Lung (Tibetan Buddhism) - Subtle Body

Subtle Body

Tibetan Buddhism views the human body as consisting of a coarse body made of six constituent elements of earth, water, fire, wind, space and consciousness and also of a subtle body, or 'Vajra body', of energy-winds, energy-channels and energy-drops.There are many types of wind or 'subtle breath' that move along the invisible channels of the subtle body. The 'vital breath' (Tibetan:sog lung ) is considered the most important. It is "the essence of life itself that animates and sustains all living beings". Anuttarayoga Tantra practices from the Mahamudra meditation system, such as Guhyasamaja, Chakrasamvara and Hevajra, provide various methods to penetrate the vital points of the Subtle Body. Dalai Lama XIV summarises the practice: "To penetrate these points means to gather there the energy-winds and the subtle minds that ride on them, basically by means of different types of absorbed concentration focused on these spots.". Practices that work with the subtle energy winds includes tummo or 'Inner Fire', one of the Six Yogas of Naropa. In this practice, the yogin or yogini uses breathing and meditation techniques to draw the lung or subtle winds into the central channel and hold them there, traversing the body vertically.