The bardo of life starts from your conception and ends at the beginning of the death process. So your entire life is the bardo of life. If you practice Dharma meditations in general and especially esoteric practices while you are in this bardo, you will be able to attain enlightenment, Buddhahood, possibly even in this very lifetime.

According to Dzogpa Chenpo teachings, in absolute truth the ultimate nature of the whole universe is oneness. It is the union of ultimate nature, total openness, or emptiness, and the five wisdoms with their natural power, the five intrinsic lights.

But by not realizing the truth, you discriminate between them as subjects and objects, becoming inflamed with emotions of attachment, aggression, and confusion, rooted in grasping at self. As a result, the whole universe appears before your dualistic mind as the five emotions and five elements in the subjective and objective spectrum, and it becomes the source of pain and excitement.

If you realize and perfect the intrinsic awareness, the true nature of the mind, which is the union of the total openness, the ultimate sphere, and wisdom with its intrinsic lights, then even in this very lifetime you will become a Buddha, and there will be no need to go through the successive bardos. … Of course, these kinds of attainment are extremely rare, and we are not talking about them lightly.

In the bardo of life of ordinary human beings, you can have both the knowledge and ability to bring about a joyful and peaceful future.

But if you do not take advantage of it, you might fall into the experiences of confusion, fear, and pain in the bardos and the lives that are ahead of you.

So, without wasting any time, you must try to gain at least some spiritual knowledge, experience, and strength of opening, peace, joy, compassion, devotion, positive perception, and wisdom. These are the only source for the creation of meritorious karma and inner wisdom, which will improve this life and equip you to face the next bardos and your future lives.

You should also try to see and feel this life as a bardo experience, to see and feel that it is unreal, just like a dream fabricated by your mind. This will help you loosen the grip of your grasping and craving for this life.

In this way, when the dying and after-death bardo experiences come upon you, you will be able to see them as dreams, and will find them familiar and handle them with ease. For when you recognize dreams as dreams, the impact of nightmares becomes ineffective.

According to general Mahāyāna Buddhism, after securing a precious human life, first it is important to find a reliable, virtuous teacher. After finding one, you should learn the teachings, think about them thoroughly and gain experience in them through meditation.

It is important physically to renounce mundane life and to open your mind in an enlightened attitude to all with love, compassion, joy, and evenness, and to train in the six perfections: generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, contemplation, and wisdom.

Jigme Lingpa aspires:

In the bardo of life, may I obtain a spiritual life,

Please the Lama,

Rely on the wisdoms of learning, thinking, and meditation,

And train in renunciation, enlightened mind, and the six perfections.

Source:  Tulku Thondup. Edited by Harold Talbott. Enlightened Journey: Buddhist Practice as Daily Life. Boston and London: Shambhala Publications, 1995.

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