Gyulu

"Gyulü" or "Yoga [Yoga is best rendered in English as communion in its complete etymon, denotation and connotation.] of the Illusory Body" is a powerful spiritual modality and psychological practice and technique. Gyulu or Gyuma (T:"sgyu-lus" or "sgyuma"; S:"IAST|māyākāyā" [A conjunction of Mahamaya (with the semantic field: thoughtform, simulacrum, phantasmagoria, illusion, dream) and kaya (with the semantic field: body, corpus, field, dimension, plane).] ) comprises one of the Six Yogas. There are many versions and variations of this discipline, but like all tantric sadhana they have the triunic "outer", "inner" and "secret" upaya. [According to the seventh tantric precept of Vajrayana, only the outer sadhana may be described, and even with this outer sadhana, no actual technique may be transmitted without ascertaining the integrity and propensity of the recipient.]

Keown, "et. al." (2003) identify that the Gyulü, the "illusory body" is cognate with the "subtle body", and state that it is endowed with the Six Perfections ("ṣad-pāramitā"). [Keown, Damien (ed.) with Hodge, Stephen; Jones, Charles; Tinti, Paola (2003). "A Dictionary of Buddhism". Great Britain, Oxford: Oxford University Press. P.270. ISBN 0-19-860560-9]

Gyulu: an outer sadhana

Through studying their reflection in the mirror [The mirror is a divine 'symbolic attribute' (Tibetan: " [http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/phyag_mtshan phyag mtshan] ") and potent polysemic symbol. In the Himalayan tradition it is called a "melong".] , the practitioner visualizes images of their own nondual bodymind. This is a practice in resolving duality into the mystery of nonduality. "Gyulu" is essentially a type of thoughtform practice, where the aspirant works towards realising the inherently illusory, empty or void nature (shunyata) of samsara and the realm of duality.

The practitioner projects their imaginal self onto the mirror-image and identify this with the sambhogakaya form of their Yidam, and thereby link their mindstream and consciousness with that of the tutelary deity or yidam. Though a mystery, this association yields the mutual attribution and iteration of the inherent primordial essence-qualities of both the practitioner and the yidam. For a practitioner engaged in this practice, their mundane samsaric duality resolves into the mystery of primordial nonduality or nirvana whilst in body. The fruit of the practice is when the sadhaka views the inherent buddhahood in all phenomena and beings. [There is nothing which is non-sentient at some time.] When they embody the nirmanakaya or 'emanation body', the rainbow gankyil, mandala and bindu that is their inherent primordial essence-quality.

See also

*Looking glass self
*Magic Mirror
*Skull (symbolism)
*Thoughtform
*Transpersonal psychology

Notes

References

* Müller-Ebeling, Claudia and Christian Rätsch and Surendra Bahadur Shahi (2002). "Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas". Transl. by Annabel Lee. Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions International.
* Keown, Damien (ed.) with Hodge, Stephen; Jones, Charles; Tinti, Paola (2003). "A Dictionary of Buddhism". Great Britain, Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860560-9