rainbow body<\/mark><\/a> in Tibet<\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhile carrying out his daily work, the old man continued his spiritual practice, integrating meditation with activity through continuous mindfulness. His son, a monk, often advised him to perform more formal spiritual practices: to sit in meditation, do yoga, and so on. However, this did not alter his father’s habits.
“Intrinsic wakefulness is the main point, my son,” he told the earnest monk. “Simply try to maintain lucid awareness of intrinsic awareness itself, the natural state of being…”
Three years before his death, the old man fell ill. Though the family fretted, he himself appeared increasingly happy. Rather than chanting the traditional Buddhist liturgies, he sang original songs of spiritual praise. Performing no rites or rituals, reciting no mantras, repeating no sutras or prayers, he seemed to have entirely abandoned all forms of ceremonial observance.
When his son, the monk, again exhorted him to devote himself to religious practices, the old man replied, “There is no external Buddha worth worshiping. The innate wakefulness of intrinsic awareness is one’s primordial nature.”
As his illness became increasingly serious… his son reminded him that this was the most important time to recall all the Dharma teachings he had received. The old man simply smiled and said, “Son, I have forgotten religion. Anyway, there is nothing to remember! All is illusory, yet I am happy — everything is prefect!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
— The snow lion’s turquoise mane: Wisdom tales from Tibet<\/em>, Surya Das, p. 132<\/p>\n\n\n\n