The Kapala practice and its function in Tibetan rituals.

Having chosen the right skull, it is important to handle it with due care and circumstances. The "Jewel-bowl" (rin chen thod pa) should never be left empty or lying upside down, otherwise the beneficent qualities of the skull will be useless for the bearer.

Should the practitioner have been lucky enough to find a skull still attached to a corpse before the rig pa, or consciousness, has left the body, he should wrap it immediately into a piece of human skin. For the cleansing process the head may be buried in mud or clay, put into hot springs for three days - according to a modern method - boiled in hot water with plenty of soda. When the skull is such freed from all flesh, the top of the cranium is cut off with a bone saw above the sutura squamosa. After washing it in alcohol, the skull cup should be polished and anointed with a fragrant essence such as saffron. It is now ready for ritualistic use. Silver inlay, lid and pedestal made of precious metals which decorate many items in museums and art collections are not specifically mentioned in the texts. Such appliances made by silversmiths were originally reserved for very rare one-piece skulls and only became fashionable in the seventeenth century parallel to the expansion of monastic power in Tibet.

More important than any decoration is the proper treatment of the skull for which one requires dam ngag, religious instructions. As according to Tibetan belief, every skull has protectors (srung ma) and Dakinis but also evil spirits (gnod byed), it could be dangerous to possess a skull without instruction and only the right treatment will generate the Siddhis and further the Four Kinds of Activities (phrin las bzhi).

According to the gTer ma of Sangs rgyas gLing pa, a Kapala should be consecrated on an astrologically very auspicious day. Then all sorts of obstacles are removed with smoke and wrathful Mantras and some alcohol is poured out to the "Three Roots" (rtsa gsum). The skull needs to be dried and anointed. After that the Kapala is filled with small images of "Three Roots", with Mantras of deities, of the god of wealth, of protectors ect. The names of all members of the Guru Lineage are put in as well as personal whishes. Pieces of gold, silver precious stones, medical ingredients such as camphor, nutmeg, sandalwood, musk, consecrated Dharma medicines, ring bsrel of Lamas, different kinds of wheat, fruits, flowers, pieces of tiger - leopard skin, silk as well as an essential text on Mahamudra or rDzogs chen ect. are placed into the skull bowl which is then wrapped in cloth. After an invocation of the Ye shes pa into the Kapala, it is sealed and hidden in a shrine closet, with the rang sa side showing to oneself. If one continues to make proper treatment the Kapala will certainly qualify as a "Whishfulfilling Jewel" (yid bzhin nor bu). Special Mantras are connected with such skull practices, for instance OM RATNA MAHAKAPALA SARVA SIDDHI PHA HUM HUM or - according to Grags pa rGyal mtshan the Mantra OM KAPALA BODHICITTA OM AH HUM, which ought to be represented 900,000 times in retreat. In this case the skull turns into a support (rten) of enlightened motivation, Bodhicitta (byan chub sems).

Through these rituals the Kapala is turned into a direct object of worship. In other cults belonging to the classes of Tantra human skulls are used as offering vessels. According to rites on the levels of Kriya and Caryatantra such as an Amitabha and Amitayus offering feast, the skull cup is filled with sweet fruit juices as a symbol for "lifespan, wisdom and merit increasing nectar".

In rituals of the highest tantric order (Yogatantra and Anuttaratantra) the skull is filled with alcohol as the "Inner Offering" (nang gi mchod), symbolizing the "Five Kinds of Fleshes" (sha inga) and the "Five Kinds of Nectar" (bdud rtsi lnga). Within this system of Anuttaratantra skull cups are used as well for offering in two seperate vessels "Blood" (rakta) and "Semen" (bdud rtsi) to the Protective Deities (chos skyong). While strong black tea added with special "Rakta pills" serves as a substitute for "Blood", white alcohol mixed with "Dharma medicine" (chos sman) transforms into "Semen".

During empowerment rites into Higher Tantras one could receive the "Secret Initiation" (gsang dbang) by means of nectar out of a skull cup which clears all obscurations of energy, bestows the experience of "Great Bliss" (bde ba chen po) and qualifies one for Sambhogakaya. In certain meditations belonging to the category of Anuttaratantra class one's own skull serves as an essential support (rten) during the visualation process (skyes rim). During the practice of gCod for instance, or in the visualation during the empowerment rite for the Sadhana of Milarepa, one's own skull serves on an immaterial level as a cooking vessel in which one's own corpse boils and transforms into limitless nectar which satisfies high and low. Or in another context one's own skull is visualised containing the Organs of the Five Senses objects as an offering to wrathful divinities. Further the Kapala is meditated on as an important implement of many protectors and divinities belonging to the Highest Tantras. Filled with blood it is the symbol of wisdom (shes rab) and matches the hook knife (khri gug), the symbol skillful means (thabs).

In the esoteric Tantric tradition, a carefully chosen and prepared skull is much more than a ritual object. A powerful Yogi will be able to use a consecrated jewel skull for all kinds of visionary and prophetic purposes. He may read in its lines the state of his own inner realization as well as his kkarmic obstacles with greater clarity than in his palm. According to an oral instruction given by a Tibetan sNgags pa one can use a skull for prophetic purposes in the following way: The vein imprints inside the skull signify obstacles by which the person whose skull one bears, was affected during his lifetime. Positive marks in the skull demonstrate the qualities of the deceased. Bone is considered to be alive, therefore the good and bad marks of the deceased will influence also the bearer of the skull and could be of dire consequence to him. A tantric practitioner however will use the karmic power of the skull as a means to enlightenment by mentally transforming the Kapala into his own Mandala. The tree of life corresponds now to his own lifespan counted as hundred years starting at the root, his year of birth. The branches of the tree turn into the four elements which are connected to the five wisdoms and five passions. Any negative mark in the skull is then analyzed and identified in the Mandala. By drawing lines to the trunk of the tree, the year of occurrence of obstacles can be detected. Further by connecting the mark to the nearest branch its element is discovered. The nearest bending twig on that branch signalizes the dominating passion of the obstacle. The position of the nearest uprising twig on the same branch indicates accurately the year in which the obstacle transformed in wisdom will be overcome. In such a way a skillful Yogi is aware of his outer and inner obstacles by using a skull.

On quite a different level oral tradition knows of the use of skulls for black magic purposes. So for instance, in order to generate a dispute between two parties, one could avail oneself of two skulls from men who both died in a quarrel, fill them with appropriate spells and tie them up with string. When these skulls are buried on a path trodden by the two parties, they will certainly turn against each other. As a counter-action the skulls need only be turned in the opposite direction.

A whole skull is used as a medium for entering into contact with the shi 'dre, the ghost of the dead. For this the sorcerer recites particular Mantras which make the ghosts of the dead speak. Then the sorcerer may use the shi 'dre as his servant for all sort of destructive magic.

Human as well as animal skulls are also used in connection with exorcism and protection against evil: in order to avert or to counteract the harm caused by all various classes of sri demons, the most efficacious method is to perform the Great Rite against the sri. For this one has to bury or set out a nine-sectioned Kapala at a crossing, filled with slips of poisonous paper inscribed with magic spells and the drawing of a lings, which contains all evil and harm caused by the sri. The paper must be tied up with a five colored ribbon. In case a nine-piece Kapala is not available, nine different kind of animal skulls must be provided: of a yak, dog, camel, vulture, marmot, cat, fox, jackal and a mouse.

Summarizing the essential points, human skull cups are used in three different ways:

As for the symbolism of the skull: It symbolizes Wisdom (shes rab), Great Bliss (bde ba chen po), Self sacrifice (lus sbyn); its symbolism embraces the Absolute (don dom) beyond all dualistic concepts; on the level of relative reality (kun rdzob gi don) it is a symbol of impermanence. A skillful Yogi will use it with transcendental awareness "out of which he drinks with self-abandoning pleasure the one taste of Samsara and Nirvana", to speak in the Doha language of Siddhas.