Chod (Machig Labdron)

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Machig Labdrön · 1055 · Tibet

What it is

Chöd is a meditation practice found in both Tibetan Buddhist and Bön traditions. It uses chanting, music and visualisation to cut through fear, the afflictive emotions and the sense of a separate self, and it is linked to the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā) sūtras. Machig Labdrön is placed in…

Format

• Entry: empowerment and instruction. Chöd is taught through empowerment, reading transmission and oral instruction from a lineage teacher. A current example: Khentrul Rinpoche's Machig Labdrön Chöd retreat (Rimé Foundation, 2021) gave the empowerment live (attendance required, no recordings),…
• Daily-life Chöd. Teachers also describe Chöd as something practised in daily life: willingly accepting what is undesirable, or working with the moment the ego is hurt.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Chöd is a lineage practice, not a therapy, and has no published session protocol for psychotherapy. Two frameworks are relevant: the tradition's own path of training, and the therapist's process around it.
• Training in a peaceful place. Practitioners are first taught at a peaceful site.
• Criteria for moving on are set by the teacher and the lineage, not by the therapist. No session counts or durations for traditional Chöd training are given in this guide.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• : reassurance seeking moving from teacher to therapist; the practice expanding to fill hours. Working: the client practises as the teacher advises, with less checking and distress.
• : the client minimising risk to prove commitment; pressure from a group to attend despite instability. Working: a written plan exists and the client feels supported rather than policed.
• : flashbacks, numbing, collapse, shame after the session; the client feeling they "failed" by stopping. Working: the client stays present, uses the pause signal freely, and ends settled.
• : symptoms persisting after practice is reduced; suicidal thoughts (assess using standard risk assessment); functional impairment. Working: symptoms ease with reduced dose and grounding.
• : the client feeling handed off; the teacher contradicting medical advice (keep medical care with the doctor); confidentiality breaches in small communities. Working: the client has clear,…

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.