Bardo: a Sacred Belief in Tibetan Buddhism

Zhi-Khro mandala, a part of the Bardo Thodol’s collection, a text known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

While it’s a commonly known fact that Buddhism adheres to the belief in reincarnation after death, there is much to explore in the grey area between lives. In the Tibetan language, the word “bardo” literally means “intermediate state.” This belief came originally from the Tibetan Book of the Dead in the early 8^th century A.D.

While it is most commonly used to describe the experience one has in between one life and the next, bardo can also represent a variety of spiritual experiences—some of which we might encounter throughout our lives. According to Tibetan Buddhism, there are six different states of bardo.

1. Shinay bardo: begins when we are born and lasts until we die.

2. Milam bardo: the dream state. Practicing dream yoga allows a person to tap into this state.

3. Samten bardo: a meditative state. Only those who seriously meditate typically experience this bardo, but many individuals have had spontaneous experiences.

4. Chikkhai bardo: this bardo occurs at the moment of death. This bardo senses when death is approaching and guides the person through their end-of-life experience.

5. Chönyid bardo: occurs after the final breath. Within this bardo, visual and auditory phenomena tend to occur. Those who have had a near-death incident may have experienced this. In addition to these phenomenal visions, there is overwhelming sense of peace and awareness.

6. Sidpa bardo: this bardo lasts until the soul has passed on to its next life. While travelling between bodies, the soul experiences awareness and peace and is guided by the sixth bardo.

Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, we can all find some comfort in the idea of finding peace and awareness after death. We might be traveling from this life to the next, to heaven or hell, or wherever our personal beliefs dictate; and while in the end we may never know, it’s nice to think there’s some spiritual force waiting to show the way.