Written by Rinchen Angmo
Rainbow body. What could it possibly mean? I had often come across this term, without being able to fathom how one could logistically turn into a rainbow body. I’m no closer than I was, but I suppose I have given it some thought. After all, if we look close enough, we’re bound to notice the creation of rainbows in our everyday experience of the light and sound show called life.
Different schools of Tibetan Buddhism have their own terminology to express the Buddhist notion of emptiness. From what I understand, the Nyingma school expresses it in the form of a rainbow body.
Realized practitioners like His Holiness the Dalai Lama implore one to analyze whether or not scriptural knowledge matches with one’s own experience. In the case of the concept of the rainbow body, I have seen reason enough to give it some credibility. When the sun shines on your hair, and you look at it closely with unfocused eyes, you can then see faint semblances of mini rainbows due to the phenomenon of refraction. One of the prerequisites of the creation of a rainbow is the presence of a transparent surface. Ofcourse, this is all very abstract combined with my little knowledge of science and hence, is merely an expression of my observations; so please treat this like food for thought and not a surmise upon which to attack the writer.
Coming back to more sizeable rainbows that appear in the sky. This year, I got to witness a few magnificent rainbows. Perhaps, in moments of what can be called poetic justice, these rainbows happened to have found me just when I needed them. Hence, I am now surer than ever that all our answers can be found in nature as we journey through our imperfect but beautiful lives on planet earth. This concept of an empty rainbow body enabled me to thrive through yet another precious year of my life. Because rainbows tell us that when the rain and sun meet, something beautiful is born. And beauty lies in all that is intangible. Moreover, the rainbow is symbolic of the oneness of different colours. The very precondition of the rainbow phenomenon is difference. A phenomenon wherein contrasting atmospheric conditions meet to create many mesmerising colours forming a single unit. A rainbow implores us to not only accept differences but also to celebrate them. Through it all, maybe something beautiful can be achieved to make life brighter than it is. Perhaps, this can be connected to the Vajrayana principle of turning poison into nectar. Because there really is no circumstance in life that cannot be turned around and perhaps that is how we live life each day.
They say real change starts within. But maybe I’m still searching for rainbows outside of me. Maybe, someday I will see that I am a rainbow, just like everyone else. Or maybe we’re all different colours in one rainbow.
