| One of our personal experiences with our deceased | | | | It is well worth quoting the fundamental doctrines of |
| friend with whom we related previously would | | | | the Bardo Thodol as summed-up by Evans-Wentz in |
| substantiate this principle as described by Swedenborg: | | | | the Tibetan Book of the Dead, as this will help us |
| We once decided to visit our friend in the heavenly | | | | understand the bardo as well as give us some insight |
| regions. We had some joyful news that we wanted to | | | | into Buddhistic beliefs: |
| convey to her--news that she was waiting to hear | | | | "1) That all possible conditions, or states, or realms of |
| while she was alive in the physical. Not knowing where | | | | sangsaric existence, heavens, hells, and worlds, are |
| she was or able to directly manifest before her, we | | | | entirely dependent upon phenomena, or in other worlds, |
| were escorted by a guide to a lovely garden with a | | | | are naught but phenomena. |
| Greek temple in the midst of it. The garden was | | | | "2) That all phenomena are transitory, are unreal, and |
| empty, or so it seemed. But while adjusting our sight, | | | | non-existent save in the sangsaric mind perceiving |
| people appeared everywhere. They did not notice us, | | | | them. |
| however. It was as though we did not exist in their | | | | "3) That in reality there are no such beings anywhere |
| eyes. Our escort went into the building and moments | | | | as gods, or demons, or spirits, or sentient creatures--all |
| later our friend came out all beaming with joy. "I've | | | | alike being phenomena dependent upon a cause; |
| been waiting for you," she said. Then she looked more | | | | "4) That this cause is a yearning or thirsting after |
| closely at me and commented jocularly, "you are so | | | | sensations, after the unstable sangsaric existence; |
| bright, I could faint." After conveying to her our | | | | "5) That so long as this cause is not overcome by |
| message we bade farewell. As we were leaving, we | | | | Enlightenment, death follows birth and birth death |
| noticed that no one was yet aware of our presence; | | | | unceasingly--even as the wise Socrates believed. |
| however, a dark-skinned man who was sitting on a | | | | "6) That the after-death existence is but a continuation, |
| bench reached out and touched me to, perhaps, | | | | under changed conditions, of the phenomena-born |
| reassure himself of my presence and reality. We | | | | existence of the human world--both states alike being |
| smiled at each other. | | | | karmic. |
| After a lengthy stay in the astral or lower mental | | | | "7) That the nature of the existence intervening |
| heavens, and when one is about ready to reincarnate | | | | between death and rebirth in this or any other world is |
| through karmic necessity or choice, one first goes to | | | | determined by antecedent actions; |
| the causal realms for a brief sojourn. Not all souls | | | | "8) That, psychologically speaking, it is a prolonged |
| experience this; however, some incarnate directly from | | | | dream-like state, in what may be called the fourth |
| whatever realm they may be. In the causal world the | | | | dimension of space, filled with hallucinatory visions |
| soul experiences bliss and peace, and a real rest as a | | | | directly resultant from the mental-content of the |
| reward for a soul-mission well done. One of the | | | | percipient, happy and heaven-like if the karma be good, |
| purposes of this stay in the causal realms is the | | | | miserable and hell-like if the karma be bad; |
| transference of the positive qualities acquired by the | | | | "9) That, unless Enlightenment be won, rebirth in the |
| soul and recorded in the seed-atoms, to the causal | | | | human world, directly from the Bardo-world or from |
| body where it is stored as one's "treasure in heaven." | | | | any other world or from any paradise or hell to which |
| The positive deeds and virtues of the soul adorn the | | | | karma has led, is inevitable. |
| causal body with a greater glory than its former | | | | "10) That Enlightenment results from realizing the |
| condition. Every incarnation offers a form of | | | | unreality of sangsara, of existence; |
| nourishment to the causal body when its incarnated life | | | | "11) That such realizing is possible in the human world, |
| ends. This causal body is called in Masonry "the temple | | | | or at the important moment of death in the human |
| not made with hands." Other traditions call it "the | | | | world, or during the whole of the after-death or |
| Chalice." When the soul is prepared to reincarnate for | | | | Bardo-state, or in certain of the non-human realm; |
| new soul-experiences, it seeks out the appropriate | | | | "12) That training in yoga, i.e. in control of the training |
| parents, time and place to be reborn in the physical | | | | process so as to be able to concentrate the mind in |
| world. This seeking is done with the help of spiritual | | | | an effort to reach Right Knowledge, is essential. |
| guides. | | | | "13) That such training can best be had under a human |
| Reincarnation is a law for those not having | | | | guru, or teacher. |
| transcended ignorance and earthly desire. Although | | | | "14) That the Greatest of Gurus known to mankind in |
| some religions do not openly teach reincarnation, the | | | | this cycle of time is Gautama the Buddha. |
| concept or precept does appear in some form in their | | | | "15) That this doctrine is not unique, but is the same |
| holy scripture. | | | | doctrine which has been proclaimed in the human |
| Although not exhaustive, the above information is | | | | world for the gaining of salvation, for the Deliverance |
| sufficient enough to offer us some idea of the occult | | | | from the Cycle of Rebirth and Death, for the Crossing |
| knowledge available concerning the after death state | | | | of the Ocean of Sangsara, for the Realization of |
| that is based on personal experiences of psychics and | | | | Nirvana, since immemorial time, by a long and illustrious |
| mystics. In order to know more in a convincing way, | | | | dynasty of Buddhas, who were Gautama's |
| one would have to study and master the art of | | | | Predecessors. |
| soul-travel. Only in this manner, through personal | | | | "16) That lesser spiritually enlightened beings, |
| experience, will we satisfy our thirst for a greater | | | | Bodhisattvas and gurus, in this world or in other worlds, |
| knowledge of God's many dimensions, the Cosmic | | | | though still not freed from the Net of illusion, can |
| laws, and the purposes of life. | | | | nevertheless, bestow divine grace and power upon |
| The Tibetan Tradition | | | | the sishya [student] who is less advanced upon the |
| Tibetan Buddhism declares that men are enchained to | | | | Path than themselves. |
| a world of suffering and pain, of illusion and ignorance. | | | | "17) That the Goal is and can only be Emancipation |
| This they call samsara. Samsara refers generally to | | | | from Sangsara. |
| the condition of the six worlds, but more specifically it | | | | "18) That such Emancipation comes from the |
| refers to the physical plane. To be liberated from | | | | Realization of Nirvana. |
| samsara one had to awaken to one's true Reality and | | | | "19) That Nirvana is non-sangsaric, being beyond all |
| the Reality of the Cosmos called in Mahayana and | | | | paradises, heavens, hells, and worlds. |
| Vajrayana literature, the "Clear Light of the Void," | | | | "20) That it is the ending of Sorrow. |
| "Sunyata," "Dharmakaya," etc. Tibetan Buddhism, or | | | | "21) That it is Reality" (1975:66-68) |
| Vajrayana, declares that there are various ways of | | | | Man, in general, is ignorant of his divinity. His mind and |
| liberating oneself. One may be liberated--if prepared | | | | consciousness are veiled by the false light of Maya. |
| beforehand through arduous spiritual work--through | | | | Maya is the way we perceive and interpret Reality. It |
| initiation by a spiritual master where the Clear Light of | | | | translates in our consciousness cosmic vibrations into |
| one's true primordial nature is introduced; or one may | | | | forms, colours and sensations--a world of appearance. |
| be liberated through samadhi or meditation where the | | | | We perceive not what is, but what we believe to be. |
| Clear Light dawns in the consciousness; liberation may | | | | Maya produces a deceiving state of duality, of object |
| also be achieved through recognizing and merging with | | | | and subject. All appearances in the mind and |
| the Clear Light during transition in the first phase of the | | | | consciousness as a product of Maya are illusory and |
| bardo. | | | | unreal. The mind, not understanding the nature of Maya, |
| Techniques have been formed by lamas and applied | | | | is indeed the slayer of the Real, as stated by Helena |
| at the onset of transition to assist the dying to achieve | | | | Blavatsky. This ignorance of Reality causes man's |
| Liberation. These techniques are called: | | | | prolonged stay in samsara. Recognition of the Clear |
| 1) Liberation Through Taste, where consecrated pills | | | | Light, of Reality, of the Unity of Being, releases man |
| are placed in the mouth to assist the soul to sustain | | | | from his spiritual bondage. Tibetan Buddhism believe |
| consciousness throughout the bardo so that it would | | | | that the six worlds are transitory and that rebirth into |
| recognize the Clear Light when it dawns. | | | | any one of them is undesirable and should be avoided. |
| 2) Liberation Through Contact, where the ashes of | | | | Man's loftiest aspiration should be directed to the |
| burnt talismans are rubbed on the heart for the same | | | | awakening to Reality as the highest religious goal, and |
| purpose as the above. | | | | this illumination naturally terminates the ceaseless |
| 3) Liberation Through Listening, this is by far the most | | | | rounds of birth and rebirth in the samsaric worlds. In |
| common practice. In this method, a manual-ritual such | | | | Christian terms, this is the attainment of salvation |
| as the Bardo Thodol is read to the dying to remind the | | | | where the true follower of Christian principles is made |
| person of what it had previously learnt of the bardo | | | | into a pillar in the kingdom of heaven and "goes no |
| and the way of approaching it. | | | | more out." |
| The Bardo Thodol | | | | Tibetan Buddhism is not the only religion that |
| The "Bardo Thodol," or the Tibetan Book of the Dead, | | | | possesses manuals to be read to the dying. To the |
| as Christianized by Evans-Wentz, deals with the | | | | Hindus, the Garuda Purana fulfills the same purpose. |
| phases of the bardo that the soul would undergo and | | | | Ancient Egyptians, too, had their death-manuals such |
| what it should do in order to liberate itself from | | | | as the one translated by Wallis Budge, the Book of the |
| samsara. It provides a unique psychology of the death | | | | Dead, or "The Coming Forth From Day," to give its |
| process and the attitudes that the soul should assume | | | | original title. This title suggests the acquaintance of the |
| in order to escape rebirth in the lower realms. | | | | ancient Egyptians with the Clear Light of the bardo. In |
| Recognition of the Clear Light in the first bardo phase | | | | this manual, taken from hieroglyphical murals painted in |
| is stressed in the manual, because it is the only means | | | | tombs, says that death is followed by the soul's entry |
| for the soul to save itself from experiencing the | | | | into the "clear light of day." Experience of the bardo is |
| subsequent phases of the bardo, which from the | | | | universal and fundamental to the human psyche, |
| viewpoint of Tibetan metaphysics, lead to rebirth and a | | | | therefore, manuals such as the Bardo Thodol or the |
| prolonged stay in the samsaric worlds. Thus, the Clear | | | | Book of the Dead that possesses keys to spiritual |
| Light that dawns in the first phase of the bardo offers | | | | portals, are relevant to human psychological and |
| a chance for the soul to redeem and free itself from | | | | spiritual integration. The relevance of such texts are |
| the shackles of samsara. This Clear Light is the grace | | | | not to be confined to its place of origin in time or in |
| of God that offers death-bed salvation--salvation from | | | | space. Adaptations may be made for western society |
| one's so-called "sins," or liberation from karma. | | | | with its world-wide influence. The phenomenon of the |
| In Tibet there are many manuals composed as guides | | | | Clear Light with its inherent nature of spiritual grace is |
| for the dying or the newly departed soul. The Bardo | | | | for all human beings regardless of race, sex or creed. |
| Thodol is one of the most well-known among them in | | | | In one sense, this Clear Light may be seen as the |
| the Western world. It is said to have been written | | | | "comforter" promised by the Piscean Master to his |
| down in the 8th century by the Precious Guru, | | | | followers. |
| Padmasambhava. The teachings and doctrines of the | | | | The Bardos and Tibetan Practices Related to Dying |
| Bardo Thodol as an oral tradition, however, are much | | | | Before continuing, it is appropriate that we define here |
| older. It is believed that Bon, the indigenous religion of | | | | the word "bardo." Bardo is often translated as |
| Tibet, transmitted much knowledge to Tibetan | | | | "intermediate state," an interval, or a period between |
| Buddhism concerning the death process. | | | | two conditions, planes, or states of consciousness in |
| Unlike the Christian forms of prayers of burial-rituals | | | | the samsaric worlds. Basically, it refers to the following |
| recited on behalf of the newly-departed (and also the | | | | four states: |
| living), the Bardo Thodol is more of an instruction | | | | 1) Between two states of consciousness |
| manual read to the dying by a spiritual guide, that it | | | | 2) Transitional state |
| may understand the psychological processes that it | | | | 3) Uncertain state |
| would undergo through transition. It is of especial value | | | | 4) Twilight state |
| to those who practice and follow Buddhistic doctrines, | | | | Tibetan teachings refer to these 4 states as the |
| or teachings similar to it because of certain inherent | | | | psychological nature of the following six bardos: |
| concepts. The underlying doctrine of Tibetan Buddhism | | | | 1) Bardo of Life (Kye Ne Bardo) |
| is that man, a slave to samsara--the wheel of birth and | | | | 2) Bardo of Dreams (Milam Bardo) |
| rebirth, or reincarnation--is able to liberate himself | | | | 3) Bardo of Meditation (Samten Bardo) |
| through being aware of his primordial nature | | | | 4) Bardo of the Transition Process (Chikai Bardo) |
| represented by the Clear Light which appears in the | | | | 5) Bardo of State After Death (Chonyid Bardo) |
| early stages of the bardo. Recitation of texts such as | | | | 6) Bardo of Rebirth into Samsara (Sidpa Bardo) |
| the Bardo Thodol reminds the departing soul, the | | | | The word Bardo, as is commonly used and |
| "awareness-principle," what it had previously learnt of | | | | understood, refers to the general framework of the |
| the bardo and its liberating potential while still alive in the | | | | death process. In this section we will be considering the |
| physical plane. | | | | nature of the last three bardos listed above. But |
| Although dissociated from the physical body, the | | | | before we do, however, it would be interesting to note |
| awareness-principle still retains its sensory faculties. In | | | | certain practices related to the art of dying and the |
| the disembodied state its psychic senses are acute | | | | psycho-somatic processes of dying as occultly |
| and enhanced and is able to register and perceive | | | | observed by spiritual practitioners of Lamaism |
| physical surroundings--to listen to the bardo-guidance | | | | throughout the centuries. |
| and instructions as given by the spiritual guide or lama, | | | | Physiologically speaking, when one undergoes a natural |
| for instance. In the death process, as the physical | | | | death the physical senses fail one by one. First the |
| senses grow dull the psychic senses grow more keen. | | | | sense of vision blurs, then the sense of hearing is |
| The recitation of the bardo text to the departed may | | | | impaired, next the sense of smell fails; this is followed |
| last for a total of 49 days. This is done at first in the | | | | by the deterioration of the sense of taste and touch. |
| presence of the corpse but later a representation of it. | | | | There is also a feeling or sensation of pressure, |
| The 49 days is supposed to be the maximum length | | | | followed by coldness, heat, and a sense of being |
| of days the soul would spend in the bardo. This given | | | | blown to bits. Dissolution of the senses and its varied |
| figure is probably symbolic, representing as it does the | | | | sensations are symbolically described in Tibetan |
| number 7 squared. The number 7 is the mathematical | | | | Buddhism as the merging of the elements one into the |
| and geometrical principle in which our solar system is | | | | other until it sinks into the primal substance. This is the |
| based. We have many indications of the number | | | | process of Thimrim. To describe the illustrative |
| seven as creative manifestations, for instance, the | | | | process above in symbolical detail: |
| seven colours of the light spectrum, and the seven | | | | First, "earth sinks into water;" second, "water sinks into |
| notes in an octave. Forty-nine days of the bardo may | | | | fire;" third, "fire sinks into air;" fourth, "air sinks into |
| also refer to soul-progression and evolution within the | | | | space." |
| 49 realms of the cosmic physical plane. In Indonesia, 40 | | | | As for the external signs of the approach of death |
| days is referred to as the period it takes for the soul | | | | that may be observed by an outsider, they may |
| to complete its wandering in the borderland between | | | | include sagging facial muscles, coldness in the |
| the physical and higher worlds before settling in its | | | | extremities, blueness beneath the nails, difficulty in |
| destined home in the subtle spheres. In other traditions, | | | | breathing, and glazed eyes. |
| three days and three nights after transition are | | | | This merging of the elements are accompanied by |
| considered to be of some importance to the soul. For | | | | internal and external phenomena or signs which the |
| instance, the Hadhokht Nask, one of the scriptures of | | | | dying is taught to recognize. Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche |
| Zoroastrianism, declares that the soul remains near its | | | | explains certain inner signs as cited in the Bardo |
| body for such a period. This 3-day lingering is probably | | | | Guidebook: |
| based on the occult fact that sometimes the sutratma | | | | "First the earth element starts to disintegrate. One |
| may still be connected to the body after the | | | | feels very heavy. That's when people say `Please lift |
| pronouncement of "death," meaning that the so-called | | | | me up, raise me up. I feel like I'm sinking.' When the |
| corpse is actually in a comatose state and that revival | | | | water element dissolves then one feels very cold and |
| may occur. | | | | says, `Please warm me up. It's too cold in here.' When |
| Being symbolic, in reality the 40 or 49 days may take | | | | the fire element dissolves one feels very thirsty and |
| just a few moments or several days. Should the | | | | wants water, one's lips are drying up. When the wind |
| spiritual guide be unable to attend to the dying for | | | | element dissolves one feels as if one is floating at the |
| reasons of physical distance, an effigy is usually made | | | | brink of an abyss, not anchored anywhere. When |
| to represent the one undergoing transition with | | | | consciousness dissolves into space it means that |
| personal effects surrounding it to attract by magnetic | | | | everything grows very big and completely ungrounded. |
| attunement the awareness-principle of the dying pilgrim. | | | | The outer breath has stopped but the inner breathing is |
| The instructions of the Bardo Thodol may thus | | | | still taking place. |
| telepathically be heard by the dying soul. | | | | |