The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Liberation Through Hearing In The Bardo (Shambhala Classics)

by Padmasambhava

But he is also the wisdom of the dharmadhātu—the limitless, all-pervading space in which everything exists as it really is.

aggression or hatred.

Its antidote is the wisdom of equality and equanimity.

The wisdom which corresponds to this poison is discrimination, which provides the coolness and detachment for passion to be transformed into compassion.

Envy

the wisdom which accomplishes all actions.

The Realm of Hell

4:40

The Hungry Ghost Realm

The Animal Realm

The Human Realm

The Realm of the Jealous Gods

The Realm of the Gods

The

First

Day

The Second Day

The Third Day

The Fourth Day

Amitābha,

The Fifth Day

The Sixth Day

The Seventh Day

The Wrathful Deities

The Dying Person It seems that in the Tibetan culture people do not find death a particularly irritating or difficult situation, but here in the West we

often find it extremely difficult to relate to it. Nobody tells us the final truth. It is such a terrible rejection, a fundamental rejection of love, that nobody is really willing to help a dying person’s state of mind. It seems necessary, unless the dying person is in a coma or cannot communicate, that he should be told he is dying. It may be difficult to actually take such a step, but if one is a friend or a husband or wife, then this is the greatest opportunity of really communicating trust. It is a delightful situation, that at last somebody really cares about you, somebody is not playing a game of hypocrisy, is not going to tell you a lie in order to please you, which is what has been happening throughout your whole life. This comes down to the ultimate truth, it is fundamental trust, which is extremely beautiful. We should really try to generate that principle. Actually relating with the dying person is very important, telling him that death is not a myth at that point, but that it is actually happening. “It is actually happening, but we are your friends, therefore we are watching your death. We know that you are dying and you know that you are dying, we are really meeting together at this point.” That is the finest and best demonstration of friendship and communication, it presents tremendously rich inspiration to the dying person. You should be able to relate with his bodily situation, and detect the subtle deterioration in his physical senses, sense of communicati...

expression and so on. But there are people with tremendously powerful will who can always put on a smile up to the last minute of death, trying to fight off their old age, trying to fight the deterioration of their senses, so one should be aware of that situation also. Just reading the Bardo Thötröl does not do very much, except that the dying person knows that you are performing a ceremony of some kind for him. You should have some understanding of the whole thing, not just reading out of the book but making it like a conversation: “You are dying, you are leaving your friends and family, your favorite surroundings will no longer be there, you are going to leave us. But at the same time there is something which continues, there is the continuity of your positive relationship with your friends and with the teaching, so work on that basic continuity, which has nothing to do with the ego. When you die you will have all sorts of traumatic experiences, of leaving the body, as well as your old memories coming back to you as hallucinations. Whatever the visions and hallucinations may be, just relate to what is happening rather than trying to run away. Keep there, just relate with that....

The Great Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo

13:25

Homage to the Gurus, the three Kāyas:

PRAYER 13:25 1/3

13:45

“Inspiration-Prayer Calling on the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for Rescue”

PAGE 148

“Main Verses

PAGE 151

Dissolution of Elements 20:50

“O child of noble family,

21:28

Great Symbol

Footnote 6

30:12 THE SIX BARDO STATES BIRTH DREAMS SAMĀDHI-MEDITATION THE MOMENT BEFORE DEATH DHARMATĀ BECOMING

Now when the bardo of dharmatā

PRAYER 32:00

“O child of noble family,

32:41

“The whole of space will shine with a blue light,

34:50

Vairocana

Consort The Queen of Vajra Space

When through intense ignorance I wander in saṃsāra,

PRAYER 36:55

“O child of noble family,

38:00

Vajrasattva-Akṣobhya

Vajrasattva-Aksobhya CONSORT Buddha-Locanā ATTENDANTS - CONSORTS Ksitigarbha - Lāsyā Maitreya - Puspa

When through intense aggression I wander in saṃsāra,

PRAYER 40:35

“O child of noble family,

41:40

Ratnasaṃbhava

Ratnasambhava CONSORT Māmakī ATTENDANTS Ākāśagarbha - Mālā Samamantabadra - Dhūpā

When through intense pride I wander in saṃsāra,

PRAYER 44:55

“O child of noble family, listen without distraction.

46:19

Amitābha

CONSORT Pāṇḍaravāsinī ATTENDANTS Avalokiteśvara - Ghītā Mañjuśrī - Ālokā

When through intense desire I wander in saṃsāra,

PRAYER 49:32

“O child of noble family, listen without distraction.

50:56