Three appearances

The three appearances (Wyl. snang ba gsum) or appearance, increase and attainment (Wyl. snang mched thob gsum) are experiences which unfold during the inner dissolution process in the bardo of dying. They are:

• white appearance,
• red increase, and
• black attainment.

Sequence

The three experiences are usually said to unfold in the order mentioned above, namely white, then red, and then black. In some tantras however, it is taught that the red experience occurs first, followed by the white experience. This latter sequence is followed in Jikmé Lingpa's Training in the Pure Realms of the Three Kayas, for example:

...as consciousness dissolves into appearance,

Like an eclipse in a cloudless sky,

The red experience dawns, and red essence rises to the heart.

In turn, as appearance dissolves into increase,

Like moonbeams slanting through a sky-light,

The white experience unfolds, and white essence descends.

Then, as increase dissolves into near-attainment,

Like the darkness at dusk on a clear and cloudless night,

The black experience draws in, and I sink into the alaya, the ground of all.

Further Reading

• Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, revised and updated edition, Harper San Francisco, 2002, 'The Inner Dissolution', page 258.