Chikhai Bardo: The Intermediate state of the Time of Death
The intermediate state of the time of death or the Chikhai bardo as it is called in the Tibetan text, is the first of the three intermediate states that the consciousness experiences according to the text in the great liberation by hearing. The Buddhist lamas believe that this first intermediate state has crucial importance because the consciousness at this point is free of all the basic constituents of its physical and metal forms and based on the text, if the consciousness listens carefully to the lama’s
guidelines, describing the true nature of the consciousness’ inner radiant truth, then liberation can be attained immediately without falling into the next two intermediate states or the next bardo experiences. This is the point at the moment of death, where the lama actually starts to recite the text from the sacred book and based on the lama’s words the consciousness can perceive the naked awareness and thus achieve liberation.
This second movement is divided into two main phases, which are based on the principles of cause and effect, where the first phase projects the cause factor, which is in the form of the lama’s voice and his words, and how they are actually perceived by the consciousness. The second phase portrays the effect of this cause, which depicts the consciousness understanding its true essence based on the lama’s words and attaining liberation.
