Bardo - Citizendia

This is an article on a Buddhist concept. For other meanings of the word Bardo, see: Bardo (disambiguation)

Bardo

Wylie: bar do
intermediate state

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The Tibetan word Bardo means literally "intermediate state" - also translated as "transitional state" or "in-between state" or "liminal state". The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating the Tibetan script using the keys on a typical English language Typewriter. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices The History of Buddhism spans the 6th century BCE to the present starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. Foundation to the Common Era Some sources give the date of the Buddha's birth as 563 BCE and others as 624 BCE Theravada Buddhist countries tend to use the latter figure Lists and numbering of Buddhist councils vary between and even within schools Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term Background Why the Buddha is said to have taught in this way is illuminated by the social context of the time in which he lived In sramanic philosophy Nirvana (निर्वाण| Nirvāṇa; निब्बान Nibbāna; Prakrit: णिव्वाण The Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem, are the three things that Buddhists take refuge Several Buddhist terms and concepts lack direct translations into English that cover the breadth of the original term According to the Buddhist tradition all phenomena other than Nirvana, ( sankhara) are marked by three characteristics sometimes referred to as the Dharma seals In Buddhist phenomenology and Soteriology, the five skandhas ( Sanskrit) or khandhas ( Pāli) are five "aggregates" Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the universe according to the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the consciousness of a person (as conventionally regarded upon the death or dissolution of the aggregates ( Skandhas Dhamma ( Pāli: धम्म or Dharma (धर्म in Buddhism has two primary meanings the teachings of the Buddha which lead to enlightenment The doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit paticcasamuppāda; rten Karma ( Sanskrit: कर्मन karman, Pāli: कमा Kamma) means "action" or "doing" whatever A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists. Historical Buddhist thinkers and founders of schools Individuals are grouped by nationality except in cases where the Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists. Historical Buddhist thinkers and founders of schools Individuals are grouped by nationality except in cases where the In Buddhism, buddhahood ( Sanskrit: buddhatva. Pali: buddhatta. In the Buddhist context a bodhisattva (बोधिसत्त्व bodhisattva;; Vietnamese Bồ Tát; बोधिसत्त bodhisatta The four stages of Enlightenment in Buddhism are the four degrees of approach to full enlightenment as an Arahant which a person can attain in this life Theravada Buddhism Theravada Buddhism 's teachings on the paramitas can be found in late canonical books and post-canonical commentaries Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of Meditation techniques that develop Mindfulness, concentration, tranquility and insight In English translations of Buddhist literature, householder denotes a variety of terms Obtaining exact numbers of practicing Buddhists can be difficult and may be reliant on the definition used Buddhist beliefs and practices vary according to region There are distinctions between and within the Buddhism practised in various regions including In South Asia Mahayana Buddhism is the State religion of Bhutan, and Buddhists comprise 98% of its population. 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Fremantle (2001) states that there are six traditional bardo states known as the Six Bardos: the Bardo of This Life (p. 55); the Bardo of Meditation (p. 58); the Bardo of Dream (p. 62); the Bardo of Dying (p. 64); the Bardo of Dharmata (p. 65); and the Bardo of Existence (p. 66).

Shugchang, et al. (2000: p. 5) discuss the Zhitro (Tibetan: Zhi-khro) teachings which subsume the Bardo Thodol and mention Karma Lingpa, terma and Padmasambhava and list the Six Bardo:

In the terma discovered by Karma Lingpa, Guru Padmasambhava introduces six different bardos. Zhitro (Tibetan zhi-khro, shitro or xitro) is a Tantric practice in Tibetan Buddhism, primarily in the Nyingma, or Karma Lingpa (14th century a great Tertön, is embraced as a reincarnation of Chokro Luyi Gyaltsen ( Cog ro klu'i rgyal mtshan) a great master Padmasambhava () The Lotus Born, is said to have transmitted Tantric Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet in the 8th century. The first bardo begins when we take birth and endures as long as we live. The second is the bardo of dreams. The third is the bardo of concentration or meditation. The fourth occurs at the moment of death. The fifth is known as the bardo of the luminosity of the true nature. The sixth is called the bardo of transmigration or karmic becoming. ^[1]

1 Six Bardos
2 Exegesis
3 See also
4 Notes
5 Further reading

Six Bardos

Shinay bardo (Tibetan): is the first bardo of birth and life. This bardo commences from conception until the last breath, when the mindstream withdraws from the body. Mindstream is a compound Lexical item composed of Mind and Stream used to translate a term from Buddhist philosophy.
Milam bardo (Tibetan): is the second bardo of the dream state. The Milam Bardo is a subset of the first Bardo. Dream Yoga develops practices to integrate the dream state into Buddhist sadhana. Dream Yoga or Milam (T rmi-lam or nyilam; Ssvapnadarśana — the Yoga of the Dream State are a suite of advanced tantric Sadhana of the entwined For Sadhana the actress see Sadhana (actress Sadhana (Sanskrit sādhanam) is a Sanskrit term for "a means of accomplishing something"
Samten bardo (Tibetan) is the third bardo of meditation. Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness This bardo is generally only experienced by meditators, though individuals may have spontaneous experience of it. Samten Bardo is a subset of the Shinay Bardo.
Chikkhai bardo (Tibetan): is the fourth bardo of the moment of death. According to tradition, this bardo is held to commence when the outer and inner signs presage that the onset of death is nigh, and continues through the dissolution or transmutation of the Mahabhuta until the external and internal breath has completed. Definitions In the Pali canon, the most basic elements are usually identified as four in number but on occasion a fifth and to an even lesser extent a sixth element
Chönyid bardo (Tibetan): is the fifth bardo of the luminosity of the true nature which commences after the final 'inner breath' (Sanskrit: prana, vayu; Tibetan: rlung). Prana (प्राण) is the Sanskrit for " Breath " (from the root prā "to fill" cognate to Latin plenus "full" In Hinduism Vayu ( Sanskrit: वायु, IAST: Vāyu Malay: Bayu Thai: Phra Pai is a primary deity the father of Lung (Tibetan rlung) is a word that means wind or breath It is a key concept in the Vajrayana traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and as such is part of the It is within this Bardo that visions and auditory phenomena occur. In the Dzogchen teachings, these are known as the spontaneously manifesting Thödgal (Tibetan: thod-rgyal) visions. Lhündrub Tögal is a Dzogchen term and practice which holds the Semantic field "leaping over" "direct crossing" and "direct approach" Concomitant to these visions, there is a welling of profound peace and pristine awareness. Sentient beings who have not practiced during their lived experience and/or who do not recognize the clear light (Tibetan: od gsal) at the moment of death are usually deluded throughout the fifth bardo of luminosity. Ösel ( tib hod-gsal; 'od gsal) the Yoga of the Clear Light (often translated as 'Radiant Light' (Sanskrit prabhasvara
Sidpai bardo (Tibetan): is the sixth bardo of becoming or transmigration. This bardo endures until the inner-breath commences in the new transmigrating form determined by the 'karmic seeds' within the storehouse consciousness. The Eight Consciousnesses ( Sanskrit: Aṣṭavijñāna, from aṣṭa "eight" and vijñāna "consciousness"

Exegesis

Fremantle (2001: p. 53-54) charts the development of the bardo concept through the Himalayan tradition:

Originally bardo referred only to the period between one life and the next, and this is still its normal meaning when it is mentioned without any qualification. There was considerable dispute over this theory during the early centuries of Buddhism, with one side arguing that rebirth (or conception) follows immediately after death, and the other saying that there must be an interval between the two. With the rise of mahayana, belief in a transitional period prevailed. Later Buddhism expanded the whole concept to distinguish six or more similar states, covering the whole cycle of life, death, and rebirth. But it can also be interpreted as any transitional experience, any state that lies between two other states. Its original meaning, the experience of being between death and rebirth, is the prototype of the bardo experience, while the six traditional bardos show how the essential qualities of that experience are also present in other transitional periods. By refining even further the understanding of the essence of bardo, it can then be applied to every moment of existence. The present moment, the now, is a continual bardo, always suspended between the past and the future.

Used somewhat loosely, the term "bardo" may refer to the state of existence intermediate between two lives on earth. According to Tibetan tradition, after death and before one's next birth, when one's consciousness is not connected with a physical body, one experiences a variety of phenomena. Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European These usually follow a particular sequence of degeneration from, just after death, the clearest experiences of reality of which one is spiritually capable, to, later on, terrifying hallucinations arising from the impulses of one's previous unskillful actions. The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath For the spiritually advanced the bardo offers a state of great opportunity for liberation, since transcendental insight may arise with the direct experience of reality, while for others it can become a place of danger as the karmically created hallucinations can impel one into a less than desirable rebirth. Karma ( Sanskrit: कर्म, kárman - "act action performance" Pali: kamma) is the concept of "action" Rebirth in Buddhism is the doctrine that the consciousness of a person (as conventionally regarded upon the death or dissolution of the aggregates ( Skandhas

In the West, the term bardo may also refer to times when our usual way of life becomes suspended, as, for example, when we are on retreat. Western culture (sometimes equated with Western Civilization) are terms which are used to refer to Cultures of European origin The term retreat has several related meanings all of which have in common the notion of safety or temporarily removing oneself from one's usual environment in order to become immersed Such times can prove fruitful for spiritual progress, as external constraints diminish, although they offer challenges because our unskillful impulses can come to the fore, just as in the sidpa bardo.

Notes

^ Shugchang, Padma (editor); Sherab, Khenchen Palden & Dongyal, Khenpo Tse Wang (2000). The 31 realms ( Tibetan: rigs drug gi skye gnas) are the six categories of rebirths within the system of traditional Buddhist cosmology. The Six Yogas of Nāropa or Naro Choe Druk ( Tib na-ro'i-chos-drug) also called Naro's Six Doctrines or the Six Dharmas of Naropa According to some schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural primordial state or natural condition of every sentient Being Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including Many religious belief systems have a particular spirit, Angel, or Deity whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the Afterlife Bardo Pond are an American Psychedelic rock band formed in 1991, and who are currently signed to London based label ATP Recordings. A Modern Commentary on Karma Lingpa's Zhi-Khro: teachings on the peaceful and wrathful deities. Padma Gochen Ling. Source: [1] (accessed: December 27, 2007)

Contents

Six Bardos

Exegesis

See also

Notes

Further reading