Chod

Literally: “ to cut off ” or “to cut through“. Also known as “the expedient use of fear” and “the cultivation of generosity”. Chöd is a ritual practice with the meaning of completely removing attachment to one’s body and ego, through the compassionate offering of all that one is to other beings. The goal of this practice includes the summoning of various classes of beings and the subsequent severing and transformation of the practitioner’s body into offering objects and substances. Chöd uses melodic chants, drums (damaru), cymbals (gshang or sil nyen) and special horns (kangling) and is generally practiced in places that incite fear such as , and is generally practiced in locations that incite fear, such as buried ossuaries, cemeteries and remote trails in the mountains.