Bardo

Bardo (Wyl. bar do; Skt. antarābhava) - commonly used to denote the intermediate state between death and rebirth, but in reality bardos are occurring continuously, throughout both life and death, and are junctures at which the possibility of liberation, or enlightenment, is heightened.

The different bardos can be categorized into four or six:

The Four Bardos

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1. the natural bardo of this life which begins when a connection with a new birth is first made and continues until the conditions that will certainly lead to death become manifest.
2. the painful bardo of dying which begins when these conditions manifest and continues until the 'inner respiration' ceases and the luminosity of the dharmakaya dawns.
3. the luminous bardo of dharmata which lasts from the moment the dharmakaya luminosity dawns after death and continues until the visions of precious spontaneous perfection are complete.
4. the karmic bardo of becoming which lasts from the moment the bardo body is created and continues until the connection with a new rebirth is made.

The Six Bardos

The four above with the addition of:

5. the bardo of meditation (Skt. samādhyantarābhava; Wyl. bsam gtan gyi bar do)

6. the bardo of dreaming (Skt. svapanāntarābhava; Wyl. rmi lam gyi bar do)

These two bardos are part of the natural bardo of this life.

Further Reading

• Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, revised and updated edition, Harper San Francisco, 2002.

External Links

• Glossary of terminology connected with dying and the bardos