Rainbow light
On the skip-ahead stage, we gain increasing familiarity with essence rigpa. Moments of sem are the immediately preceding condition (de-ma-thag rkyen) for our experience being comprised of the five aggregate factors (phung-po, Skt. skandha). The more frequently and the longer we are able to remain with essence rigpa, the more we weaken the force of an immediately preceding condition for experiencing five aggregates.
Without a strong immediately preceding condition, our five aggregates fade, including our ordinary bodies, and we arise in the form of a rainbow body (‘ ja’-lus). This occurs because among the natural qualities of rigpa is that it spontaneously establishes the appearance of five-colored rainbow light. It is the Buddha's enlightenment in rainbow light. If you persevere in practice, your skandhas will be freed in a body of rainbow light in this very lifetime, in this very body. The rainbow light body is not merely a fascinating historical phenomenon, but a living tradition which holds a vast and rich treasure trove of information for practitioners looking for teachings that will enable them to traverse the death process with consciousness and bodhicitta motivation.
