Contemplative Practices involved in Thukdam: A Post-Clinical Death Meditation Observed Among Certain Tibetan monks

Certain Tibetan monks demonstrate signs of vitality or being “alive” for up to 10-20 days following clinical death. In recent years, scientists have initiated studies on this occurrence, monitoring their brain activity during what is referred to as their thukdam meditation phase. However, what exactly is this contemplative practice, and within what context is such a post-clinical death meditation undertaken? Mahāyāna Buddhism emphasizes that meditation focused on perceiving reality and cultivating compassion is significantly more potent when conducted with the "subtle mind" rather than the "gross mind," wherein conceptual states, including dualism, persist. The subtle mind of the mind refers to innate clarity of the mind that is nonceptual and nondual. This paper will explore the three main contemplative practices associated with thukdam meditation: tantric, Mahāmudrā, and Dzogchen practices. Following that, I will analyze them from a broader Buddhist philosophical and soteriological perspective.