Bardo 4 – Becoming What is Next

 

From “Mind Beyond Death” – Dzogchen Ponlop

The bardo of becoming begins when we regain consciousness after having fainted in the bardo of dharmata. It ends when we enter the womb of our future mother, thus beginning another cycle in samsaric existence. This bardo is known as the bardo of “becoming” or “existence” because at this time, there is a sense that anything is possible. It is taught that it is possible to take birth in any realm or state of existence.  

There is the possibility of taking birth in an utterly sane environment—of leaping into a buddha field—or of taking rebirth as a bodhisattva on the bhumis—one of the ten stages on the path to enlightenment. It is also possible to take birth as a human being or an animal, a god or a demon. Thus, this bardo is called the bardo of becoming since we can become anything—we can take birth in any form.

Today we may visit a friend and sit in a room of his house, and tomorrow we may go somewhere that is totally new to us, but nevertheless, there is a sense of continuity to our experience. We feel we are the same person who is continuing from the past to the present and from the present to the future.  

That continuity itself is relative. From the absolute point of view, there is no time, so there is no notion of continuity or of discontinuity. You would have to ask, “Continuing from what?” Absolute truth goes beyond the notion of continuity.

It is this moment-to-moment sense of continuity that becomes the basis for the imputation of a “self.” As soon as we perceive this “self,” we also perceive “other” and duality is complete.

 At this point, we wake up again and begin to regain consciousness. That is, the dualistic structure of mind begins to reassert itself.

 When we “wake up” and regain the sense of duality, we begin to have the thought that we have actually died and left our body. As we remember our death and come to this understanding, we are likely to feel intense confusion and anxiety. Fear arises because of our habitual tendencies to cling to this life and to this existence as solid and real. However, we have lost that ground. There is no solid basis for our existence. We still have the habit of clinging onto the self as “me,” and we still appear to ourselves to be the same person. We appear to have the same body and mind. But at this point, our body is a mental body, or subtle body, which arises from the inner essential nature of mind. There is no solid physical form. Our perceptions are also mental perceptions.

From the perspective of those who are left behind in the bardo of this life, it is important to understand that there is initially some possibility that the consciousness of the departed person may be drawn back into the presence of loved ones and familiar surroundings. 

Therefore we should remember that the departed person sees and reacts in the same way that we do; we are all vulnerable to states of confusion and suffering. 

We have the possibility of helping anyone with whom we have a close connection during this stressful passage.

  

The Duration of the Bardo 

It is said that the experience of this bardo lasts approximately seven weeks, or forty-nine days. However, there are some variations in how these weeks are described. Most accounts say that the first half of this bardo is more connected to the appearances and habitual tendencies of this life, while the second half is more connected to those of our next life. At some point, however, there is a shift in our experience and it begins to be colored by the qualities and attributes of the realm into which we will be reborn. Some teachings mark this turning point at three weeks, or twenty-one days. There is no hard and fast rule that it will be exactly one way or another. The timing depends on one’s individual karmic makeup.

About halfway through the bardo of becoming, we begin to witness the lights of the six realms, signaling the approach of our rebirth into one of the six states of samsaric existence. 

The “wind of karma,” the momentum of our habitual tendencies, will push us toward a realm of rebirth that reflects our most dominant psychological tendencies.

 

The Six Lights

The lights that appear to us now are not purely “wisdom lights,” like those that manifested in the bardo of dharmata.

For most beings, the lights that appear now are pale in comparison to the vivid lights of the bardo of dharmata. When we see them, we will naturally feel drawn to one more than others. However, the instruction at this time is to refrain from allowing ourselves to be drawn into any one of these states. 

The white light that appears is associated with the realm of the gods, the red light with the realm of the jealous gods, the blue light with the human realm, the green light with the animal realm, the yellow light with the hungry ghost realm, and the dark fog like light with the hell realm.

In addition to the lights, we will see signs of the realm of our rebirth in the form of images of various landscapes. For example, if you follow the white light of the god realm, you may see a magnificent palace. If you follow the red light of the jealous god realm, you may see a ring of fire and feel that you are entering a battlefield. The green light of the animal realm may lead to appearances such as an empty dale, cave or hut. The yellow light of the hungry ghost realm may lead you to a pile of logs or a jungle. If you follow the dark foggy light of the hell realm, then you may see a dungeon or a hole in the ground, or a metallic city. Descriptions of these images vary and again these appearances will be a matter of individual experience. 

For the blue light, it is said that your next birth will be in the human realm, which is made up of four distinct continents. Of these, three are places with many desirable qualities. The inhabitants of these continents enjoy wealth, various comforts, beautiful surroundings and long life, but they have no opportunity to practice the dharma. Only one continent affords that opportunity: the southern continent. It is said that if you see a lake with male and female swans, that indicates rebirth in the eastern continent. If you see a mountain lake with mares and stallions grazing around it, that indicates rebirth in the northern continent. If you see a lake with cows and bulls grazing nearby, that indicates rebirth in the western continent. If you seem to be entering a mist or you see a city with nice houses, that indicates rebirth in the southern continent. The mist is said to indicate simply a human rebirth, while a city with nice houses indicates a “precious human birth,” one that will provide the opportunity to practice the dharma.  Then you will see a man and woman engaged in sexual intercourse. If you continue to follow this course, you will enter the womb of the female, and this couple will become your parents.

  

The 6 Psychological States

The six realms are psychological states. Thus each realm represents a psychological style that is dominated by a particular emotion, a particular type of fixation and a characteristic style of suffering. 

The six realms are not created by any external agent or being. We are the creator of these states as well as the experiencer of these states. From the Buddhist perspective, they are the creation of our individual and group karma. They are projections of our mind manifesting in the experience of a specific realm. 

Furthermore, although we are currently in the human realm, within it, we go through the experiences of all six realms—physically, emotionally and mentally. It is possible to have agonizing hell realm experiences in this life, as well as blissful god realm experiences.

The six realms and all the suffering and causes of suffering associated with each exist only within our mind.

The teachings tell us that we move towards the experiences of a particular realm based upon how great a connection we make with the lights that we see. At this point in our journey, we are in the process of “becoming” or taking birth in the experiences of one particular realm.

 

The 6 Realms

 

God Realm

 If we follow the white light and take birth in the god realm, we will enjoy a state of being that seems to offer continual physical and mental bliss. God realm beings possess not only immeasurable material wealth, but also vast mental wealth in the form of the joy of perfect samadhi. Furthermore, the life span in this realm is exceedingly long by our standards. It is said that one day in the god realm is equivalent to one hundred human years. Therefore, one seems to be immortal.

sooner or later, the positive karma that produced this particular birth is exhausted.

We see that the god realm itself is impermanent and that we cannot remain in our blissful state forever. It finally dawns on us that we will have to undergo further sufferings in cyclic existence.

It is said that when gods die, their particular suffering is so great that it is like falling from heaven into hell. Furthermore, one’s imminent death is foreseen by the other inhabitants of that realm, who shun one’s presence; thus during that “week,” one is completely isolated.

We lose faith in everything, even in ourselves. Therefore, in the god realm, there is no genuine path to liberation.

 

Jealous God Realm 

If we are attracted to and follow after the pale red light, then we are born into the realm of jealous gods, who are also known as demi-gods, or asuras. In traditional Buddhist iconography, the jealous god realm is situated beneath the god realm. Although it is a higher realm birth with many positive advantages, its inhabitants enjoy less of a sense of richness, pleasure and power than the inhabitants of the god realm. The dominant emotion for beings in this realm is jealousy, which is closely related to envy and is also characterized by paranoia and competitiveness
 

Human Realm 

If we follow after the pale blue light, we will take birth in the human realm, which is dominated by the afflictive emotion of desire, or passion. Our experience in this realm is characterized by a sense of poverty mentality. No matter what our circumstances may be, we feel an underlying and pervasive sense of dissatisfaction. We might possess wealth, a good family, proper work, a healthy body and mind, and live in pleasurable surroundings. Still, we feel that something is missing in our life. We feel a sense of discontent and restlessness, which comes from passion that has no limit. Our desire is like a pot with a hole in it. No matter how much water we pour into the pot, it will never be full. It is always leaking.

 

Animal Realm 

If we follow after the pale green light, we will take birth in the animal realm, which is the first of the lower realms. This realm is dominated by the mental state of ignorance, which has the attribute of stupidity.

We can see by looking at our own mind that intelligence has two aspects. One is the kind of instinctive wisdom or natural understanding that allows us to know how to balance ourselves on two feet, or how to judge our own size in relation to the width of a doorway so that we can pass through it without hitting ourselves. The second kind of intelligence is intellectual knowledge that brings genuine wisdom. To gain that kind of knowledge is possible only when we have accumulated a certain amount of merit and are also willing to exert ourselves toward that end. No one is born a scholar or a sage. We must study and work hard. Even geniuses need to read books, if only once.

It is possible to experience the same nature of stupidity in our own realm.

 

Hungry Ghost Realm 

If we follow after the pale yellow light, we will be born into the realm of hungry ghosts, or pretas, which is dominated by the disturbing emotion of greed.

 

Hell Realm

 If we follow after the dark, fog-like light, we will be born into the hell realm, which is dominated by the disturbing emotion of anger.

That complete state of hatred is the definition of hell.

Beings are either burned and boiled, or subjected to bitter cold. While such depictions are not to be taken literally, they do graphically convey the psychological trauma endured by “hell beings.”

These are the six psychological realms into which we can be reborn. Of these, the human realm is said to be the most conducive for the practice of dharma. If we must take a samsaric rebirth, then we should concentrate on accomplishing a rebirth in the human realm.

It is taught that as we draw very close to the time of taking rebirth, we will experience the arising of intense emotions, especially the emotions of passion and jealousy. This coincides with the experience of witnessing couples in union.

Therefore, when we sit and meditate while we are relatively healthy and relatively free from pain, we are taking advantage of a great opportunity. We have a very good chance to connect with the experience of calmness and clarity and to habituate ourselves to that state, which is the mind that gives rise to transcendental insight. If we do not have that ground in place, then on what basis will realization arise? That is another big question. 

A mind that has recognized its own nature—its luminous emptiness—perceives the actual luminous, empty nature of appearances, while a mind that is obscured perceives a solid, dualistic self and world.