Day 1

Bardo means duration in between (2 states)

If we prepare properly no need to scared

Live dignified die dignified and you know where to go

Dignified = confidence 

Confidence comes from realization which depends on correct information 

Once we have correct information we put that into practice 

When our practice becomes actualized, our confidence increase

Bardo teaching has 2 areas: bardo of dying and bardo of becoming 

Sadong 

bardo of dying

Bardo of dharmada 

Nangwa

bardo of becoming 

Bardo is a transition between one life and another 

Once we know something is changing and something is not changing something is dying something is unable to finish or exhaust 

One is essence and another is expression

The essence of our Buddha nature is beyond birth and death ie free of death

Expression is influenced by klesha karma and afflictions 

We are followed by our karmic expressions and that has birth and death ie effected by karma

We should know what is moving changing and regain our confidence and our nature of our mind

Whether we can manage the bardo depends on the bardo of living , which is happening with us right now ie birth till point of death is what we are in right now

We are in the bardo of living

We have some means of controlling this

We can find and recognize our unchanging nature

Recognization of rigpa is our ultimate protection 

Reflections are unreliable but we spend a lot of time on this

We can’t see the reflection is empty in form, we see it as real true nature

Key teaching of bardo deals with two areas: essence and expression/reflection 

Really happy is : not afraid of unhappy 

How to achieve this?

If we learn sadong and nangwa, we will have confidence 

Nangwa changes: Effected or manipulated by karma. Karma has a time and duration, karma has birth and exhaust

At some point if we finish the karma of human living a life, the five elements expire by the influence of karma and Nangwa starts to change

Sadong and Nangwa function together and indivisible 

What kind of Nangwa do we have now? 

Our Nangwa is bardo of living now : from birth to now, it changes a lot

Did you live well?

Do you have any regrets ?

What are you going to do with your Nangwa ? 

Impermanence is running in our life, sonnet or later it ends ie end of living bardo ie change of Nangwa 

And that time where is my refuge? Do you have that certainty in your mind?

Most important key is not the teachings but our confidence in the recognition of it 

Within the bardo of living there is bardo of dreams and bardo of meditation 

We have a choice with these 2 bardos of dreams and meditation ie practise in preparation for the other bardos

Most important of 6 bardos is the bardo of meditation 

Daytime we practise bardo of meditation and nighttime we practise bardo of dream 

It is time to spend more time with these two bardos 

If you read want smtg , spend time to do it ie regular discipline is very important . Regular means moment to moment not find excuses ie today is Xmas or new year and skip discipline that day/s ie self discipline is diminishing 

As a practitioner everyday is precious 

Combine the three points in everyday: 

Self discipline + regular + moment to moment 

ie use the moments in between work study etc to practise 

Day 2

Dream Yoga practice

-intention: that when i dream i know it is my dream, and I can practise my chanting my meditation in my dream = i know i m alive, i m practising my meditation. In awaking hours as in sleep application of teachings

Use sleep and dream to practise

In that dream: you remember and know you are in dream, without waking up, you recognise natural mind

process and how you meditate in sleep is similar or reflective of how you meditate when awake 

as soon as you recognise nature of mind, you wake up, that is good

When u see clear light ,either without perception, with perception 

Bardo of dreams is important in bardo of teachings, because when we know it is dream, and when we are in the bardo of becoming, we can transfer consciousness to pure land, you have ability to go ie everything is illusion and not real. 

in dream if you recognise rigpa (pristine awareness) and wake up, it indicates waking up from the bardo of dying

dying: there is a dissolution of the following in the order

form feeling perception formation consciousness 

the first to dissolve is form: earth element starts to dissolve, outer sign is what others perceive, the sign of elements dissolving ; inner sign that only you perceive ie you see a clear light in your experience ie you are going closer to mother luminosity because all the aggregates that are blocking you previously are dissolving

somewhere in the death process: there is mother luminosity pulling you ie some kind of mirage

secondly, feeling starts to dissolve: water element starts to dissolve you feel thirsty, inner sign is incense smoke, the clear light comes in a big Tibetan incense smoke

third, perception is dissolving and heat element is dissolving, the warmth in your body is concluding. Inner sign of clear light is like a spark that comes to mind

fourth. formation or wind, qi element is dissolving. Outer sign: hard to breathe, Inner sign:  candlelight happening

what do we do in this process? aware of clear light together with the natural mind

inner sign is mother luminosity 

resting in rigpa is child luminosity

just welcome and rest in natural mind

supplicate to teachers

consciousness dissolves and element of space is dissolving. You are closer to mother luminosity, like a space spaciousness happens, many pple come back to life there this space this openness  ie near death experience.

Inner sign: crystal clear pure experience

duration of these depends on your daily practice

up to here, you can still come back

after this point, no chance of coming back 

if your lifetime and karma not exhausted, you are revived but quite rare

whoever comes back comes back with this understanding and experience of openness and spaciousness

finally space dissolves into clear light ie your own clear light

at that moment death happens 

after death, 3 moments : 

-appearance (inner mind klesha concepts will cease, inner sign like a moonlight without clouds)

– increase (more openness emptiness, inner sign like a sunrise like a dawn)

-attainment (ignorance unknowing kleshas will cease, more openness emptiness, inner sign is sun almost arise then one black shutdown happens and inner death happens)

outer death has happened, and now the inner death happens and suddenly something opens and mother luminosity opens fully

that is like when you sleep something happens you knockout,  and  before dream happens you are in clear light

for higher practitioner , they sleep and knockout is like a blink, and  light happens

Day 3

1st chance : liberate to a rainbow body

when mother luminosity shows, child will recognise if child is healthy

when colours deities forms sounds appear, how long it last etc depends on how we relate to it, whether we see as pure phenomenal or perception depends on our practice

like when u go into amusement park, are you going to follow the sparks and go with the flow or follow you practice and not be distracted

keep your confidence : not closing your eyes not blocking your vision but moving and unmoving together 

stillness and movement together

if you follow the show, would you not have wasted the ticket?

People are scared because no information, no preparation 

2 things here: Actual truth vs (respect) Illusion

Realise : you are in emptiness and the magical display are expression of Sawa, spontaneous colour light

dharmakaya has 2 qualities, emptiness and form kaya

Just sit in your seat and watch the show and know it is form kaya and while form kaya is rising know it is the raise of dharma kaya

the show starts 

all the lights and sound happens and you are moving everywhere in the ocean hitting the rock etc—then you realise this is illusion, you are in the room, but it is so real you feel you are really going to hit.

time to time you refresh the emptiness

movement and stillness are both happening

if u r not afraid, because you are not there, your physical form is gone, your mind only, within mind no me also, also the poisons also gone, what you have is pure perception, accepting all this is dharma kaya

all are pure and at some point, if you are not clinging or sucked into it, all attachments and aversion, beautiful also not attach, ugly also never scared, just respect the kaya, at the end you liberate

if you are afraid, because karma not completely exhaust and we didn’t get the chance to liberate , bardo of becoming start to happen: scary sound, duality etc all area mental formation, projection of mind, because of fear attachments…..then whatever departed start to join. 

There’s a moment before rebirth of consciousness travelling = bardo of becoming normally is 29 days but can last longer or last

Klesha mind perception form all come back any thought comes and you r already there

you see all the things that happened in life just gone and see things that will happen in next life

its a sad moment for us – looking at rebirth

so here: how to help yourself and others

no need to be scared, be stable yourself, remember our practice: let it go, its the attachments that are making the suffering, think of positive less the negative . Talk, communicate, you have passed away, let it go

do puja pray

important to die a clean death

go with dharma and let go the rest: process everything properly will etc, so there is less confusion to next generation etc and therefore less confusion to yourself. so it does not affect you in the bardo

die with regret

want to say smthg do smitg but no more physical yet your mind still clinging–that is the worst thing for yourself

do a smart way of dying: clean death with preparation, dignified confidence integrity and joy

that will help you and your next generation

normal human beings have 3 major object of attachments : 

• we are permanently living wth beautiful phenomenal as we call our world, we are not sure if we will come back, this magical display this world is quite beautiful and we like it, life is so amazing esp human life wa so beautiful- please appreciate now but it will not last so prepare also
• family and loved ones: you will be living away from them so live well with family,, partners , friends, you might not live forever, try not to be overly sensitive in small things: use bodhisattva heart- strong compassionate heart, this has all the solutions . Love doesn’t mean you need to win all the time, losing is part of love, you don’t need to win. Basic respect is there but you don’t need to win, its ok to lose sometimes. Live well, die well
• wealth: you earned it but didn’t use it, i was whole life stingy, now you feel regret , what to do? Be smart about your wealth, should not be because of wealth you get confusion in the bardo

When you are in the bardo of becoming, ie you missed all chance of liberation, 

-first thing realise:  know you are in the bardo: recognition is very important 

one of the easiest place to go is amitabha or avalokitesvara guru rinpoche etc-you still have to practice , at least you do not fall into samsara 

the best is recognition of natural mind

live well and when you live well, you die very well