Many secret Tibetan practices are considered very dangerous. There are cases when monks went crazy and even died.
Lung-gom-pa speedboats
This is the name given to monks who, after a long spiritual and physical training, are able to walk hundreds of kilometers at an uncommon speed for pedestrians, without resting and without any support on the way. An eyewitness says: “Our small caravan has been walking for the seventh day on the plateau of Tibet, without meeting a single person.
Suddenly, a black speck appeared far ahead, and through the binoculars a man became visible. He moved surprisingly fast and with a strange gait. The man approached, and it became more and more noticeable how fast he walked. The Tibetan guide warned that this was Lama Lung-gom-pa and that he should not be stopped and talked to him. The lama approached, and it was already possible to clearly distinguish his impassive face with wide-open eyes, directed upward, to some point in space.
The lama did not run. It seemed as if at each step he soared into the air and moved in leaps and bounds, like an elastic ball. He was wearing the usual and rather shabby monastic attire and toga. With his left hand, half hidden by clothing, he holds onto the folds of the toga. The ritual dagger of the purba was clutched in his right hand. On the way, the lama slightly raised his right hand with a dagger forward and upward, rhythmically measuring his step. It seemed as if the edge of a knife, when lowering it down, he touched the ground and leaned on the dagger like a cane. He walked past without stopping and, obviously, not noticing us, and began to quickly move away. I was surprised by the lightness and rhythm of his elastic step …"
According to legend, the preparation of the runners Lung-gom-pa began in the monasteries of Ted Nid and Samding. One of the heroes of the legend - Lama Iongen Dorji Pal was born in 1284 and died at the age of 92. He was a powerful and famous magician, capable of creating illusory doubles - a tulpa. And he was mainly engaged in the conquest of evil demons.
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Another hero, Bouton, who was born in Tho Pug in 1288, is known as the author of several historical works. He combined all the Buddhist scriptures translated from Sanskrit into one large collection, Ganjur.
Somehow the magician Yongen set out to subordinate the god of death Shinja to his will and force him to take an oath not to devour living creatures. Wanting to find out if his friend really had enough power to conquer the terrible deity, Bud went to him, accompanied by three learned lamas. When they arrived, the god Shinje, who responded to the magician's call, was already hanging over him with his huge body.
Iongen suggested to those who came: if one of them sacrifices himself to God, he will do good. The lamas preferred to retire. Bud agreed to sacrifice himself, if necessary for the successful outcome of the ceremony. Then Yongen threw a lot of tulpa pigeons into the mouth of Shinje, and from Buton he took the word that he and his successors every 12 years would perform at the Shalyu monastery a ceremony of appeasement of the god of death, inviting Shinje himself and evil spirits from various parts of the country to the ceremony. For this, fearless, swift messengers were required.
The beginner must have had the necessary degree of dedication. Then, for several years, train under the guidance of an experienced mentor in numerous types of breathing exercises and in exercises to develop the ability to levitate. Here is one of them, for "dummies". The student sits down on a large thick pillow and takes a long, slow breath, as if wanting to swell. Then, holding his breath, without changing posture and without using his hands, he should jump and fall again on the pillow. Over time, depending on the ability and diligence, it will be possible to jump to one or another height. To test the success of the trainee, they dig a hole deep in his growth.
A dome is erected above it with a narrow opening at the top. The subject sits cross-legged at the bottom of the pit. And then he has to jump out of it in one jump through the hole in the dome. Only the aces can handle such a feint.
A monk who has achieved sufficient success is allowed to start walking exercises. Twilight and bright starry nights create favorable conditions for practice and facilitate walking.
The novice undergoes the second initiation, and his guru gives him the mystical formula. The adept concentrates on the mental repetition of this formula, which regulates the rhythm of breathing while walking, comparing the step with the words of the spell. The walker must remain silent, not think about anything and not look around. He should fix his gaze on some one distant object during the day or a star at night and not be distracted, no matter what happens.
In a trance state, consciousness is noticeably atrophied. The skorokhod mechanically overcomes obstacles on the way and maintains direction to the goal, without awakening any thinking processes. The technique develops an exceptional speed and dexterity among adepts. Lung-gom-pa training makes their bodies so light that they sometimes actually lift off the ground. "Excellent" even have to wear chains to be heavier. True, there are only a few of them.
For the right to a white skirt
In the 11th century, the most famous teacher of Tibet, the hermit Minarepa, lived and worked. Wall paintings depict him with his right hand raised to his ear - listening to the mysterious voices of nature. He is always depicted sitting in front of a cave against the backdrop of a huge snowy mountain. He is wearing the white robes of his sect and the lace of an ascetic. Leopards, gazelles and fallow deer look at the saint immersed in deep meditation …
His followers demonstrate incredible ability to survive in extreme conditions. They winter in the mountains at altitudes of up to five thousand meters without clothes and fire. Their endurance is explained by the knowledge of the teachings of Minarepa Lung-tum-mo. It is difficult to overestimate the ability to stimulate inner warmth in such harsh conditions. The guru turna (one who wears paper cloth) who teach this art keep their techniques secret. The word "tummo" means "volatile, penetrating flame." It warms the fluid and makes the energy hidden in it rise along the filamentous za ducts of the human body to the very top of the head. This energy is invisible and elusive. It gradually envelops the adept with the “sweet veil of deities” and keeps him alive, warming him among the snows and blizzards of the highlands.
Success can be achieved only by being guided by the personal instructions of the teacher. It is very important to first master the practice of breathing exercises; develop the ability for intense, trance-producing concentration of thought. Students should give up woolen clothing and stay away from fire. Candidates for the title of turnip live in caves or specially built huts as hermits, dare not see anyone except the guru.
They train every day, sitting in the usual meditation posture on bare ground, and at the highest stage of training - on the snow or on ice. Classes begin with breathing exercises. Along with the exhalation, they mentally vomit pride, anger, hatred, greed, laziness and stupidity. When inhaling, the spirit of the Buddha and everything that is in the noble and high world is attracted. Having renounced all worries and reflections, they plunge into deep contemplation and peace. Then comes the complex mystical practice of concentrating thought on the mirage of fire, mentally repeating the mystical formula and exercises to obtain the "flame". If successful, a pleasant sensation of warmth will spread throughout the recluse's body.
On a moonlit winter night with strong winds, the students together with the teacher go to the bank of the stream for an unusual exam. If the water is bound with ice, an ice hole is made. The turnip candidates, completely nude, sit cross-legged on the ground. Small sheets are dipped into ice water.
They immediately freeze. Each student wraps himself in such a sheet - he must warm it up and dry it on his body. The dried sheets are again soaked in the ice hole and wrapped again in them. The one who dries more sheets on himself before dawn is declared the winner. The student must dry at least three sheets on himself in order to wear a skirt made of white fabric - a hallmark of adherents of the art of tummo.
Another way of testing is with the snow test. The applicant for the title of turnip sits in a snowdrift. The amount of snow melted under it and the size of the radius of the thawed circle around it serve as indicators of its abilities. And for hermits - the greatest specialists in the field of tummo - their life on the mountain peaks is an exam.
