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Root Verses of the Bardos - from the
Tibetan Book of the Dead |
O now, when the Birthplace Bardo upon me is dawning!
Abandoning idleness – there being no idleness in a devotee’s life –
Entering into the Reality undistractedly, listening, reflecting and meditating,
Carrying on to the Path knowledge of the true nature of appearances and of mind, may the Trikaya be realised:
Once that the human form has been attained,
May there be no time or opportunity in which to idle it away.
O now, when the Dream Bardo upon me is dawning!
Abandoning the inordinate corpse-like sleeping of the sleep of stupidity,
May the consciousness undistractedly be kept in its natural state;
Grasping the true nature of dreams, may I train myself in the Clear Light of Miraculous Transformation:
Acting not like the brutes in slothfulness,
May the blending of the practising of the sleep state and the actual or waking experience be highly valued by me.
O now, when the Dhyana Bardo upon me is dawning!
Abandoning the whole mass of distraction and illusions,
May the mind be kept in the mood of endless undistracted samadhi,
May firmness both in the visualising and in the perfected stages be obtained:
At this time, when meditating one pointedly, with all other actions put aside,
May I not fall under the power of misleading, stupefying passions.
O now, when the Bardo of the Moment of Death upon me is dawning!
Abandoning attraction and craving, and weakness for all worldly things,
May I be undistracted in the space of the bright enlightening teachings,
May I be able to transfuse myself into the heavenly space of the Unborn:
The hour has come to part with this body, composed of flesh and blood;
May I know the body to be impermanent and illusory.
O now, when the Bardo of Reality upon me is dawning!
Abandoning all awe, fear, and terror of all phenomena,
May I recognise whatever appears as being my own thought-forms,
May I know them to be apparitions in the intermediate state;
It has been said, "There arrives a time when the chief turning-point is reached;
Fear not the bands of the Peaceful and the Wrathful, who are your own thought-forms.
O now, when the Bardo of Taking Rebirth upon me is dawning!
One-pointedly holding fast to a single wish,
May I be able to continue the course of good deeds through repeated efforts;
May the womb-door be closed, and the revulsion recollected:
The hour has come when energy and pure love are needed;
May I cast off jealousy and meditate upon the guru, the Father-Mother.
O procrastinating one, who thinks not of the coming of death,
Devoting yourself to the useless doings of this life,
Improvident are you in dissipating your great opportunity;
Mistaken, indeed, will your purpose be now if you return empty-handed from this life:
Since the Holy Dharma is known to be your true need,
Will you not devote yourself to the Holy Dharma, even now?
Return to Buddhist texts
This rendition is based on one found in Kamashila's "Meditation : the Buddhist way of traquility and insight." p.209-210,
which is in turn based on the Evans-Wentz translation.
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