating the Kundalini

and recreating conception
within the body

is through the practice
of sexual yoga.

Many couples in
China, India and Tibet

have achieved enlightenment
together in this manner.

The central teaching in tantric
yoga is that all of life

is sacred, especially sexuality.

This is because tantrism
views the reproductive energy

of our body as being the
same inner energy that

powers our enlightenment.

The practitioner
of sexual tantra

attempts to use the
energy of conception

as an agent for awakening
and transcendence.

Complete awakening
results in a normal person

becoming a fully enlightened
and realized human being.

This enables the individual to
transcend birth, death, space

and time.

The Six Yogas of Naropa
is a classical collection

of techniques from India which
will result in Buddhahood

or complete enlightenment
when fully mastered.

Many of these methods
were transmitted

by Mahasiddhas who
are often couples

that achieved enlightenment
through the practice

of sexual yoga.

The famous saying
that Buddhahood

can be found in the
vagina of a woman

refers to an ancient
tradition of sexual yoga

that results in
complete awakening.

The full potential of activating
the original reproductive

energy of the human body
transforms a normal person

into an enlightened immortal.

Many of these lineages go
back to famous Mahasiddhas

like Padmasambhava.

Padmasambhava is known to have
said that more women than men

would achieve tantric
enlightenment because

of their devotion to practice.

The tantras are
sometimes revealed,

both the Hindu tantras
and the Buddhist

tantras, in exactly the
terms that you gave.

That enlightenment
is found inside,

or abiding within the
bhaga, within the womb,

within the vagina.

To open out to the state of
wholeness and completeness,

which we can call openness,
we can call sunyata,

we can call
emptiness, we can call

voidness-- there are many
ways of describing it.

I like the word
"openness," because it has

that quality of the unbounded.

So this vaginal
phenomenon is a way

of saying that at the same
time this experience is

completely open, completely
pleasurable, indeed

orgasmic, and luminous.

Those are the three
characteristics

of the enlightened state in
a Tibetan tantric system--

openness, luminosity
and pleasure.

And that is something
that we keep coming across

in text after text after text.

What is experience is that?

A person rediscovers
what you were

saying as the original face--
the original, primordial embryo

of who we are, the very
basis of our existence.

The tantras also
talk about the mother

and the son reuniting together.

The white drop and the
red drop joining together,

a symbol, of course,
of conception itself.

So that the imagery of
sexuality is in there

because that's part
of it and that's

key to a lot of
human experience.

But there's sexuality going
on in every cell of your body

right now.

The light of the
sun in your heart

through meditation and
then spontaneously forming

a conflagration in
every single cell

of your body, that
is the kind of thing

that we're talking about.

So that the joining of the
two sides of the double helix

of DNA inside the
nucleus in every cell

is living that sexual
bliss in every moment

as it produces the proteins
that keep you alive.

If you're a Buddha,
you see every particle

of time and matter
and energy continually

generating as it were in a
sexual, reproductive way, all

the phenomena of
existence at all times.

You're living a blissful,
highly energetic kind of life.

From a Tibetan
perspective, the difference

between Buddhas and
ordinary individuals

is merely a question
of diligent practice.

Tibetan teachers have
spoken with some reluctance

about sexual yoga.

In every case that I have
personally encountered,

it has always been about
something to do with families,

and really elite
families preserving

very special traditions
within that family,

within the customs and the
beliefs of that family.

Many traditions believe
that if the energy meridians

of the body are fully opened,
the individual will inevitably

achieve complete realization.

The Kundalini
experience activates

the starting point of
the body and results

in the ultimate realization
of a person's potential.

This is a discovery in
which the entire universe is

found to exist within the mind.

One of the most famous
sayings in Tibet

is, there can be no Mahamudra,
which is enlightenment,

without Karmamudra, sexual yoga.

Although the majority of
Buddhist monks are celibate,

the tradition of the
Mahasiddhas believe

that the Buddha may have
achieved enlightenment

through the practice
of sexual yoga.

Because Mahamudra, which
is complete enlightenment,

can only be achieved
through Karmamudra,

which is sexual yoga.

In other words, the apparent
peace and almost stasis

of a Buddha image
does not really

adequately reflect the dance
or phenomenon that is truly

at the heart of enlightenment.

The complete potential of
fully harnessing and activating

the original reproductive
or sexual energy of the body

is one in which the human
being transforms into a Buddha,

or an immortal.

The ability to activate
the Kundalini with sex

requires strict adherence
to precise techniques

combined with specialized
breathing methods.

The reason that Western couples
are not achieving enlightenment

through the practice
of sexual yoga

is that they are not aware
of the authentic methods

and they haven't activated
the pre-birth energy.

The energy of the body
between the time of conception

and birth within
everyone is enlightened

and is connected to
the void, or the Tao.

The goal of inner alchemical
practices that use sexual yoga

is to recreate conception
by uniting the yin

and yang subtle bodies.

Tantric Buddhahood transforms
a normal human being

into an enlightened immortal.

Ancient Chinese medicine
also use the transformation

of the reproductive
energy of the body

to enable an adept to
achieve immortality

through successful
inner alchemical

practice that use the complete
activation of the starting

point of the body.

This tradition goes
back to the time

of the Yellow Emperor who
is said to have created

the Chinese medical tradition.

In Tibet, the union of the
Trikaya, or three bodies,

using sexual yoga
is known to result

in tantric enlightenment.

These systems are
based on the concept

that the pre-birth energy of
the body, the energy system that

is created between the time
of conception and birth,

is enlightened and is
connected to the void, or Tao.

This energy lies dormant
in a normal person.

In many yogic systems,
the final process

that transforms a human
being into an immortal,

or living Buddha, is
a sexual yoga practice

that results in full
Kundalini activation.

The goal of all
these traditions is

to create the spiritual embryo,
or embryo of Buddhahood.

Of course, I'm talking in
some ways as a Christian,

and a Christian
loves everything.

God is love.

So if people are experiencing
a loving relationship

through sexuality, they're
going to be changed by that

and they're going to
attain enlightenment.

If you study with someone like
Namkhai Norbu, for example,

he'll make a very
clear distinction

between tantric methods
of attainment and Dzogchen

methods.

He'll even distinguish
Dzogchen, which sometimes

sounds like zen to some of us.

He'll distinguish it from zen.

So he'll notice
these things how.

Because he's been
through this stuff.

He knows that from his
own inner experience,

so he can make those
distinctions very clearly.

Those of us who are
not yet as highly

realized as Namkhai Norbu
are walking on thin ice

if we try to make too many
distinctions without rooting it

in our own inner experience.

In both China and
Tibet, it is well

known that the most advanced
spiritual practitioners leave

no bodies after
the time of death,

and this represents
the achievement

of whole body enlightenment.

Padmasambhava was a
legendary mahasiddha,

considered to be the
founder of Tibetan Buddhism.

The lineage that he
started in the 8th century

has a particular
phenomenon known

as the body of light
associated with it

in which, when the
meditator dies,

his physical body shrinks away
to nothing within a few days.

Practitioners of the primordial
yoga system originally

transmitted by
Padmasambhava continue

to experience the
post-mortem dissolution

of the body in modern times.

Ramalinga in India,
Jesus of Nazareth,

and the Yellow Emperor
in China are all

believed to have left no
bodies upon their deaths.

Enlightenment
without remainder may

be the basis of ascension
stories throughout history.

Chinese legends say when a great
master achieves immortality,

he casts no shadow, he appears
and disappears at will,

and ascends to heaven
in broad daylight.

One of the things that happens
when a great teacher dies

is that there are often
phenomena-- things that

impress their disciples as
to the degree of holiness

in that person.

And so in some of the
Tibetan traditions

there is a phenomenon that
is called "the rainbow

body," in which the
body of the deceased

manifests light
phenomena after death.

Often, it takes the form
of rainbows in the sky.

You're talking
about the body that

begins to dissolve its
material substance into light.

In 1998, an often
repeated story

emerged once again from a
village in the remote Kham

region of Eastern Tibet.

It is said that a
rainbow appeared

one day above the cabin of
Khenpo Achos, a devout Lama who

had continued to practice
and teach Buddhism

despite the severe restrictions
of the Chinese government.

He was in his 80s, but not sick.

Nevertheless, he
laid down on his bed,

began reciting the Tibetan
mantra om mani padme hum,

and died.

Shortly after, the nuns, monks
and others who studied with him

began the Tibetan Buddhist
prayers that accompany death.

They noticed that
Khenpo Achos' skin

began to turn soft and pinkish.

His students hurried to
another Lama to ask about this,

and he told them
to cover the body

and continue their prayers.

They placed a thin, yellow
monk's cloak over him,

and as the days passed, they
saw his body was shrinking.

By the end of the week,
the students reported,

nothing remained.

Khenpo Achos had
apparently become

what is known in Tibetan
Buddhism as a "rainbow body."

The story spread through
Buddhist circles.

Many realized that the
miraculous event had

implications for Christianity.

They believed if
we can establish

as an anthropological
fact that what

is described in the
Resurrection of Jesus

had not only happened to
others but is happening today,

it would put our view
of human potential

in a completely different light.

Even if we were to
think of it as ultimately

explainable by some form
of physics that has not yet

been devised or something
in quantum physics,

we can give all kinds
of explanations.

But certainly, it's a
paranormal phenomenon.

It's not something
that happens every day,

and it does seem to
have a connection

to spiritual practice.

In China, many great
sages and alchemists

are also said to have left
empty graves after death.

In Asia, the highest
level of meditation

has always been known
as enlightenment

without remainder, in
which the physical body has

dissolved into pure energy.

To the point where their
body and mind are engaged

in spiritual practice and
mystical illumination,

habitually, every
microsecond of the day,

it is highly likely that
their body/mind complex

will do unusual things
at the point of death.

Whether that means preserving
the body from decay,

as occurs in the
incorruptible saints,

whether it's a
manifestation of stigmata,

manifestation of other
internal symbols on the bones

or organs of the
body, as has been

seen in some Catholic
saints, or whether it's

going to be these phenomena
of dissolution, shrinkage,

or complete
disappearance, it all

depends on how that person has
engaged with spiritual practice

such that everything that
you are is in the process,

in the practice.

And I think that that's
what this is all about.

That spiritual
practice is really

about a total engagement of
every last atom in your body.

The goal of life is to
discover who we really.

At the highest level
of meditation and yoga

we see our original
face, and this

enables us to enter the
Tao and fully discover

who we have always really been.

What we're talking about,
in terms of spirituality,

in terms of the body, in
terms of enlightenment,

is we're making the
claim, along with all

the great historical traditions,
that there's something

more that we are already.

There's something more that
we can realize in our bodies

cannot be restricted merely to
a vast complex of desires which

will come to an end
with our last breath.

Khenpo Achos, this Tibetan monk,
out in his little Hermitage

in Eastern Tibet, breathing
his last with the words

om mani padme hum
and then dying.

And then his face turns into
the face of a little child,

pink and more alive than
the 81-year-old man who

said his final mantra.

Om mani padme hum, om mani
padme hum, om mani padme hum.

There is something
formed in chaos coming

before heaven and
earth, existing

in the silent and tranquil void.

It stands alone and unchanging.

It pervades everywhere
without becoming exhausted.

It is the mother of
heaven and earth.

I do not know its name,
and so call it Tao.

The future of modern
science is to discover

the mind of the Tao.

As science studies
meditation and the evolution

of consciousness,
the basic unification

of Eastern and Western
paradigms of the evolution

of consciousness is inevitable.

Modern science
will become focused

on enabling human
beings to achieve

their complete potential,
which is enlightenment.

Scientists will realize that the
completion stage of meditation

is the primordial vision
of the original face.

This represents
the ultimate level

of human mind/body evolution.

There are hints, there are
suggestions, that things go on

in the human body/mind complex
that have not been completely

explained by science, by
technology, by psychotherapy,

by quantum physics, or whatever.

So I think we're just being
invited to explore more deeply.

We may actually come up with
a new theory, a new paradigm.

Darwin's Theory of Evolution
does not include the fact

that the human reproductive
system is perfectly

designed to achieve
enlightenment,

and that this is actually
the purpose of the evolution

of consciousness.

Evolutionary psychology
is based on the idea

that all human behavior
is merely an attempt

to reproduce sexually.

The problem with this is that
it leaves out the basic fact

that the human reproductive
system is perfectly

designed to achieve
enlightenment

by unifying the pre-birth and
post-birth chi of the body.

This is the basis of the
Chinese medical system,

and represents the
future of science

in the 21st century as
the Philosopher's Stone is

rediscovered.

It shows that the
human body is a device

that the universe
itself has generated

enabling that enlightenment
to burst upon the scene.

In other words, your body,
with all its aches and pains,

and some people
tell us we weren't

meant to stand up on
two legs, and a lot

of problems that
have come into play

because of the shape of our
body and the way the organs

are set up.

But if you look at it from
a Buddhist point of view,

your body is set up so that the
energy goes from the perineum,

from the crotch, from
the base of the spine,

up through the subtle body
and the material body, both

in intimate union so that it
gets to the top of your head

and beyond so that you
can attain enlightenment.

If you were a
monkey or a dog, you

have some of those
same structures,

but they're not
positioned in such a way

to favor the attainment
of enlightenment.

So that you're sitting
in meditation in accord

with a certain set of
points that highlight,

accentuate and enhance
the inherent properties

of the human body to
attain enlightenment.

So this is a little
machine we've

been given for attaining that
high degree of consciousness.

This is magnificent stuff.

Because then you
suddenly realize,

oh, even if we did evolve from
so-called lower forms of life,

we are also in continuity
with those forms of life such

that what we attain is not just
private property, but is good,

cosmic benefit.

And then you get immediately
into the whole Bodhisattva vow,

the idea of doing this for the
sake of all sentient beings.

There is an ancient
story from China

in which a famous
zen master told

his student, if you see the
Buddha on the road, kill him.

What is meant by this
story is that your idea

of the Buddha as a sacred
figure to be worshipped

is incorrect, and is an illusion
that actually is blocking

your own perception of your
own awareness as enlightenment,

and your own realization
that you yourself have always

been a living Buddha.

The fully activated
starting point of the body

is your original face.

The Dalai Lama
says very clearly

how no self, Buddhist teaching
on no self and all of that,

is not about the destruction
of the personality.

It's a transformative
process that

has to do with who you
really are comes to the fore,

and what you are not disappears.

Buddhahood, immortality
or enlightenment actually

represent the true potential
of each human being

to fully awaken.

This is inevitably
going to be the goal

of the evolution
of consciousness

in the 21st century.

We are at the edge of time
when achieving enlightenment

will become a phenomenon
recognized by Western science

as both the completion
stage of meditation

and the achievement of matter,
energy and consciousness

unification.

When enough individuals
have activated the Kundalini

and seen their original
face within themselves,

the human race will be
completely transformed.

Already today,
millions of people

practice yoga, meditation,
Tai Chi and Qigong.

The complete evolution
of consciousness

is the result of these mind/body
arts when fully mastered.

The goal of our existence is
to reach our ultimate potential

as fully enlightened beings.

Bodhidharma said, our
original face is the mind.

The mind is our original face.

This mind is the same as
the mind of all Buddhas.

Buddhas of the past and future
merely transmit this mind.

Beyond your mind, there
is no Buddha anywhere,

but confused people don't
realize that their own mind is

the Buddha.

They keep searching for
truth outside of themselves.

Don't become lost
in such illusions.

Just realize that
there is no Buddha

outside of your own mind.

Wherever you are,
there is a Buddha.

Your mind has always
been a living Buddha.

So if you see a
Buddha on the road,

there is no need for
reverence-- just kill him,

because it is a false illusion.

If people will
cultivate the Tao,

their bodies will be strong.

By cultivating the
Tao for a long time,

one can transform
substance to spirit,

refining their body into subtle
energy and merge with the Tao.

Then their knowledge
is boundless,

and their physical
body is transcended.

This is the power of the Tao.

Speaking without speaking
and moving without moving

is called "the profound
and secret virtue."

You look at it and
it is not seen.

It is called "the formless."

You listen to it
and it is not heard,

it is called "the soundless."

You grasp it and
it cannot be held.

It is called "the intangible."

The ancient sages were
masters at penetrating

the subtle and profound Tao.

Can you hold the body
and spirit as one?

Concentrating your chi
and becoming pliant,

can you become like
a newborn baby?

Clearing your mind and
contemplating the profound,

can you remain unknown?

In understanding all things,
can you remain detached?

The highest enlightenment
is like water.

Water benefits all beings,
yet argues with no one.

It flows in unknown
places, and in this way

is close to the Tao.

Because the enlightened
do not go against nature,

they are one with the Tao.

The Tao that can
be put into words

is not the true and eternal Tao.

The Tao is an empty vessel-- it
is used, but never exhausted.

It is the fathomless
source of everything.

Under heaven, there is
nothing more yielding

and soft as water--
yet for attacking

what is hard and rigid,
there is nothing better.

In this way, the weak
can vanquish the strong

and the soft can
overcome the hard.

People follow the way of earth.

Earth follows the way of heaven.

Heaven follows the way of Tao.

Tao follows its own natural way.

There is something
formed in chaos coming

before heaven and
earth, existing

in the silent and tranquil void.

It stands alone and unchanging.

It pervades everywhere
without becoming exhausted.

It is the mother of
heaven and earth.

I do not know its name,
and so call it Tao.

To know others is
wisdom, but to master

one's self in enlightenment.

Those who conquer others
require great strength.

But to conquer one's
self requires true power.