The Tibetan Book of the Dead

by Dorje, Gyurme

  37 Tib. Chos-nyid bar-do’i ngo-sprod chen-mo.

  38 For a synopsis of the classical enumeration of the six categories of intermediate state: namely the intermediate state of the living or natural existence (rang-bzhin skye-gnas-kyi bar-do); the intermediate state of dreams (rmi-lam bar-do); the intermediate state of meditative stability (ting-nge-’dzin bsam-gtan-gyi bar-do); the intermediate state of the time of death (’chi-kha’i bar-do); the intermediate state of reality (chos-nyid bar-do); and the intermediate state of consequent rebirth (lugs-’byung srid-pa’i bar-do), see glossary. Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, The Mirror of Mindfulness, pp. 75-102, also discusses the diverse interpretations of the intermediate state of reality presented by the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

  39 As stated above, p. 229, the intermediate state of the time of death is said to last up to three and a half days, so that those who have failed to recognise the inner radiances of the ground and path remain unconscious for the same period of time. It is on being aroused from that unconscious state that the visions of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the intermediate state of reality then arise. It is important to bear in mind that the use of the word ‘day’ in this context and those which follow is from the standpoint of the bereaved. From the perspective of the deceased, as Tsele Natsok Rangdol states, ‘Few people, however, consider these to be actual solar days. Since they are . . . only meditation days, understand that for ordinary people they do not appear for more than a short moment’ (Mirror of Mindfulness, p. 113).

  40 On the reversal of cyclic existence and of all its aspects of mundane consciousness and sense-perception through the practices of the Great Perfection, see NSTB, p. 340, and GGFTC, pp. 395-97, 1001-5.

  41 The events which unfold in the course of the intermediate states of reality and rebirth are held, in the view of the present text, to endure approximately for forty-nine days. Note however that this period of forty-nine days is not said to be fixed. See Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, The Mirror of Mindfulness, p. 22. It is recognised that the nature of the appearances in the intermediate state of reality will vary according to the meditative tradition followed. Tsele Natsok Rangdrol (ibid., pp. 98-100) does emphasise, on the other hand, that the pure psycho-physical aggregates, elements, sense-organs, and so forth, will manifest as sounds, lights and rays.

  42 Tib. dbus-su thig-le brdal-ba’i zhing-khams. An epithet of the Akaniṣṭha-Ghanavyūha realm of Vairocana Buddha, on which see glossary.

  43 Tib. de-bzhin gshegs-pa’i ’od-zer chos-dbyings-kyi ye-shes zhes-bya-ba. This luminosity is called the ‘light ray of the Tathāgata’ because Vairocana Buddha is said to preside over the Tathāgata or Buddha family. On the compassionate unfolding of the great light rays of the tathāgatas, see also Dudjom Rinpoche, NSTB, pp. 912-13.

  44 Note that the text associates both the dull white light of the god-realms and the dull green light of the animal realms (see p. 253) with the propensities for delusion (gti-mug). More generally, delusion is recognised as the primary dissonant mental state giving rise to birth among the animals, and pride as the primary dissonant mental state giving rise to birth among the gods.

  45 Note that pride is more generally associated with birth in the god realms, while it is attachment (’dod-chags) or a combination of all five dissonant mental states that is said to generate birth as a human being. See above, Ch. 5.

  46 On the significance in Atiyoga of the ‘state of non-activity’ (byar-med-kyi ngang), see above Ch. 4; also NSTB, pp. 335-7, 896-910.

  47 Tib. ye-shes bzhi-sbyor-gyi snang-ba.

  48 This passage associates the white luminosity with the pristine cognition of reality’s expanse and Vairocana, and the blue light with the mirror-like pristine cognition and Akṣobhya, reversing the earlier sequence. On this distinction, see Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 390-91.

  49 DR, Vol. 3, p. 77, 1. 3, reads nang-du.

  50 Tib. mi-rtog-pa’i ngang. Along with bliss and radiance, this ‘non-conceptual state’ is considered to be one of the three concomitant experiences associated with the practice of the perfection stage (sampannakrama). See Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 827-8.

  51 The green light associated with Amoghasiddhi is said not to arise until buddha-activities can be performed consequent on the attainment of perfect enlightenment.

  52 This ‘vision of the four pristine cognitions combined’ (ye-shes bzhi-sbyor-gyi snang-ba) is said to occur in relation to the ‘hollow passageway of Vajrasattva’ (rdo-rje sems-dpa’ khong-gseng-gi lam), a synonym for the central channel of the body, through which transference of consciousness (’pho-ba) is also effected. See Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, The Mirror of Mindfulness, p. 20.

  53 Tib. rgyun-gyi ting-nge-’dzin; Skt. sroto’nugatasamādhi.

  54 Tib. rig-pa lhun-grub chen-po’i sku. See glossary under Buddha-body.

  55 On the conflation in this text of delusion (Skt. moha; Tib. gti-mug) with both the god-realm and the animal realm, see note 44.

  56 On this class of faithful retainers (Tib. ging), who protect the maṇḍala from impediments, see also Ch. 7, note 17.

  Part Two

  1 Tib. Khro-bo’i bar-do’i ’char-tshul bstan-pa bzhugs-so.

  2 See Ch. 14.

  3 There are many specific instances of these indications symbolic of passage to the realm of the sky-farers (dag-pa mkha’-spyod) at the time of death, particularly in the context of the lineages of Atiyoga. See, for example, NSTB, p. 543 (the death of Bagom), p. 550 (the death of Dzeng Dharmabodhi), p. 561 (the death of Zhangton), p. 563 (the death of Nyibum), p. 564 (the death of Guru Jober), p. 568 (the death of Melong Dorje), p. 572 (the death of Kumārādza), and p. 594 (the death of Longchenpa). For a more detailed explanation of these phenomena, see Ch. 14, passim.

  4 Tib. gsang-lam, i.e. the path of the secret mantras (guhyamantra).

  5 The full text of the Liberation by Wearing: Natural Liberation of the Psycho-physical Aggregates (bTags-grol phung-po rang-grol) is contained below, Ch. 14, pp. 347-79.

  6 The names of the four Female Gatekeepers of the wrathful assembly given here are identical to those given above, p. 247, in the context of the peaceful assembly. Their actual names are Vajratejasῑ in the east, Vajrāmoghā in the south, Vajralokā in the west, and Vajravetālῑ in the north, See, above, Ch. 5, p. 84.

  7 The colours of Manurākṣasῑ, Brahmāṇῑ, Raudrῑ, Vaiṣṇāvῑ, and Kaumārῑ here accord with the descriptions in Ch. 5, p. 85, and Ch. 6, p. 110. DR, p. 103, depicts them respectively as dark brown, reddish yellow, dark green, blue, and red.

  8 DR, p. 103, 1.4, reads phag-mgo (pig-headed), but see Ch. 5, p. 85, and Ch. 6, p. 110.

  9 Here the colours of Sāntῑ, Amrtā, Saumῑ, and Dandῑ accord with the descriptions in Ch. 5, p. 85, and Ch. 6, p. 110. DR, p. 103, depicts them respectively as red, red, white, and dark green.

  10 Here the colours of Bhakṣasῑ and Rudhiramadῑ accord with the descriptions in Ch. 5, p. 86, and Ch. 6, pp. 110-11. DR, p. 104, depicts them respectively as dark green and white.

  11 Here the colours of Vāyudevῑ, Agnāyῑ, Varāhῑ, Vajrā Cāmuṇḍῑ, and Varunāṇῑ accord with the descriptions in Ch. 5, p. 86, and Ch. 6, p. 111. DR, pp. 104- 5, describes them respectively as blue, red, black, red, and blue.

  12 On this distinction, see Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 397ff., and ibid., Ch. 15, pp. 1075ff.

  13 On the variations in the size of the buddha-body, see R. Kloetsli, Buddhist Cosmology, p. 69, and on the varying sizes of the physical bodies of living beings within the three world-systems, see the chart in ibid., p. 38. The same work has much information on the dimensions of Mount Sumeru and its status within the world-system.

  14 Mistaken views (log-lta) are principally those which disclaim an appropriate connection between virtuous causes and virtuous effects, and those which ascribe inherent existence in varying degrees to physical and mental phenomena.

  Part Three

  1 Tib. Zab-chos zhi-khro dgongs-pa rang-grol las sri
d-pa bar-do’i ngo-sprod.

  2 . Tib. Sangs-rgyas-dang byang-chub sems-dpa’i-rnams-la ra-mda’ sbran-pa’i smon-lam. See Ch. 12, pp. 308-9.

  3 These verses are found in Vasubandhu’s Treasury of the Abhidharma, Ch. 3, vv. 13-14.

  4 Tib. sngon-’byung.

  5 Tib. bar-do’i snang-ba yid-kyi lus.

  6 Tib. dbang-po kun-tshang thogs-med rgyu.

  7 Vajrāsana, the ‘indestructible seat’ below the Bodhi Tree at present-day Bodh Gaya, the place where the buddhas of the ‘auspicious aeon’ are said to attain buddhahood.

  8 Tib. las-kyi rdzu-’phrul shugs-dang ldan.

  9 The miraculous ability based on past actions (las-kyi rdzu-’phrul ) is an intensified perceptual state arising from past habitual tendencies (vāsanā), quite distinct from the four supports for miraculous ability (ṛddhipāda) or enlightened attributes (guṇa) indicative of buddhahood, on which see NSTB, Vol. 2, p. 138.

  10 Tib. rigs-mthun lha-mig dag-pas mthong.

  11 This ‘pure clairvoyance’ (lha-mig dag-pa), like the miraculous ability based on past actions (las-kyi rdzu-’phrul ) described above, is a product of the intensified perception of the mental body, enabling those destined to one form of rebirth to perceive beings of their own kind. As such, it is differentiated from the clairvoyance possessed by the gods inhabiting the world-systems of form (rūpadhātu) and desire (kāmadhātu), but similar to that which is acquired in the course of meditation.

  12 The carnivorous ogres (Tib. srin-po), acting as the executors of the unfailing law of cause and effect (las-kyi sha-za), are those who execute the rites of Yama (gshin-rje’i las). See Ch. 13, pp. 321ff.

  13 The colours of the three precipices symbolic of the dissonant mental states (kleśa) - white, red, and black - are also respectively associated with the three enlightened families (rigs-gsum) through which they are purified, i.e. those of Akṣobhya, who is the natural purity of aversion, Amitābha, who is the natural purity of attachment, and Vairocana, who is the natural purity of delusion. See Ch. 5, p. 97.

  14 This sentence is omitted in DR, Vol. 3, f. 125, l. 1.

  15 On the expression lhan-cig skyes-pa’i lha, here rendered as ‘innate good conscience’, and the expression lhan-cig skyes-pa’i ’dre, rendered here as ‘innate bad conscience’ see also Ch. 13, pp. 321ff.

  16 On the ‘mirror of past actions’ (las-kyi me-long) in which Yama Dharmarāja is said to view the virtuous and non-virtuous actions of the deceased, see below, Ch. 13, pp. 321- 2.

  17 The ‘bull-headed Rakṣa’ (rag-sha glang-mgo) is the name of one of the acolytes of Yama Dharmarāja. See Ch. 13, pp. 321ff.

  18 See glossary. For the Nyingma interpretation of the Buddha-body of Essentiality (ngo-bo-nyid-kyi sku; Skt. svabhāvikakāya), which some sources regard as the ‘fourth’ buddha-body, see Dudjom Rinpoche, NSTB, pp. 191ff.

  19 On the significance of the ‘name empowerment’ (ming-gi dbang), see glossary under Four Empowerments.

  20 The following verses derive from the Aspirational Prayer which Protects from Fear of the Intermediate States (Bar-do’i ’jigs-skyobs smon-lam). See below, Ch. 12, pp. 314−15.

  21 Those experiencing the sensation of moving upwards (gyen-la ’gro-ba) have an affinity with rebirth in the god-realms, those moving horizontally (’phred-la ’gro-ba) have an affinity with the human realms, while those moving downwards (mgo mthur-la brten-nas ’gro-ba) have an affinity with the hells, anguished spirits and animals. See e.g. Longchen Rabjampa, GGFTC, pp. 493−4.

  22 On these verses from the Root Verses of the Six Intermediate States (Bar-do drug-gi rtsa-tshig), see Ch. 3, pp. 33−4.

  23 Tib. bdag srid-pa bar-do ’char-dus ’dir.

  24 Tib. mdun-pa rtse-gcig sems-la bzung-bya.

  25 Tib. bzang-po las-kyi ’phro-la nan-gyis mthud.

  26 Tib. mngal-sgo bkag-nas ru-log dran-par bya/ snying-rus dag-snang dgos-pa’i dus gcig yin.

  27 Tib. bla-ma yab-yum.

  28 On the practices pertaining to the purification of the four modes of birth (skye-gnas rigs bzhi; Skt. caturyoni), namely: oviparous birth (sgo-nga-nas skye-ba; Skt. aṇḍaja), viviparous birth (mngal-nas skye-ba; Skt. jārāyuja), supernormal birth (brdzus-te skye-ba; Skt. upapāduka), and birth from warmth and moisture (drod-sher-las skye-ba; Skt. saṃsvedaja), see Dudjom Rinpoche, NSTB, p. 279. Note that the instructions given in our text at this juncture refer only to the first two categories.

  29 The clotting of the embryo (nur-nur-po; Skt. kalala) and the oval formation of the embryo (mer-mer-po; Skt. arbuda) are the first two of the so-called five stages of embryonic development (mngal-gyi gnas-skabs lnga). For a more detailed, though slightly different, explanation, see Tibetan Medical Paintings, pp. 25−6 and 181−2.

  30 See Ch. 3, p. 34.

  31 Tib. bden-med sgyu-ma lta-bu gdams-ngag.

  32 Tib. ’od-gsal sgoms-nas mngal-sgo ’gag.

  33 On this description of the mind resting in its natural state, which derives from the esoteric instructions of the Great Perfection on Cutting through Resistance (rdzogs-chen khregs-chod), see Ch. 4.

  34 Tib. mngal-sgo ’dam-pa’i gdams-ngag zab-mo.

  35 On the meditative stabilities (samādhi) or meditative concentrations (dhyāna) which give rise to birth in the world-system of form (rūpadhātu), see the chart in NSTB, pp. 14−15; and for a detailed discussion, see also L. Pruden (trans.), Abhidharmakośabhāṣyaṃ, Ch. 3, The World, pp. 365-495.

  36 On the transference of consciousness to the pure buddha fields (dag-pa sangs-rgyas-kyi zhing-du ’pho-ba), see Ch. 10.

  37 For a description of such consecration of the womb, see the life of Śākyamuni Buddha in Dudjom Rinpoche, NSTB, p. 416; also GGFTC, p. 474.

  38 Sangs-rgyas-dang byang-chub sems-dpa-rnams-la ra-mdar spran-pa’i smon-lam . See below, Ch. 12, pp. 308-9.

  39 For the text of the Root Verses of the Six Intermediate States (Bar-do drug-gi rtsa-tshig), see above, Ch. 3, pp. 32-4; and for that of the Aspirational Prayer which Rescues from the Dangerous Pathways of the Intermediate States (Bar-do ’phrang-sgrol-gyi smon-lam), see below, Ch. 12, pp. 310-13.

  40 For the full text of the Liberation by Wearing: Natural Liberation of Psycho-physical Aggregates (bTags-grol phung-po rang-grol), see below, Ch. 14; and for that of the Spiritual Practice: Natural Liberation of Habitual Tendencies (Chos-spyod bag-chags rang-grol), see above, Ch. 5.

  12 Aspirational Prayers

  1 Tib. Sangs-rgyas-dang byang-chub sems-dpa’ rnams-la ra-mdar spran-pa’i smon-lam.

  2 Or she, as appropriate.

  3 Tib. Bar-do ’phrang-sgrol-gyi smon-lam.

  4 DR, pp. 320-21, inserts these verses after those dedicated to Amoghasiddhi.

  5 This mantra, missing in DR, p. 321, l. 2, is inserted on the basis of its inclusion in the Delhi and Varanasi reprints.

  6 Tib. Bar-do’i smon-lam ’jigs-skyobs-ma.

  7 At this point the text inserts the following couplet, which has apparently been mis-transcribed out of context from the previous aspirational prayer:May the fields of the five elements not rise up as a hostile force. May I see them as the fields of the five buddhas.

  8 An allusion to the beguiling prophecies of Māra, who sought to deceive Śākyamuni at the time of his attainment of buddhahood.

  13 A Masked Drama

  Part One

  1 Tib. Srid-pa bar-do’i ngo-sprod dge-sdig rang-gzugs ston-pa’i gdams-pa srid-pa bar-do rang-grol. On the variant forms of the title, see Appendix One.

  2 Tib. Zab-chos zhi-khro dgongs-pa rang-grol.

  3 Tib. Padma zhi-khro’i bar-do thos-grol. On the cycles of gter-ma discovered by Karma Lingpa, and the various texts concerning empowerment (dbang-bskur ) and introduction (ngo-sprod) contained within them, see above, ‘A Brief Literary History’, pp. xxxvi- xlviii, and Appendix One.

  4 Here, the intermediate state of reality (chos-nyid bar-do) is described as such because the luminosities and the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities are directly seen, offering the potential for imm
ediate liberation.

  5 Although the introduction to the intermediate state of rebirth (srid-pa’i bar-do) has already been given (see Ch. 11, pp. 273-303), the drama presented here functions as a light-hearted didactic supplement to the previous introduction, and is directed specifically at the living rather than the deceased.

  6 The acolytes of Yama include the Ox-headed Rakṣa Demon (Rakṣa glang-mgo).

  7 Tib. ‘Byung-po spre’u mgo.

  8 The bre is the standard Tibetan unit of dry measure, twenty of which equal one khal. The srang is the standard unit of weight measurement.

  9 Tib. Dur phag-mgo.

  10 Tib. sDug-pa sbrul-mgo.

  11 Tib. gTum-po dom-mgo.

  12 Tib. srNgam-pa seng-mgo.

  13 Tib. ’Dab-chags khyung-mgo.

  14 Tib. lhan-cig skyes-pa’i lha. See also Ch. 11, p. 279.

  15 Tib. lhan-gcig skyes-pa’i ’dre. See also Ch. 11, p. 279.

  16 Tib. dPal-skyes.

  17 Tib. dMyal-ba ’bum.

  18 On the outcaste (caṇḍāla; Tib. rigs-ngan gdol-pa) community, traditionally excluded from Indian society for occupational reasons, see A. L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India, pp. 145-7.

  19 The four classes of ancient Indian society comprise: the priestly class (brāhmaṇavarṇa ); the princely class (kṣatriyavarṇa); the mercantile class (vaiśyavarṇa ); and the labouring class (śūdravarṇa). See A. L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India, pp. 138-4 5.

  20 On the currency of such materialistic and nihilistic philosophical views in ancient India, see Dudjom Rinpoche, NSTB, pp. 66-7; and see A. L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India, pp. 298-300.

  21 Tāmralipti (zangs-gling) is identified with modern Tamluk on the Bengal coast. See NSTB, p. 455.

  22 Tib. shan-pa khri-dpon; also translatable as ‘myriarch of butchers’.

  23 Tib. shan-mo dpal-skyid.

  24 The year of the water pig is the last in the cycle of sixty years, according to the calendrical system of elemental divination (’byung-rtsis), for which reason it will create a ‘fin de siècle’ notion in the minds of the audience.