goeth to another place. He entereth thick darkness. He falleth down a steep precipice. He entereth into a jungle solitude. He is pursued by Karmic Forces. He goeth into the Vast Silence. He is borne away by the Great Ocean. He is wafted on the Wind of Karma. He goeth in the direc- tion where stability existeth not. He is caught by the Great Conflict. He is obsessed by the Great Afflicting Spirit. He is awed and terrified by the Messengers of the Lord of Death. Existing Karma putteth him into repeated existence. No strength hath he. He hath come upon a time when he hath to go alone.
O ye Compassionate Ones, defend (so-and-so) who is defence- less. Protect him who is unprotected. Be his forces and his kinsmen. Protect [him] from the great gloom of the Bardo. Turn him from the red [or storm] wind of Karma, Turn him from the great awe and terror of the Lords of Death. Save him from the long narrow passage-way of the Bardo.
O ye Compassionate Ones, let not the force of your com-
passion be weak; but aid him. Let him not go into misery
[or the miserable states of existence]. Forget not your ancient
vows; and let not the force of your compassion be weak.
O ye Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, let not the might of the
method of your compassion be weak towards this one. Catch
hold of him with [the hook of] your grace.’ Let not the
sentient being fall under the power of evil karma.
O ye Trinity, protect him from the miseries of the Bardo.”
Saying this with great humility and faith, let thyself and [all] others [present] repeat it thrice.
1 See p. 109%.
? It is interesting to compare with this Northern Buddhist prayer the following medieval Christian prayer, to Saint Michael, from The Craft to Know Weill to Die, chap. VI, Comper’s ed. (pp. 84-5): ‘Saint Michael Archangel of God, succour us now before the right high Judge. O champion invincible, be thou present now and assist thou this (Name), our brother, which strongly labourcth towards his end, and defend him mightily from the dragon infernal, and from all the frauds of the evil spirits. O yet furthermore, we pray thee, which art the right clear and much fair shower of the divinity, to the end that in this last hour of the life of this (Name), our brother, thou wilt benignly and swectly receive his soul into thy right holy bosom; and that thou wilt bring him in the place of refreshing, of peace and rest. Amen,’
Prayer for Guidance 199
(l:] (TE PATH OF GOOD WISHES FOR*SAVING
FROM THE DANGEROUS NARROW PASSAGE-
Way OF THE BARDO’
’ is [as follows]:
[1]
O ye Conquerors and your Sons, abiding in the Ten
Directions,
O ye ocean-like Congregation of the All-Good Conquerors,
the Peaceful and the Wrathful,
O ye Gurus and Devas, and ye Dakinis, the Faithful Ones,
Hearken now out of [your] great love and compassion :
Obeisance, O ye assemblage of Gurus and Déakinis ;
Out of your great love, lead us along the Path.
When, through illusion, I and others are wandering in the Sang sara,
Along the bright light-path of undistracted listening, reflection, and meditation,
May the Gurus of the Inspired Line lead us,
May the bands of Mothers be our rear-guard,
May we be saved from the fearful narrow passage-way of the Bardo,
May we be placed in the state of the perfect Buddhahood.
When, through violent anger, [we are] wandering in the Saugsara,
Along the bright light-path of the Mirror-like Wisdom,
May the Bhagavan Vajra-Sattva lead us,
May the Mother Mamaki be our rear-guard,
May we be saved from the fearful narrow passage-way of the Bardo,
May we be placed in the state of the perfect Buddhahood.
200 Tibetan Book of the Dead: Appendix
When, through intense pride, [we are] wandering in the Sangsara, Along the bright light-path of the Wisdom of Equality, May the Bhagavan Ratna-Sambhava lead us, May the Mother, She-of-the-Buddha-Eye, be our rear-guard, May we be saved from the fearful narrow passage-way of the Bardo, May we be placed in the state of the perfect Buddhahood.
When, through great attachment, [we are] wandering in the Sangsara, Along the bright light-path of the Discriminating Wisdom, May the Bhagavan Amitabha lead us, May the Mother, [She]-of-White-Raiment, be our rear-guard, May we be saved from the fearful narrow passage-way of the Bardo, May we be placed in the state of the perfect Buddhahood.
When, through intense jealousy, [we are] wandering in the Saugsara, Along the bright light-path of the All-Performing Wisdom, May the Bhagavan Amogha-Siddhi lead us, May the Mother, the Faithful Tara, be our rear-guard, May we be saved from the fearful narrow passage-way of the Bardo, May we be placed in the state of the perfect Buddhahood.
When, through intense stupidity, [we are] wandering in the Sangsara,
Along the bright light-path of the Wisdom of Reality,
May the Bhagavan Vairochana lead us,
May the Mother of Great Space be our rear-guard,
May we be saved from the fearful narrow passage-way of the Bardo,
May we be placed in the state of the perfect Buddhahood.
Prayer for Guidance 201
When, through intense illusion, [we are] wandering in the Sangsara,
Along the bright light-path of the abandonment of hallucina- tory fear, awe, and terror,
May the bands of the Bhagavans of the Wrathful Ones lead us,
May the bands of the Wrathful Goddesses Rich-in-Space be our rear-guard,
May we be saved from the fearful narrow passage-way of the Bardo,
May we be placed in the state of the perfect Buddhahood.
When, through intense propensities, [we are] wandering in the Sangsara,
Along the bright light-path of the Simultaneously-born Wisdom,
May the heroic Knowledge-Holders lead us,
May the bands of the Mothers, the Dé@kinis, be our rear-guard,
May we be saved from the fearful narrow passage-way of the Bardo,
May we be placed in the state of the perfect Buddhahood.
[10] May the ethereal elements not rise up as enemies ; May it come that we shall see the Realm of the Blue Buddha. May the watery elements not rise up as enemies; May it come that we shall see the Realm of the White Buddha. May the earthy elements not rise up as enemies ; May it come that we shall see the Realm of the Yellow Buddha. May the fiery elements not rise up as enemies; May it come that we shall see the Realm of the Red Buddha. 3069 Dd
202 Tibetan Book of the Dead: Appendix
May the airy elements not rise up as enemies;
May it come that we shall see the Realm of the Green Buddha.
May the elements of the rainbow colours not rise up as enemies ;
May it come that all the Realms of the Buddhas will be seen.
May it come that all the Sounds [in the Bardo] will be known as one’s own sounds;
May it come that all the Radiances will be known as one’s own radiances ;
May it come that the Z7vz-Kaya will be realized in the Bardo.
[III:] Here beginneth ‘THE ROOT VERSES OF Tit SAE S=.
[x] 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 77z-K aya be realized : Once that the human form hath been attained, * May there be no time [or opportunity] in which to idle it [or human life] 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 ;
» The Blue Buddha is Samanta-Bhadra; the White Buddha, Vajra-Sattva ; the Yellow Buddha, Ratna-Sambhava; the Red Buddha, Amitabha; the Green Buddha, Amogha-Siddhi. Herein Samanta-Bhadra occupies the position often given to Vairochana, both deities being in essence the same, although sometimes
Vairochana is depicted as being white in colour instead of blue. (Cf. the Bardo Thédol, the First to the Fifth Day.)
Prayer for Right-Knowledge 203
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 actual [or waking] experience be highly valued [by me].
O now, when the Dhyana Bardo upon me is dawning!
Abandoning the whole mass of distractions and illusions,
May [the mind] be kept in the mood of endless undistracted Samadhi,
May firmness both in the visualizing 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 hath 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 the Reality upon me is dawning, Abandoning all awe, fear, and terror of all [phenomena],
1 There is a very profound system of yoga in which the devotee’s aim is to enter the dream-state at will and carry on experiments therein in full conscious- ness of being in the dream-state, and then return to the waking-state with com- plete memory of the experience ; thereby is realized the unreality of both states— that both are merely illusory, being based wholly upon phenomena.
2 Or, ‘ May I enter into the bright space of undistractedness [and enlightening] teachings’,
204 Tibetan Book of the Dead: Appendix
May I recognize whatever appeareth as being mine own thought-forms,
May I know them to be apparitions in the Intermediate State;
[It hath becn said], ‘There arriveth a time when the chief turning-point is reached ;
Fear not the bands of the Peaceful and Wrathful, Who are thine 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 ;1
May the womb-door be closed and the revulsion recollected :
The hour hath 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 thinketh not of the coming of death, Devoting thyself to the useless doings of this life, Improvident art thou in dissipating thy great opportunity ; Mistaken, indeed, will thy purpose be now if thou returnest empty-handed [from this life]: Since the Holy Dharma is known to be thy true need, Wilt thou not devote [thyself] to the Holy Dharma even now ?’
[Epilogue]
Thus say the Great Adepts? in devotion.
If the chosen teaching of the gurz be not borne in mind,
Wilt thou not [O skzskya] be acting even as a traitor to
thyself ?
1 Lit., ‘{May I be able to] join with the remnants of good deeds by re-
peated effort’, (Cf. p. 135%.) ? Text: Grub-chen (pron. Dub-chen): Skt. Maha-siddhas.
Prayer for Protection 205
It is of great importance that these Root Words be known.
[IV :] Here beginneth
ite Path OF GOOD WISHES WHICH PRO- TEGVETH BROM FEAR IN THE LAKRDO’:
[1]
When the cast [of the dice] of my life hath become exhausted,
The relatives in this world avail me not;
When I wander alone by myself in the Bardo,
[O] ye Conquerors, Peaceful and Wrathful, exercising the
power of your compassion,
Let it come that the Gloom of Ignorance be dispelled.
When wandering alone, parted from loving friends,
When the shapes of mine empty thought-forms dawn upon me here,
{May the] Buddhas, exerting the power of their divine com- passion,
Cause it to come that there be neither awe nor terror in the Bardo.
When the bright radiances of the Five Wisdoms shine upon me now,
Let it come that I, neither awed nor terrified, may recognize them to be of myself;
When the apparitions of the Peaceful and Wrathful forms are dawning upon me here,
Let it come that I, obtaining the assurance of fearlessness, may recognize the Bardo.
When experiencing miseries, because of the force of evil karma,
Let it come that the Conquerors, the Peaceful and Wrathful, may dispel the miseries ;
206 Tibetan Book of the Dead: Appendix
When the self-existing Sound of Reality reverberates [like] a thousand thunders,
Let it come that they be transmuted into the sounds of the Mahayana Doctrines.?
When {I am] unprotected, [and] £armic influences have to be ~ followed here,
I beseech the Conquerors, the Peaceful and the Wrathful, to protect me;
When suffering miseries, because of the Zarmic influence of propensities,