Tibetan Buddhism and Yundrung Bön · Tibet; practiced in Tibetan Buddhist communities including Nepal (documented at Padma Varna Mahayan Monastery, Patan)

Chöd (Tibetan: ཆོད་, chod)

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Chöd is a Tibetan spiritual practice whose name is often glossed as 'cutting through the ego.' It is found primarily in the Yundrung Bön tradition and in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and is based on Prajñāpāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom) teachings. The supplied sources frame it as a contemplative/ritual practice oriented toward overcoming ego-clinging rather than specifying particular supernatural threats.

Claimed Effect

Within the tradition as documented in the provided sources, Chöd is intended to 'cut through the ego' by engaging the insight of emptiness taught in the Prajñāpāramitā, thereby advancing the practitioner's spiritual realization.

Description

Chöd is presented in the sources as a spiritual practice located within the doctrinal framework of Prajñāpāramitā (Perfection of Wisdom) teachings, emphasizing the Buddhist philosophical insight of emptiness and the goal of 'cutting through the ego.' The practice appears across religious schools in Tibet and related communities, notably the Yundrung Bön tradition and the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The archival recording labeled 'Chod Puja' documents a communal monthly worship gathering at the Padma Varna Mahayan Monastery in Patan, Nepal, in which an Ani (woman monk) Chokyi recites prayers together with other Buddhist monks and lay devotees. The supplied sources do not provide a complete liturgical text, classical procedural sequence, lists of implements, or detailed cosmological mechanics; they thus document the practice's doctrinal basis and an instance of communal recitation without offering a full ritual manual.

Procedure
  1. 01Perform communal recitation of Chöd prayers during a Chod puja as documented at Padma Varna Mahayan Monastery: an ordained monk or nun (for example, Ani Chokyi) recites prayers together with other Buddhist monks and lay devotees (documented as a monthly worship gathering).
  2. 02Conduct the Chod puja within a monastery or communal worship setting, with monastics and lay participants present (the archival record indicates such a setting at Patan, Nepal).

Community Record

Sources
  1. [1]
    Chöd — Wikipedia. Wikipedia: 'Chöd is a spiritual practice found primarily in the Yundrung Bön tradition as well as in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism... Also known as "cutting through the ego," the practices are based on the Prajñāpāramitā...'wiki
  2. [2]
    Chod Puja - Shilu Manandhar (Archive item). Archive: 'Ani (woman monk) Chokyi recites prayers with other Buddhist monks and devotees during the chod puja, a monthly worship gathering at the Padma Varna Mahayan Monastery in Patan, Nepal.'other
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