Tulpa

In mysticism a tulpa is the concept of a being or object which is created through sheer willpower alone. It is a materialized thought that has taken physical form and is usually regarded as synonymous to a thoughtform.

The term comes from the works of Alexandra David-Neel, who claimed to have created a tulpa in the image of a jolly, Friar Tuck-like monk which later developed a life of its own and had to be destroyed. The concept is thought to derive from Tibetan mysticism, while the term is thought to derive from Tibetan sprul ba or sprul pa. Many authors and artists have since used tulpas in their works, both in the context of fiction and in writing about mysticism.

Explanations

• According to the book Mysteries of the Unexplained, published by Reader's Digest:

There are... apparitions that make public appearances. Some of these are said to be the perceptible double—the etheric counterpart—of a living person who is undergoing an out-of-body experience. Even more mysterious are the externalized perceptible manifestations of something whose existence originated in the mind of its creator by virtue of that person's incredible powers of concentration, visualization, and other, more occult, efforts of the mind. In Tibet, where such things are practiced, a ghost of this kind is called a tulpa. A tulpa is usually produced by a skilled magician or yogi, although in some cases it is said to arise from the collective imagination of superstitious villagers, say, or of travelers passing through some sinister tract of country.

• Evans-Wentz (1954: p.29) discusses tulku (or nirmanakaya) and tulpa:

Inasmuch as the mind creates the world of appearances, it can create any particular object desired. The process consists of giving palpable being to a visualization, in very much the same manner as an architect gives concrete expression in three dimensions to his abstract concepts after first having given them expression in the two-dimensions of his blue-print. The Tibetans call the One Mind's concretized visualization the Khorva (Hkhorva), equivalent to the Sanskrit Sangsara; that of an incarnate deity, like the Dalai or Tashi Lama, they call a Tul-ku (Sprul-sku), and that of a magician a Tul-pa (Sprul-pa), meaning a magically produced illusion or creation. A master of yoga can dissolve a Tul-pa as readily as he can create it; and his own illusory human body, or Tul-ku, he can likewise dissolve, and thus outwit Death. Sometimes, by means of this magic, one human form can be amalgamated with another, as in the instance of the wife of Marpa, guru of Milarepa, who ended her life by incorporating herself in the body of Marpa."

Related concepts

• A similar orthographic and phonemic construction in Tibetan is 'phrul which holds the semantic field: magic, miracle, black art, emanation, jugglery, trick, magical illusion, conjuring, manifestation.
• Another term that may be rendered "thoughtform" is 'yilu' (Tibetan: yid lus). 'Yidam' (Tibetan: yi dam) are tulpa. The concept of "tulpa" is vindicated in the Consciousness-only Doctrine first propounded within the Yogacara School. The doctrine is entwined with the doctrine and lineage of the Mindstream and may even have ancient roots and antecedents in Bonpo traditions, Himalayan and Asian shamanism evident in Tibet, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Tuva, Mongolia, Russia and China.

Cultural references

Literature

• In Nightingale's Lament by Simon Green, a tulpa in the image of John Taylor's client is sent after him at one point, tracking him by a hair the client left on his jacket; it disappears when the hair is destroyed.

• In Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison, 'Tulpa' is the focus word used to create a three-dimensional circle in the main character, Rachel Morgan's imagination, and is used to hold an overflow of power.

• In American Gods by Neil Gaiman, various deity-like beings are created through cultural belief, a certain society's perception of, say, Odin, creating a form of that god particular to that society.

• In It by Stephen King, the eponymous entity's various manifestations are given form and power by the belief of the townspeople.

• In Outcast by Lynne Ewing, the main character, Kyle, is confronted and pestered by a tulpa of his own creation, that convinces him that he is his lost twin brother.

• In Grant Morrison’s Marvel graphic novel ‘Fantastic Four 1234’ (2002) Reed Richards muses on a fictitious journey to Tibet where, with the help of Bön priest, he creates a Tulpa, a “thoughtform”. After Richards names it ‘Victor’ the Tulpa takes on a life of its own, becoming Richards’ opposite number. This was an alternative, fantastical, origin for Richards’ arch enemy Dr Doom (aka Victor Von Doom).

• According to the book The Teachings of Don Juan Matus, a Mexican shaman by the name of Don Juan Matus, who had taught his student Carlos Castaneda, the books author, about the true nature of the physical universe and how intense concentration can summon, apport, and even materialize objects out of thin air. It was said that Carlos Castaneda was able to materialize a living squirrel on the palm of Don Juan's hand based on the latter's instruction. Many of his claims have been disputed by members of the anthropological profession.

• In Secrets & Mysteries of the World by Sylvia Browne , chapter 7: Tulpas, explains brief story of old Tulpas and new Tulpas from England.

• In The Mothman Prophecies by John A. Keel, the author alludes to several ghost and UFO sightings as likely being tulpas.

• In Las Ruinas Circulares by Jorge Luis Borges, the hole tale is about the creation of a tulpa that become evil and dangerous.

• Smith, Russell James (2003). Tulpa. Writers Advantage. ISBN-10: 0595274900 / ISBN-13:978-0595274901 (a work of fiction)

• In The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, a tulpa is created.

• Alvin Schwartz, writer of Superman comics during the '40s and '50s, writes in his book, An Unlikely Prophet about a tulpa he meets, named Thongden. The tulpa educates Schwartz about his own tulpa, Superman. ISBN-10: 0965952126 and ISBN-13: 978-0965952125

• Starting in July 1989, Alan Grant (writer) wrote a story arc for Batman entitled "Tulpa", in which a Tibetian man creates entities to steal for him in order to repay a mob boss.

• Horror author Clive Barker envisioned his famous "Candy Man" killer to be nothing more than a myth gone terribly awry in his original story.

Film and television

• In the X-Files episode Arcadia (6X13), the president of the homeowners' association for an exclusive gated community uses a tulpa to enforce the neighborhood rules; those who repeatedly violate the guidelines meet a grisly fate at its hands.

• The Supernatural episode Hell House (1.17) features a haunted house in which the resident malevolent spirit turns out to be a tulpa, created when the beliefs of thousands of website visitors are focused through a Tibetan sigil painted on one wall of the house.

• In the So Weird episode PK (or Tulpa). Fi meets a little boy who is troublesome and it is caused because of a Tulpa he creates. He thinks it is an imaginary friend but Fi tells him it's some type of energy he created and helps him solve it.

• In Tears of Kali by Andreas Marschall, an entity becomes an evil murderer that can't be controlled.

• In Paranoia Agent, the character Lil' Slugger (Shonen Bat) is revealed to have materialized thanks to the growing hysteria caused when Tsukiko Sagi claimed he attacked her.

• The Tulpa is a Canadian short film.

• In the animated television show, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, imaginary friends are depicted as corporeal, living thoughtforms, brought to life upon being imagined by a child.

Computer games

• In the RPG (Role-Playing Game) Over the Edge, Tulpas are used as background characters (NPC's). They also have natural enemies, sociopathic individuals called Sandmen, who prey on them to create either "Nightmare" (a drug) or "Dreamweb" (gossamer webs that can capture dreams from people). Dreamweb are typically used to capture the nightmares of neurotic individuals, which are also sold as something like a drug.
• Although the word "Tulpa" is never used in the Changeling: the Dreaming RPG, creatures known as "Chimera" fulfill a role very similar to Tulpa. Chimera may be sentient or non-sentient entities made manifest in the mental alternate reality of "The Dreaming". They typically arise spontaneously due to the force of human thought and emotion, sometimes from the dreams of individuals but potentially as amalgams of all human thought. These beings are typically weakened by exposure to human doubt, but nevertheless some have the necessary strength and abilities to manifest as tangible entities in the mundane world of humans, at least for a time.

See also

• Wikipedia entry: Egregore
• Wikipedia entry: Thought Forms

External links

• The Teaching of Juan Matus
• Egregore Definition Compilation