The Real Meaning of the Buddhist Word "Bardo."
If you’ve ever heard the word “bardo” you might associate it with the infamous Tibetan Book of the Dead, the first translation of the Tibetan text Bardo Thodol by Evans-Wentz, published in 1927.
If you have a psychological bent, you may have read Carl Jung’s commentary on the text, which appeared in the third revised edition of The Tibetan Book of the Dead and in his Collected Works.
Or maybe you became familiar with the term when it was popularized in The Psychedelic Experience written by LSD researchers Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) in the sixties.
Then again, you may have watched the mind-bending movie Jacob’s Ladder, Bruce Joel Rubins’ modern interpretation of the Bardo Thodol or read the best-selling 1991 Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, an updated version of the text.
Traditionally, the Tibetan word “bardo” is defined as:
“The state of existence from the moment immediately after death until the moment immediately before conception.”—Dr. Alexander Berzin
But the Bardo Thodol actually describes six different bardos, three of which pertain to death and three of which pertain to life.
The word “bardo” can also mean any transition or gap that occurs when one situation is complete but the next has yet to begin. That can even refer to one moment changing into the next.
The three bardos related to death are difficult to understand without training in Tibetan Buddhism. And anything you superficially understand about them might not help you much in the throes of dying or in the after-death bardo states if you haven’t already prepared well in life.
That’s the point of the three bardos related to this life: Preparation.
The natural bardo of this life (from birth until the beginning of the process of dying)
The bardo of meditation
The bardo of dreaming
The bardos of meditation and dreaming are sometimes considered subsets of the bardo of this life, which makes four bardos in total. But the Bardo Thodol addresses them separately making for six bardos.
Given the popularity of meditation and lucid dreaming, the three bardos related to this life are much easier to understand than the bardos related to death.
And the practices associated with the three bardos related to life can help you prepare your mind for the moment of death and the after-death states, when opportunities for awakening are all the more present.
But equally important, they can be a map for living a more enlightened life right now.
Let’s take a look.
The Real Meaning of “Bardo”
The Tibetan word “bardo” means “transition.”
A bardo is seen as a period of time when spiritual awakening can more easily occur.
Every single moment can be considered a bardo because it offers a choice to align with your thoughts and emotions, the projections of mind, or with your essential self, the awareness of mind.
Most people are never aware of these two different aspects of mind. They think they are their thoughts and emotions congealed into a solid personality.
But even as a beginner in mindfulness meditation, you can easily see the transitory nature of thoughts, emotions, and sensory impressions, and in contrast, the always present awareness that perceives them.
Thoughts and emotions aren’t necessarily bad, but they often cause trouble. They can lead to false beliefs and unruly emotions that bring pain and suffering.
Recognition of and abiding in your true nature, on the other hand, releases you from unnecessary suffering.
So, the main point of the bardo teachings is to use each phase of life and death as a means to awaken to who you truly are. If you’re a step ahead and awaken in this life, however, your after-death experiences will be entirely different.
Let’s look at each bardo related to life separately.
The Bardo of This Life
Thoughts, emotions, and sensory impressions constantly arise out of and fall back into the essence of mind.
Thus, every moment can be an opportunity for waking up to your true nature.
But most of us are so aligned with the expressions of mind that we fail to do so. Even if you have had a glimpse of the essence of mind, the pure awareness that perceives both movement and stillness, you’re habitually inclined to engage with thoughts and emotions.
Still, we can learn to break the habit.
A bardo is by nature uncertain and constantly changing, which we can easily observe in this life. Our experience of regularity is occasionally punctured by dramatic moments, which, if you’re lucky, can serve as a wake up call.
A car accident, an unexpected break-up, or the termination of a job can cause you to pause and reconsider, “What is this life truly about?”
But sometimes, even seemingly unimportant experiences, like reading the headline of this article, can plant a seed.
The first task of the bardo of this life is to recognize the opportunity it provides for spiritual awakening, and then devote yourself unreservedly to study, reflection, and meditation.
There’s an urgency to the matter because we never know when this life will come to an end.
“Now when the bardo of this life is dawning upon me,
I will abandon laziness for which life has no time,
Enter, undistracted, the path of study, reflection, and meditation,
Making perceptions and the mind the path, and realize the three kayas;
Now that I have once attained a human body,
There is not the time to remain in the ways of distraction.”—The Root Verses on the Six Bardos from the terma of Karma Lingpa
The Bardo of Meditation
Now that we know the true purpose of this life, spiritual awakening, it’s time to get down to training the mind through study, reflection, and meditation.
In Tibetan Buddhism that involves the practice of mindfulness meditation as a foundation, preliminary practices and compassion exercises in the middle, and ultimately, more advanced forms of deity practice, analytical meditation, and non-dual meditation like Dzogchen and Mahamudra.
You’ll also find contemporary teachers like Adyashanti who offer a less complex and more direct approach to meditation and spiritual awakening.
The ultimate aim of study, reflection, and meditation is to recognize our your true nature and slowly learn to abide in it continuously throughout the day.
That’s a tall order and requires consistent dedication.
It’s easy to fall prey to distractions and wander off from meditation—Netflix, anyone? Afflictive emotions like anger, pride, and jealousy will also pull you away from the path again and again.
So, you must be determined to continue until you have full awakened.
“Now, when the bardo of samadhi (meditation) is dawning upon me,
I will abandon all forms of distraction and delusion,
And rest in the infinite state that is free of distraction and grasping;
Gaining stability in the two stages: generation and perfection,
At this time os single-pointed meditation, having give up activity,
I must not fall under the sway of afflictions and delusion.” — The Root Verses on the Six Bardos from the terma of Karma Lingpa
The Bardo of Sleep and Dreams
The bardo of sleep and dreams offers an opportunity to extend the practice of awareness into the night. The practices associated with this bardo prepare you even further for the moment of death and the after-death states.
The bardo teachings explain:
Falling asleep is similar to the bardo of dying
Dreaming is similar to the bardo of becoming
The period between the two is similar to the bardo of dharmata, a special state of luminosity
Each of these after-deaths states offers opportunities to awaken to your true nature. They are far deeper states of consciousness than those that occur in the bardo of sleep and dreams, but still the latter can be an excellent training ground.
The goal in this bardo is to maintain an unbroken stream of consciousness throughout the night.
This may be similar, in part, to lucid dreaming, when you’re aware that you’re dreaming, but the purpose is different. Lucid dreaming may have therapeutic psychological benefits or be practiced out of curiosity, but its purpose isn’t spiritual awakening.
“Now, when the bardo of dreams is dawning upon me,
I will abandon the heedless, corpse-like sleep of ignorance,
And settle the mind in its natural state without distraction;
Recognizing dreams, I will train in transformation and clear light,
I must not simply slumber like an animal,
But combine sleep with realization—this is crucial.” — The Root Verses on the Six Bardos from the terma of Karma Lingpa
Closing Thoughts
The word “bardo” means “transition.” It describes the period of time between the completion of one situation and the start of the next. “Bardo” can even mean the gap between a thought and the one that follows it.
A bardo is considered an especially ripe time for spiritual awakening. The classic Buddhist text, the Bardo Thodol, popularized by The Tibetan Book of the Dead, outlines six bardos. Three pertain to death and three pertain to life.
The practices associated with the three bardos related to life prepare you to awaken at the moment of death or in one of the subsequent after-death states.
But this requires dedicated training.
Just like a Jedi novice isn’t able to effectively wield her light saber the first time out, most people need to practice abiding in the nature of mind for years before a real spiritual awakening occurs.
In the end, “bardo” is about choice. You can continue to be enraptured by thoughts and emotions and suffer as a result.
Or you can choose the path the path to freedom.
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Sources:
The Wikipedia entry on the Bardo Thodol
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche
Lotsawa House: Translation of The Root Verses on the Six Bardos from the terma of Karma Lingpa
Oral teachings I’ve received over the years from different spiritual teachers
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