THE BARDO TEACHINGS OF GURU RINPOCHE

From Rest for the Fortuna Rest for the Fortunatete by Bardor Tulku Rinpo by Bardor Tulku Rinpocheche(Rinchen Publications, 2004)(Rinchen Publications, 2004)Text Copyright (2004) Karma Triyana DharmachakraText Copyright (2004) Karma Triyana DharmachakraUsed by permissionUsed by permissionThe text on which this present teaching is based is called A Supplement to the

Profound MeaningThe text on which this present teaching is based is called A Supplement to the Profound Meaningof Liberation Through Hearing, which is a part of the Cycle of Dispelling All Obstacles, theof Liberation Through Hearing, which is a part of the Cycle of Dispelling All Obstacles, theAccomplishment of the Heart of the Guru. Most of the text was composed

by the tertonAccomplishment of the Heart of the Guru. Most of the text was composed by the terton11Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa, and the quotations were composed by Guru Rinpoche himself.Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa, and the quotations were composed by Guru Rinpoche himself.The first thing we must understand about the view of dying and death presented here is

thatThe first thing we must understand about the view of dying and death presented here is thateverything we experience or acquire during our lives, everything that appears to us, andeverything we experience or acquire during our lives, everything that appears to us, andeverything that apparently exists surrounding us—no matter how everything that apparently exists surrounding us—no matter how wonderful, vivid, or abundant itwonderful, vivid, or abundant itmay be—is

utterly impermanent. When something changes from being what it is into beingmay be—is utterly impermanent. When something changes from being what it is into beingsomething else, or when it is destroyed or lost in some way, it vanishes as completely as thesomething else, or when it is destroyed or lost in some way, it vanishes as completely as the

contents of last night’s dream. Just as you can never recover the images of a previous night’scontents of last night’s dream. Just as you can never recover the images of a previous night’sdream, once something has been destroyed or changed, it is gone. Nothing that is compositedream, once something has been destroyed or changed, it is gone. Nothing that is composite(meaning that it results from the coming together of various causes and conditions) is beyond(meaning that

it results from the coming together of various causes and conditions) is beyondthat. Nothing that is composite is permanent, nor can that. Nothing that is composite is permanent, nor can it remain unchanging.it remain unchanging.Therefore, everything that we experience during our lives—including our very lives themselves— Therefore, everything that we experience during our

lives—including our very lives themselves— and everything that we have built up, will at some point be lost. Nothing is beyond what areand everything that we have built up, will at some point be lost. Nothing is beyond what arecalled the four ends. The four ends are that: (1) all births must end in death; (2) all gatheringscalled the four ends. The four ends are that: (1) all

births must end in death; (2) all gatheringsmust end in separation; (3) all accumulation must end in dispersal; and (4) all creation must endmust end in separation; (3) all accumulation must end in dispersal; and (4) all creation must endin destruction. Whatever we have around us, and whatever we possess during our lives, we arein destruction. Whatever we have

around us, and whatever we possess during our lives, we aredefinitely going to lose. Of all the things to which we become attached during our lives, that todefinitely going to lose. Of all the things to which we become attached during our lives, that towhich we are the most attached is, ironically, that which is most fragile—our life itself. The lifewhich we are the most

attached is, ironically, that which is most fragile—our life itself. The lifeof any being—especially someone of our species, because humans have a very uncertain lifeof any being—especially someone of our species, because humans have a very uncertain lifespan—is as transitory as a flash of lightning in the midst of the night. It is as fragile as a candlespan—is as transitory

as a flash of lightning in the midst of the night. It is as fragile as a candleflame in a strong wind. It is as unstable as a bubble that appears on the surface of the water. Likeflame in a strong wind. It is as unstable as a bubble that appears on the surface of the water. Likethese analogies, a human life is very brief and fragile.these analogies, a human life is very brief

and fragile.What we call death is when this fragility, this impermanence of human life, finally manifests forWhat we call death is when this fragility, this impermanence of human life, finally manifests forus. It means leaving this world and going to our next form of existence. The first thing that needsus. It means leaving this world and going to our next form of existence. The

first thing that needsto be understood about death is that although we become very concerned about death when itto be understood about death is that although we become very concerned about death when ithappens to us, we are by no means the only person to whom death has happened. Death happenshappens to us, we are by no means the only person to whom death has happened.

Death happenscontinually to all human beings and to all beings in general. Once any being has been born in anycontinually to all human beings and to all beings in general. Once any being has been born in anyform of existence, it is absolutely certain that this being is going to die once again at some pointform of existence, it is absolutely certain that this being is going to

die once again at some pointin time. If you look at it from that point of view—that death is the natural result or completion ofin time. If you look at it from that point of view—that death is the natural result or completion ofthe process of birth—you can see that there is no reason to be so unhappy about the idea or thethe process of birth—you can see that there is no reason

to be so unhappy about the idea or thefact of death.fact of death.Rather than being so unhappy or obsessively fearful about the prospect of death that you cannotRather than being so unhappy or obsessively fearful about the prospect of death that you cannoteven think about it, it would be better to focus one-pointedly in supplication of the sources ofeven think about it, it

would be better to focus one-pointedly in supplication of the sources ofrefuge—your teachers, the Three Jewels, and so on, those to whom you look for assistance—inrefuge—your teachers, the Three Jewels, and so on, those to whom you look for assistance—inorder to go through the process of order to go through the process of dying and death in the most positive way

dying and death in the most positive way you can.you can.The second point that needs to be emphasized in the beginning is that, not only are youThe second point that needs to be emphasized in the beginning is that, not only are youimpermanent, but everything you have accumulated during your life will be lost when you die.impermanent, but everything you have accumulated during your life will be lost when you die. Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche; page 1; page 1

All of the things you have accumulated, and all of the people to whom you are attached, will beAll of the things you have accumulated, and all of the people to whom you are attached, will belost to you when you die. You will never see them again in that form and they will notlost to you when you die. You will never see them again in that form

and they will notaccompany you through the process of death. They accompany you through the process of death. They can accompany you up to can accompany you up to the moment of yourthe moment of yourdeath, but once you die, you death, but once you die, you are alone. You are are alone. You are going through the process completely alone.going through the process completely alone.Your possessions in particular cannot help you through the process of dying, and possessionsYour possessions

in particular cannot help you through the process of dying, and possessionsmost certainly cannot help you after you are dead. In fact, not only do they not help you, but theymost certainly cannot help you after you are dead. In fact, not only do they not help you, but theycan cause you problems. This is the case because all of the things that you did in order to acquirecan cause you problems. This is the case because all of the things that you did in order to acquirethose possessions, and all

of the attachment that you have for those possessions and forthose possessions, and all of the attachment that you have for those possessions and foreverything you are leaving behind, can agitate you so much that it can make the process ofeverything you are leaving behind, can agitate you so much that it can make the process ofdeath—and therefore the subsequent rebirth—much worse than it need be.death—and therefore the subsequent rebirth—much worse

than it need be.The Bardo of Dying: Dissolution and the Four WisdomsThe Bardo of Dying: Dissolution and the Four WisdomsAs we have seen, the different bardos can be categorized and presented in different ways. In thisAs we have seen, the different bardos can be categorized and presented in different ways. In this presentation they are divided into three, which are the presentation they are divided into three, which are the three bardos that are aspects or three bardos that are aspects or parts

of theparts of the process of dying and death. The first of these is the interval or period of dying—th process of dying and death. The first of these is the interval or period of dying—the experience ofe experience ofdying itself, which leads up to, but does not include the actual process after death. This is defineddying itself, which leads up to, but does not include the actual process after death. This is definedas the process or experience of the separation of your as the process or experience

of the separation of your body and mind, which during your life havebody and mind, which during your life have been been integrated. integrated. The The fundamental fundamental characteristic characteristic of of the the experience experience of of dying dying is is called called thethedissolution of the elements. In the text calleddissolution of the elements. In the text calledThe Tantra of the Play of WisdomThe Tantra of the Play of Wisdom, it says:, it says:First, earth dissolves into water,

water dissolves into fire, fire dissolvesFirst, earth dissolves into water, water dissolves into fire, fire dissolvesinto wind, and then wind dissolves into consciousness. Thisinto wind, and then wind dissolves into consciousness. Thisconsciousness, which apprehends, finally dissolves into the clear consciousness, which apprehends, finally dissolves into the clear light.light.These stages of dissolution occur when three things that sustain your life are exhausted or usedThese stages of

dissolution occur when three things that sustain your life are exhausted or usedup. The first is your vitality. Your vitality is basically the result of your previous accumulation ofup. The first is your vitality. Your vitality is basically the result of your previous accumulation ofkarma. In any case, when the vitality—the conditions that enable you to remain physically orkarma. In any case, when the vitality—the conditions that enable you to remain physically or biologically alive—i

biologically alive—is used up, then the elements that are the aspects of your physical living beings used up, then the elements that are the aspects of your physical living beingstart to dissolve. The second is the karma that has caused you to be reborn as, for example, astart to dissolve. The second is the karma that has caused you to be reborn as, for example, ahuman being and has caused you to remain a human being for a certain length of time. The thirdhuman being and has caused you to remain a human being for a certain length of time. The thirdis the merit that has kept you alive. Your life is maintained by your store of merit. When theis the merit that has kept you alive. Your life is maintained by your store of merit. When the particular store particular store of of merit that merit that causes this causes this particular life particular life to last to last is is used up, used up, then the then the elements—theelements—the balance of which maintain yo balance of which maintain your health and

your life—stur health and your life—start to dissolve.art to dissolve.What is meant here by the elements is the fundamental qualities of physical existence,What is meant here by the elements is the fundamental qualities of physical existence, particularly as they are found in biologic particularly as they are found in biological life. What is called earth refers to the aspect of solidityal life. What is called earth refers to the aspect of solidityof a living being.

Just as our bodies are produced by the coming together of various physicalof a living being. Just as our bodies are produced by the coming together of various physicalcauses and conditions, and our bodies therefore partake of the characteristics of the physicalcauses and conditions, and our bodies therefore partake of the characteristics of the physicalsubstance, our health is maintained by the proper balance substance, our health is maintained by the proper balance of

these physical characteristics.of these physical characteristics.At the time of death, there is the dissolution of these physical characteristics, one into another.At the time of death, there is the dissolution of these physical characteristics, one into another.The first step is that earth, which means solidity, dissolves into water, which is fluidity. ThisThe first step is that earth, which means solidity, dissolves into water, which is fluidity. Thisrefers to the first stage of dying where

your physical toughness or strength gradually diminishes.refers to the first stage of dying where your physical toughness or strength gradually diminishes.The second stage is that water dissolves into fire, and fire is, of course, your body's warmth. AtThe second stage is that water dissolves into fire, and fire is, of course, your body's warmth. Atthis point, the liquid

quality starts to dissolve. From the outside inward, the fluids of your bodythis point, the liquid quality starts to dissolve. From the outside inward, the fluids of your bodydissolve into the fire element. The third stage is fire dissolving into wind, or air. At that point thedissolve into the fire element. The third stage is fire dissolving into wind, or air. At that point

thewarmth of your body starts to be withdrawn inward. It leaves the limbs from the extremitieswarmth of your body starts to be withdrawn inward. It leaves the limbs from the extremitiesinward, and gradually you become cold. The fourth stage is that wind or air dissolves intoinward, and gradually you become cold. The fourth stage is that wind or air dissolves into Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche; page 2; page

consciousness. That is the name for the point where you stop breathing. Our normal breathing isreferred to as “external breathing,” which means the type of breathing that could be detectedeasily by an observer. This breathing ceases at this point. The next stage of dying is calledconsciousness dissolving into space. At that point most, but not all, of the functions of yourenergy and mind stop. Your breathing stops altogether. Then the final stage is space dissolvinginto the clear light. That

process actually has four stages within it, which are called “the arising ofthe four wisdoms.”During our lives, there is a channel at the very center of our bodies called theavadhuti, andwithin that channel there is a wind called the “wind of vitality.” One of the things that this windof vitality does is maintain the position of two fundamental constituents that link

our mind and body together as a sentient form of biological life. One of these two constituents is identified withthe original sperm from the father which fertilized the ovum. This is called the “whiteconstituent” and is held in place by this wind at the top of our head. The other constituent isidentified with the ovum of our mother. It is called the “red constituent”

and it is held in place below the naval, at the bottom of the central channel, by this same wind. The wind of vitalitykeeps these two constituents (which are also known as “drops”) separate. Through the process ofthe dissolution of the elements—in other words, through the process of dying up to this point— the energy or wind of vitality has withdrawn. As it withdraws, there is nothing keeping these twoconstituents in their previous locations, and their movement in sequence is what

causes or precipitates the emergence of what are called the four wisdoms.The first of the four wisdoms is called thewisdom of appearance. Through the cessation of thewind of vitality, the white constituent that was previously at the top of your head moves downthrough the central channel, finally reaching the center of your heart. While that is going on whatthe dying person experiences is that everything turns brilliantly white. That appearance ofwhiteness is why it is called “appearance.”

At the same time, as a cognitive experience, youexperience a state of wisdom, a state of primordially pure awareness within your mind that isextremely lucid, but fairly free of conceptualization. Because your state of mind turns into that pure awareness, all of your aggression, aversion, hatred, and anger ceases. We have within us agreat deal of aversion, attachment, and apathy. These three basic samsaric patterns are connectedwith how we take rebirth at the beginning, and they are maintained

by us throughout our lives. Atthis point, though, the whole complex of emotions that we could categorize as aversion and angerceases as this white drop reaches the heart.The next stage, the second wisdom, is called thewisdom of increase (or augmentation).“Increase” refers to the red constituent moving up from below the navel until it, too, reaches theheart. When that happens what you experience in terms of appearance is that everything turns bright red. That is called the appearance

of increase. At the same time, as a cognitive experience,you experience a wisdom that is even more intense than the previous one. You experience awisdom that is not only lucid, but also blissful and pleasant. There is a tremendous sense of well- being. The cognitive lucidity and the well-being are not two different things. They are the samething, although we describe them in two different ways using words. Because of that intenseexperience of well-being that emerges out of the lucidity at this point,

all attachment and desirecease. Whereas previously all aversion ceased, in this stage all attachments and desires cease because they have become irrelevant.Eventually these two constituents or drops meet together at the heart. At that point, the thirdwisdom arises, which is calledattainment . This is the point where if someone has led a very, verynegative life, they may become extremely terrified. Basically what happens here is that the person becomes unconscious briefly. As they become

unconscious, they experience everything turning Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche; page 3 into utter darkness. It is not like a small amount of utter darkness, but an endless expanse. Thecognitive experience that accompanies this darkness is that the wisdom becomes even moreintensified. It is not only a wisdom characterized by well-being and lucidity, but it is also utterlynon-conceptual, free of any kind of thought. At that point the klesha of apathy ceases.

Wenormally do not recognize apathy, but up to this point it is constantly present in our lives. Next, the fourth stage or wisdom ensues upon the third. At this point, the person has momentarily become unconscious. It is like blacking out for a moment. All of this happens much more quicklythan it takes to describe, which is the problem with the description. It sounds as though we aretalking about a very gradual process that you could witness comfortably. It is not like that,however.As we have

seen, through this process of dissolution, all our usual types of reactivity (attachment,aversion, or apathy) have simply dissolved into space. Because all of this has dissolved intospace, then the moment after that the fourth situation arises, which is a completely pure wisdomcalled perfect attainment . This is the ground clear light.At this point, what is experienced is the fundamental nature of your mind—buddha nature.Buddha nature is that naked, simple awareness, which is aware without any

conceptualization orthought of the present moment of experience. In the language of the tradition of this instruction, itis called “a self-arisen, primordial awareness that is pure from the very beginning.” In and ofitself, it is free from any kind of impurity, any kind of conceptualization. It has no defect. It is notmissing anything and does not require anything being done to it, anything being removed from it,or anything being added to it. It is perfect just as it is. It is utterly unpolluted by

any kind ofattitude, state of mind, or cognitive process. This is what you experience at that fourth moment.Every being experiences it at this point in the process of death, but they would never be able todescribe it.However, if through the process of practice during your life you have familiarized yourselfsufficiently—through meditation practice and so on—with the nature of your mind so as to beable to recognize it at this point, then you achieve buddhahood. This is the dharmakaya as

theground. There is nothing to be afraid of if you have assurance that you can achieve buddhahoodin the dharmakaya at the moment of death.To illustrate this, a quotation is given from the teachings of Guru Rinpoche about this process andthe state with which it ends. He says:Fortunate children of good family[i.e., of the mahayana], listen withundistracted mindfulness. All of the appearances of this world, whateverthey are and how many they be, are like dreams—like the illusions or theseductions of

a deceiver—in that all of them are impermanent. All of themare destructible. Therefore, let go of suffering, attending upon their loss.The appearances during the processes of dying—the whiteness, theredness, the blackness—all of these appearances are the display of yourown mind. There is nothing in any of this that appears to you that issomething other than yourself. Therefore, children of good family, be notafraid, be not terrified. And at the culmination of these, when it seems thatyou become unconscious, and that your awareness fails you, externallyyou perceive an appearance that is like a clear sky, and internally yourcognition becomes like a lamp burning inside a vase. It is lucid, but utterly Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche;

non-conceptual, and naturally remains, one-pointedly. This is the clearlight that arises at the time of death, and this is the wisdom of all buddhas.Rest in this, relaxed, without attempting to alter it, without attempting tochange it. If you do so, you will be liberated in the dharmakaya.At this point the process of death is complete. The person has died. Therefore that is the

end ofthe first of the three bardos, the bardo of dying.In discussing the first of the three bardos associated with the experience of death, we have seenhow, if you have gained sufficient familiarity with the nature of your mind to be able to recognizethe ground clear light when you experience it after death, you can attain liberation at that momentin the dharmakaya. This is how liberation can be attained in the first bardo, the bardo of dying. If,however, you do not attain liberation in the

bardo of dying because you do not recognize thefundamental or ground clear light, then the second bardo will arise. This is called the bardo ofdharmata or the bardo of the nature of things.The Bardo of Dharmata: The Peaceful and Wrathful DeitiesThe second bardo, the bardo of dharmata, consists of the experience of what is called“spontaneous presence.” This is the spontaneous expression of the qualities of the ground, in theform of the peaceful and wrathful deities, light, rays of light, and so on. It is the display of thegoodness of the ground itself, manifesting in this form. In general, the opportunity for liberationin this bardo consists of not being overwhelmed by the brilliance and majesty of the display, andespecially recognizing that all of this light and all of these deities are nothing other than thedisplay of your own awareness. In brief, it means recognizing that these are simply the display ofthe inherent qualities of your own buddha nature.

They are not in any way external to yourself. Ifin the second bardo, you can recognize the appearances that occur as the display of your ownmind and rest calmly in that recognition, then you will attain liberation in the sambhogakaya. Inthe first bardo, the opportunity is for liberation in the dharmakaya. In the second bardo theopportunity is for liberation in the sambhogakaya. This is explained in more detail in the words ofGuru Rinpoche:The first experience of death is the experience

of the ground clear light,and if you do not recognize that awareness—because the ground clearlight is your own fundamental awareness—then for a period of seven daysafter that, you start to experience certain visions or appearances.Throughout this period of the bardo of dharmata, everything that you see,everything that appears to you, is like rainbow light, which is to say that itis brilliant five-colored light and rays of light. Amongst this light and raysof light are spheres or droplets of

brilliant five-colored light. Within theseyou see the forms of various deities. All of this—the five-colored light, therays of light, the droplets and so on—are the display of the five buddhafamilies, that is to say, the five buddhas. They arise as a display beforeyou because they are aspects of your own buddha nature. They areinherent within you. The wisdom, the inherent or innate wisdom of yourown buddha nature, manifests at this point, apparently external to yourself.During your life, these things

are within you. They are within yourchannels, winds, and drops. Normally you do not experience them directly Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche;

or visually, because you have a body. After death, your mind havingseparated from the body at this point, or at least being within the body, butnot being biologically seated in it, these things are free to be experienced.The light and the rays of light that you see in the bardo of dharmata are so bright and powerful that you find them threatening or frightening. Youwant

to run from them. The usual reaction a sentient being has at this pointin the bardo is to try to escape from all of this brilliant multi-colored light.What is recommended here is not to be frightened of this light, but torecognize it as being your own display. In other words, it is the light ofradiance of the inherent qualities of your own nature.At the same time you see all these rays of brilliant multi-colored light, you see other lights thatare much dimmer, and much more comfortable. They are

much more appealing. They are morelike what you would want. They are the degree of brightness you would choose naturally if youcould choose light. The standard reaction a sentient being has is to run away from the bright lightand to be attracted to, or be drawn to, the muted light. However, the muted light is the display ofyour five poisons (kleshas). The muted light, which is comfortable and familiar to you, is the paththat will lead you into rebirth in samsara. Therefore, just as you need to not

be frightened of the brilliant lights of wisdom, you also need not to be seduced by the muted or comforting light of thekleshas. This is the point where you actually visually see the choice between wisdom andconfusion, or nirvana and samsara, in the form of brilliant light and muted, comforting, soft lightrespectively. This is the point, as it says in the text, where you have tonot make the wrongchoice.Within all of the brilliant light, you see the forms of the

five male and female buddhas. Alongwith all of the other rays of brilliant light, rays of light emerge from the hearts of the five buddhas, and these enter or strike your heart and eyes. That is called “the great secret path ofVajrasattva,” and it is the point where you have the greatest opportunity to achieve liberation. It isalso the point where you are likely to be the most frightened or threatened by the deities, becausenot only are these rays of light everywhere, but

they actually seem to be shooting towards you asthough they were going to pierce you in some way. If you recognize that these lights and thesedeities are not other than yourself, and especially if you can supplicate them with sinceredevotion, saying something like, “Take hold of me with your compassion,” you will attainliberation in the sambhogakaya. If you can supplicate them rather than running away from them,and recognize that the deities are not other than

yourself, simply just remaining with that, withoutattempting to do anything, without feeling that there is anything in the situation that you have toget rid of or anything that you have to add—simply by resting in that, the deities will start todissolve. At that point, because you did not run away from them, you will attain liberation in thesambhogakaya.That is the first half of the bardo of dharmata. It is called the peaceful bardo, or the bardo of the peaceful deities, because as

threatening as the displays of light, rays of light, and so on may seemto be, up to this point they are nevertheless peaceful in appearance. The deities—the buddhas ofthe five families—appear as peaceful male and female buddhas.If you do not attain liberation in the sambhogakaya at this point, then the appearances of thedeities will change. The nature of the situation itself has not changed, however. The deitiesthemselves are not changing, but your perception of them changes. Whereas previously you sawextremely brilliant (and therefore somewhat frightening) but otherwise beautiful rainbow lighteverywhere, now above, below, and all around you the rainbow light starts to be tinged with a Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche;

light that is like fire. It becomes an endless expanse of five-colored flames of wisdom. The deitiesthat you see at this point are extremely wrathful in appearance. Again, there are the five femaleand five male buddhas, but their appearance is transformed from being peaceful and smiling into being extremely wrathful and threatening. These are the rest of the deities who are spoken of inthe bardo. Normally it is said that there are forty-two peaceful and fifty-eight wrathful deities who

appear. These wrathful deities have all sorts of different appearances, and they are quiteterrifying. They are holding lots of different sorts of ghastly weapons, and they are laughing in avery, very threatening way, exclaiming sounds like the mantras Hung,P'ey, and so on. They are blazing with light and flames that are even more intense than those of the previous deities.Again, this is a further opportunity for liberation—and again, the same response is necessary.You need to not

be frightened of them. These deities are not in any way threatening. They areagain a display of your own wisdom, just in a particularly intense form. Recognizing that all ofthese deities are simply the display, the appearance, of your own awareness, and being certain ofthat, then just simply stay put. Simply rest in that, without attempting to flee. Especially at this point, rather than attempting to run away from them, if you can actually mix your mind with themind of the wrathful deities who

appear to you, then you will attain liberation in thesambhogakaya.If you do not attain liberation in the sambhogakaya while experiencing the second bardo, it is dueto the habit of dualism. It means you are conceiving of these deities that appear to you as separatefrom yourself. Because you are holding onto your mind and your being as inherently differentfrom the appearances of those deities, then you do not attain liberation in the sambhogakaya. Inother words, it is through a fixation on

the appearance of duality that this liberation may not beattained.The Bardo of Becoming: The Journey of the ConsciousnessIf you have not attained liberation at that point, then the third bardo begins. This bardo beginswith your consciousness exiting your body. Previously, of course, you had died, so yourconsciousness was no longer functioning in your body the way it did when you were alive.However, it was still remaining within the center of your heart. But if you do not attain liberationat

the end of the bardo of dharmata, then the consciousness will leave your body at that point. Atthat point your consciousness will, in your perception, take the form of your previous body. Theappearances of the bardo of becoming, this third and last phase of the bardo, are explained in the Abidharmakosha as follows:Your form appears to be that of your previous life, and can be seen bysimilar beings and those with the divine eye. You possess karmicmiraculous powers. Your senses are complete, and you

can move withoutimpediment, without being stopped. This is the form of agandharva.2You do not actually have a body at this point, but your consciousness, which has now exited your previous physical body, appears to you to take the form of that body. Because you are used tolooking a certain way, you assume you still do. A bardo being at this stage can be perceived byother bardo beings, and by individuals who have attained the divine eye of being able to see bardo beings and so on. Possessing

karmic miraculous powers does not mean that you have the genuinemiraculous powers that arise from meditation. However, because you do not have a body, youhave what we normally would regard as the miraculous power of being able to move anywhere inan instant just by thinking of it. Although that is the case, it is not under your control, which is Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche;

why it is called “karmic.” What happens is that you think of a place and all of a sudden you arethere, whether you want to be there or not. No time elapses in traveling there.Regardless of whether all your senses were functional in your previous life, this mental bodyappears to have complete senses. It appears to be able to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. You feelhunger and

thirst, but the sustenance you want is smells. The bardo beings are called gandharvas,or “smell consumers.” If you take food that is consecrated to the benefit of bardo beings in certainways and you singe or burn it, the smoke from that can actually nourish them. This is why in the period of time (usually forty-nine days) after someone’s death we often perform this kind of burntoffering where food is singed and dedicated to those beings.3 They are actually nourished by it.They consume it just the

way we would, and feel a sense of well-being from that, just as wewould from eating food. Throughout this forty-nine day period, you seem to have the body that you had in your last life. Itwill probably appear more or less the way it appeared toward the end of your life. As well, youwill experience an uncertain and bewildering variety of other appearances. You think of a place,and you find you are there. Many of these appearances can be frightening, and you experience agreat deal of anxiety and

even terror because you feel that you are being threatened by things.You feel that you are going to be burnt by a fire or drowned by water. You think you are about tofall off a precipice or be crushed by a boulder, or other things like that. The correct approach tothis bardo is to regard whatever appearances that arise as unreal, as illusory, and in that way youdo not react to them. In traversing this bardo, you need to resist the tendency to react emotionallyto the appearances that you

experience—to be attached to some, averse to others, and apatheticabout the rest. You need to regard whatever you experience as the display of emptiness. Regardeverything as being without any substantial existence. As well, you need to try to preserve anoutlook of compassion. These are the most important things. If you can earnestly preserve arecognition of the emptiness of the hallucinations or appearances, and an attitude of compassion,this will help a great deal.The other thing needed here is

renunciation for samsara, because the bardo of becoming is the point where you start to be impelled toward taking rebirth. Therefore, at this point it is importantto recollect that wherever you might be reborn in samsara, in whichever of the six realms, it isgoing to be an experience that is fundamentally one of suffering, without any true or completehappiness at all. During this bardo, in addition to recognizing emptiness and maintainingcompassion, if you have the thought, “I must,

at all costs, attain liberation from samsara,” that isvery important. If you have renunciation for samsara, you will not be compelled to be reborn inthe same way you would if you lacked such renunciation.In addition to the attitude of renunciation through feeling sadness for samsara, during this bardoyou need to supplicate those in whom you have the greatest faith—your teachers, the ThreeJewels, and so on, and you need to generate the intention to take rebirth in a pure realm. A purerealm here

means a pure nirmanakaya realm—the realms of the five buddha families. In particular, it is recommended to aim for the pure realm of the Buddha Amitabha. Because ofAmitabha's aspiration, it is very, very easy to achieve a rebirth in his realm simply throughwishing to be reborn there. Especially at this point in the bardo, through hearing the name ofAmitabha and through wishing to achieve a rebirth in his realm, you can actually achieve it. Thegoal in this third bardo is to achieve

rebirth in the realm of Amitabha. Therefore, at this point,along with emptiness and compassion, renunciation, and supplication of your teachers and theThree Jewels in general, bring to mind Amitabha and the qualities of his realm, Sukhavati(Dewachen in Tibetan). Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche; page 8 It is also important that your intention for wishing to be born in Sukhavati is a compassionate one.To be successful, the

intention needs to be the thought that, “In order to be able to liberate all beings from existence, I wish to be reborn in Sukhavati.” If you have bodhicitta as yourmotivation, it is quite possible to achieve this. Through these attitudes on your part—theaspiration to rebirth, compassion, bodhicitta, and so on—and through the truth of dharmata,through

the blessings of your teachers, and especially through the momentum of your aspirationat this point in the bardo, you will achieve rebirth in the natural nirmanakaya realm of Sukhavati.This part of the bardo is discussed in the following quotation by Guru Rinpoche:At this point in the bardo you are experiencing the appearance of a bodythat is actually just your basic energy

and mind which are inseparable. It isnot a physical substance. In that mental body what you experience are theunstable appearances of the bardo of becoming.If you have not attained liberation already—in other words, if you have reached this point—you probably did not know you were dead until now. Now, however, you figure it out. You realizethat you are dead. Your natural

reaction to this, of course, is to miss very much those you left behind and to yearn for them, which can be a problem for the dead person. At the same time, youmay have some hallucinations of things being out to get you. You feel pursued. It is somewhatindividual, but you will have some hallucination of something, or some things, being after you.You will hear things that will frighten you, and in general you will be quite scared.The experiences in this phase of the bardo are of two types.

Some are standard, which is to saythat basically everyone experiences the same things. Some are individual, according to your own particular makeup. However, whatever you see and whatever you hear, you must recognize that itis all the display, the projection of your own mind. Being the projection of your mind, it is of thesame stuff as your mind and your mind is empty,

like space. Therefore, none of these projectionscan do anything to you. All you are is a mind, with no substantial physical existence whatsoever.Therefore, it cannot be hurt. No matter what you think you see coming after you, what you hearand so on, none of it can hurt you. In fact, none of it actually exists. It is all just projections orhallucinations of your mind. Remind

yourself of that at this time in the bardo, and generate acourageous confidence of recognizing the nature of what is occurring.It is traditional to prepare asur or burnt offering for the deceased during this phase of the bardo.They can actually be nourished by it, because beings experience hunger and thirst at this time,and what they want are smells. Usually

there are blessing substances mixed in with these whichalso affect them beneficially and make it possible for them to attain liberation. The mostimportant thing that the person needs to be reminded of, or that the person needs to remember, isnot to be obsessively concerned with what they leftbehind, but to direct their minds in an attitudeof supplication to those

in whom they have faith—their teachers, the Three Jewels, and so on. It isespecially important to recollect the existence of the realm of Sukhavati. In other words, it isessential not to try and get back to the life you left, but to move on, and especially to move on toSukhavati, which is experienced by a being in the bardo as being located in the western

direction.Moving west, they move toward Sukhavati. Buddha Amitabha resides in the midst of that realm,and at this point in the bardo anyone who supplicates him by name can achieve rebirth at will inhis realm. The text addressing the deceased says:Recollecting his name, pray to him. Ask for the assistance ofAvalokiteshvara and Padmasambhava. Generate devotion and if

you can Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche; page 9 do so without doubt, in an instant, you will find yourself in the realm ofSukhavati, born instantaneously in the calyx of a lotus.In this way, the deceased is instructed not to be depressed about the fact that they have died— which they are just

coming to terms with—but to be delighted because they have the opportunityto achieve rebirth in a pure realm.Taking a Positive RebirthIf you think back to what we have discussed so far, three different opportunities for liberationhave been described: the opportunity for liberation in the dharmakaya during the bardo of dying;the opportunity for liberation in

the sambhogakaya in the bardo of dharmata; and finally theopportunity for liberation in the nirmanakaya by achieving rebirth in a pure realm in the bardo of becoming. Obviously, however, not everyone attains liberation during any of these three stages.Therefore, the next thing presented is what to do if you are in the bardo of becoming and youhave not

achieved rebirth in a pure realm.At this point, since you are going to be reborn, you have to choose an appropriate rebirth, one inwhich you can progress toward liberation. As has been said, during your time in the bardo of becoming you have possessed a mental body that looked like the body you had in the previouslife. Now you are getting closer and closer to

entering your next place of rebirth and therefore youstart to experience your body appearing as what it is going to be in your next life. For example, ifyou have the karma to be reborn as a preta or hungry ghost, your body starts to change into a preta body, with a very, very narrow neck and an extremely big belly and so on. If you are goingto be reborn as adeva or god, then you start to experience your body as a deva body, and so on.At the same time, you start to perceive the

environment that you are moving toward, the one intowhich you are tending to be reborn. As you approach the entrance into that realm, which in thecase of the human realm is the time of conception, you actually see the parents. In the case of arebirth which involves parents, such as human or animal rebirth, you will generally see the parents. This is the point at

which you can do something to control where you are reborn. Thereason you can do something is that the actual proximate cause of your being conceived is theattitude you take towards the parents. Without taking a certain pair of attitudes, you will not enterinto the womb, or enter into the union of the parents. Basically, if you are going to be reborn as

amale, you will feel attachment and desire for the mother, and aversion and aggression towards thefather. If you are going to be reborn as a female, you will experience attachment for the father andaversion for the mother. Therefore, if you can stop these kleshas from arising, you will not be pulled into the rebirth. In not being motivated by kleshas, the

rebirth that you take will bemotivated by your positive aspirations.Since at this point you actually see your prospective parents, a very effective way to stop thekleshas is to transform your perception of the parents into a pure perception. Instead of regardingthem as being just male and female human beings, or whatever other kind of beings

they are,regard them as male and female deities—your particular deities, whichever ones they are. Youcan also regard them as male and female gurus. For example, if you are someone who meditatesupon yidams such as Chakrasamvara, Gyalwa Gyamtso, or some form of Guru Rinpoche, thenyou can view the parents as these. That will stop your generation of

an attitude of obsession withthe parents which would cause you to achieve rebirth unwillingly. At the same time, making theaspiration to be born to parents who will enable you to progress further on the path of Dharmawill cause that to happen. Since you are not being pulled into rebirth through kleshas, then the Bardo Teachings of Guru Rinpoche; page 10

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