Dying and The Bardos Collection

Dying and the Bardos
1
Advice for a Dying Practitioner
by Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpe Nyima
You will need to make preparations before the time comes to pass away. There are
many aspects to this, but I will not go into too much detail here. Briefly, then, this is
what you should do as you approach the time of death.
Think to yourself again and again: “Whether death comes sooner or later, ultimately
there is no alternative but to give up this body and all my possessions. This is just
how it is for the world as a whole.” Thinking along these lines, sever completely the
bonds of desire and attachment. Confess all the harmful actions you have committed
in this and all your other lives, as well as any downfalls or breakages of vows you
may have incurred, wittingly or unwittingly, and make repeated pledges never to act
in such a way in future.
Don't feel nervous or apprehensive about death. Try instead to raise your spirits and
cultivate a clear sense of joy, bringing to mind all the positive, virtuous things you
have done in the past. Without feeling any trace of pride or arrogance, celebrate your
achievements over and again. Dedicate all your merits and make repeated prayers of
aspiration, so that in all your future lives you may be able to take to heart the
complete path of the supreme vehicle, with the guidance of a virtuous spiritual
friend, and with qualities such as faith, diligence, wisdom and conscientiousness—in
other words, all the most perfect circumstances, both outer and inner. Pray too that
you never fall under the influence of evil companions or destructive emotions.
The texts of the Vinaya explain that one of the principal causes for taking a supreme
form of rebirth, as one who leads a disciplined life in the presence of the Buddha for
example, is to make prayers and aspirations at the moment of death. This is why it is
said that ‘whatever is the closest and whatever is the most familiar’ will have
tremendous power.1
Any aspirations you make should be given additional impetus by making determined
pledges such as this: “In all my lives, I will do all that I can to train on the path of
emptiness with compassion as its very essence!” To appreciate the importance of
this, consider how much more effective it is to say strongly to yourself, “I will wake
up early in the morning!” than simply to make the aspiration “May I wake up early.”
In order to accomplish more easily whatever prayers you have made or intentions
you have formed, it is profoundly beneficial to rely upon an embodiment of spiritual
power. Bring to mind therefore the one for whom you have the greatest devotion, or
to whom you feel the deepest connection through your practice, whether it is the
great and glorious master of Oḍḍiyāna, Guru Rinpoche, or Noble Avalokiteśvara, the
Lord of the World, and, with the confident trust that he or she is the embodiment of
2
all the precious sources of refuge, pray one-pointedly for the fulfilment of your
aspirations.
At the actual moment of death it will be difficult to gather sufficient strength of mind
to meditate on something new or unfamiliar, which is why you must choose an
appropriate meditation beforehand and train until you are familiar with it. Then, as
you pass away, you should devote your thoughts to the meditation as much as you
possibly can, whether it is remembering the Buddha, focusing on the feeling of
compassion, cultivating the view of śūnyatā, or remembering the Dharma or the
Sangha. In order for this to happen successfully, it is also important that you train
yourself beforehand to think, “From now on, as I pass through this critical juncture
of the time of death, I will not allow any negative thoughts to enter my mind.”
The saints of the past had a saying: “Better than plenty of virtuous activity done with
a dull and clouded mind is just a single day’s virtuous action done with mental
clarity.” As this says, if you practise all this having first made every effort to develop
a sense of inspiration and joy, it will be that much more effective.
Even though it is difficult for the likes of me to benefit others, I will recite the verses
of refuge and pray that in all your future lives you may follow the Mahāyāna
teachings.
Written by the one called Fearless (Jigme).
| Translated by Adam Pearcey, Rigpa Translations, 2006. Dedicated to the memory of Ian Maxwell.
1. In other words, the thoughts we have in the moments closest to death and
those we have grown most accustomed to in life will have the greatest
influence in determining our rebirth. ↩
3
༄༅། །ོང་ན་ིང་ག་་ཆ་ལག་གས་ེ་ན་པོ་ག་བལ་རང་ོལ་ི་གནས་འེན་
མ་ོལ་ལམ་བཟང་བགས་སོ། །
The Excellent Path to Perfect Liberation:
A Guidance Practice (Nedren) for the Dukngal Rangdrol (Natural Liberation of

Suffering) Practice of the Great Compassionate One from the Longchen Nyingtik
ན་མོ་་་ལོ་་་་།
namo guru lokeshvarayé
ལ་ན་མས་བེ་མ་རོལ་ན་རས་གགས། །
Embodiment of the love of all the buddhas, Avalokiteśvara,
གང་དང་མ་དེར་མ་མས་མེན་བེ་། །
Inseparable from whom was the divine Khyentse, wisdom and love,
ིང་དས་དད་བ་པོ་་སར་ེང་། །
Remain in the centre of my heart, upon the lotus of devotion,
འལ་ད་ག་པར་བགས་ལ་ིན་ིས་ོབས། །
Without ever parting, and grant your blessings, I pray!
་ཡང་གན་པོ་གས་ག་ོང་ེར་ནས། །
So that the deceased may find relief from the cities of the six realms,
བ་ན་ཐར་པ་་སར་དགས་དང་ིར། །
And reach the level of Great Bliss and liberation,
གནས་འེན་་ག་མ་ོལ་ལམ་བཟང་མག །
I shall set out the supreme practice of the Excellent Path to Perfect Liberation—
ེལ་ལ་ག་ན་པོས་ིན་ས་ོལ། །
May Padmapāṇi, the Holder of the Lotus, grant his blessing!
་ལ་ཐོག་མར་ག་བལ་རང་ོལ་ི། །་ག་དས་བན་འཛབ་བས་བོད་པ་བཅས། །བ་ེས་གས་ག་དལ་་

བ་ག་དང་། །ས་བོན་ག་བད་གཞན་ཡང་ོང་ཆས་དང་། །གས་ག་སོ་སོ་ལན་ཆགས་གཏོར་མ་ག །ས་མ་
དབང་ས་གར་ར་གས་བད་ནས། །གན་ི་ང་ང་ཆས་ན་ཟས་བོ་ས། །མ་ཚར་ད་པར་འ་་
བཤམས་་བཞག །
4
For this, first perform the practice of Dukngal Rangdrol ordinarily, reciting the mantra and praise. Then, establish
the six sages and the six seed syllables in the mandala, and arrange substances for purification, six tormas for the
karmic debts of the six realms, an ablution vase, and empowerment materials. They should all be well laid out. The
‘name card’ of the deceased and substances to dedicate as food, should also be arranged, with nothing missing.
་ནས་མས་བེ་ངང་ནས་འ་བན་བོད། །
Then, out of a state of loving kindness, recite the following:
ིཿ བདག་ད་གས་ེ་ན་པོ་ར་གསལ་བ། །
hrih, daknyi tukjé chenpö kur salwé
Hrīḥ. I appear clearly in the form of the Great Compassionate One.
གས་ཀ་ ིཿལས་འོད་ར་རབ་འོས་པས། །
tukké hrih lé özer rab tröpé
In my heart is the syllable Hrīḥ, from which there emanate rays of light,
་འདས་མ་ས་འག་ེན་བན་པོ་ལ། །
tsedé namshé jikten dünpö yul
Summoning the consciousness of the deceased, from the seven realms
གང་ལ་གནས་ང་བག་ེ་གགས་ལ་བིམ། །
gangla né kyang kuk té zuk la tim
Or wherever it may reside, so that it dissolves into this form.
ས་བསམ་ང་འན་ངས་ད་ོབས་ིས་བག །
Consider this and summon the consciousness through the force of undistracted samādhi.
ན་མོ། མག་གམ་་གམ་ན་འས་གས་ེ་། །
namo, chok sum tsa sum kündü tukjé lha
Namo! Deity of compassion, embodiment of the Three Jewels and Three Roots,
ག་བལ་རང་ོལ་ན་རས་གགས་དབང་ །
dukngal rangdrol chenrezik wang gi
Lord Avalokiteśvara, Natural Liberation of Suffering,
བན་པ་ོབས་ིས་་འདས་མ་ས་ཿ
denpé tob kyi tsedé namshé deh
Through the power of your truth, may the consciousness of the deceased
ར་བ་ད་་མཚན་ང་འ་ལ་ག །
nyurwa nyi du tsenjang di la khuk
Be brought swiftly into this tsenjang1!
ༀ་མ་་པེ་ྃ་ ིཿ
om mani padmé hung hrih
་ལས་འདས་པ་་་་ཡ་ཛ་ཛཿ 5
་ལས་འདས་པ་་་་ཡ་ཛ་ཛཿ
tsé lé depa am ku sha ya dza dza
3 times
མན་་ལ་བ་ལ་ིས་བག་བས་ར།
Then, gently, in the presence of the deceased, recite the following:
ིཿ འ་ང་ལས་ཐལ་་འདས་ོད་ན་ག །
hrih, dinang lé tal tsedé khyö nyön chik
Hrīḥ. You who have died and passed beyond, now listen well!
གས་ག་གར་ེས་ག་བལ་འན་ི་གནས། །
rik druk gar kyé dukngal dzin tri né
Wherever you are reborn among the six classes, it will only be a place of suffering.
་ལས་འདོན་ིར་གགས་ང་ད་ཆགས་ས། །
dé lé dön chir zuk ming yi chak dzé
To escape, remain securely in this material support for the three doors—
ོ་གམ་ེན་ས་འ་ལ་བན་པར་བགས། །
go sum tendzé di la tenpar shyuk
A form and name to which you are attached.
ྀཿཛཿྃ་བྃ་ཧོཿ །
nrih dza hung bam ho tishtentu
ས་བོད་བན་པར་བགས་ནས་ས་ཉན་མོས།
Recite this to secure the abiding. Then, consider that you explain the Dharma to the deceased who listens.
བགས་གཏོར་བསང་ངས་ིན་བས་ོན་འོ་། །
First, you need to cleanse, purify and bless the gektor.
ིཿ འར་བར་འར་་ལན་ཆགས་ཤ་མན་ས། །
hrih, khorwar khor tsé lenchak shakhön gyü
Hrīḥ. All you who are brought into being through karmic debt and enmity in saṃsāra,
བེད་པ་ཟ་འེ་་གད་ོག་གད་དང་། །
kyepé za dré shi shé sokchö dang
All you demons and executioners,
དགས་ན་གན་་བ་བ་གས་མས་ན། །
uk len shin du dzuwé rik nam kün
All you murderous spirits who prey on vital breath and steal the life force,
ད་འ་ལོངས་ལ་གཞན་་ངས་ག་ཕ ཿ 6
ད་འ་ལོངས་ལ་གཞན་་ངས་ག་ཕ ཿ
lü di long la shyendu deng shik phat
Take this ransom offering and go elsewhere!
ཚམ་མ་ག་པོས་གཏོར་མ་ིར་བཏང་ང་། །ྃ་བ་གས་དང་ག་གས་སོ་་གཤམ། །
Take a wrathful torma outside, and after the mantra of the Four Hūṃs and the 35 syllable wrathful mantra, recite:
ཟ་འེ་་གད་ཐམས་ཅད་་ཙཱ་ཡ་་ར་ཡ་ཕ ཿ
za dré shi shé tamché utsentaya maraya phat
ས་བོད་གན་འེ་ལ་བ་མོས་པ་དང་། །
Recite this and consider that deadly spirits have departed.
་འདས་ོ་གམ་ས་པས་འ་ད་ས། །་ང་གསོལ་བ་འབས་པ་དགས་འན་ིས། །
Request the deceased to recite the following while expressing respect through body, speech and mind, and pray with
focus:
ཧོཿ བས་གནས་ན་འས་་མ་ན་རས་གགས། །
ho, kyabné kündü lama chenrezik
Ho. Embodiment of all sources of refuge, Guru Avalokiteśvara,
བས་ད་བདག་སོགས་གས་ེས་བ་་གསོལ། །
kyabmé dak sok tukjé kyab tu sol
Through your compassion, protect those like me, who lack protection!
གས་ག་འར་བ་ག་བལ་་མཚོ་ལས། །
rik druk khorwé dukngal gyatso lé
Free us from the ocean of suffering in saṃsāra’s six realms!
བལ་ནས་ཐར་པ་མ་སར་ང་་གསོལ། །
dral né tarpé kam sar drang du sol
And lead us safely to the dry shores of liberation!
ལན་གམ་་ེས་་མ་ས༔
Repeat this three times. Then the lama says:
ྃ༔ ན་ག་་འདས་གས་ི་། །
hung, nyön chik tsedé rik kyi bu
Hūṃ! Listen, son or daughter of noble family, you who have departed this life,
ཐོབ་དཀ་་ས་ཐོབ་ལགས་ང་། །
tob ké milü tob lak kyang
Although you gained a human body so difficult to find,
་ག་འ་བ་དབང་བཙན་པས། ། 7
་ག་འ་བ་དབང་བཙན་པས། །
mi tak chiwa wang tsenpé
Through the unrelenting force of impermanence and death
མ་ས་ཕ་རོལ་གནས་་འམས། །
namshé parol né su khyam
Your consciousness now wanders in another place.
འས་ས་གགས་ང་ལ་་ས། །
düjé zukpung shul du lü
And your composite physical form has been left behind.
ལས་ངན་བག་ཆགས་ང་ས་བིབ། །
lé ngen bakchak lung gi drib
Buffeted by the winds of negative karma and habitual patterns,
དཀར་ནག་མ་ིན་ོན་ནས་ག །
karnak nammin ngön né guk
You are propelled by the ripening of pure and impure deeds,
གན་ེ་ཕོ་ཉས་དབང་ད་ིད། །
shinjé ponyé wangmé tri
Led helplessly by the messengers of Yama, Lord of Death
་འདོད་ངན་སོང་ིང་གམ་ོགས། །
mindö ngensong ling sum nyok
To the unwelcome destination of the three lower realms,
ག་བལ་བཟོད་དཀའ་ཡ་་ང་། །
dukngal zö ka yarenga
Where suffering is so terribly hard to bear!
་དག་རང་ས་ལས་འས་ན། །
dedak rang jé lé dré yin
These are the results of what you have done yourself.
དོན་ལ་འལ་ང་མ་བས་པས། །
dön la trulnang tu tepé
But know that in reality what appears to deluded perception,
ཐོ་ཡོར་་དང་ཐག་ར་ལ། །
toyor mi dang tak trar drul
Is like a heap of stones in the distance or a coloured rope,
འལ་ར་ང་བན་ས་མཛོད་ལ། ། 8
འལ་ར་ང་བན་ས་མཛོད་ལ། །
trul ngor nang shyin shé dzö la
And recognize it as it appears.
རང་ག་ངས་ད་ངང་ད་ལས། །
rangrig yengmé ngang nyi lé
From your own natural awareness, beyond distraction,
་དང་་མར་གསོལ་བ་ཐོབ། །
lha dang lamar solwa tob
Pray to the deity and the lama!
ལན་གམ་བོད་ང་་འདས་ིས། །བོད་པར་བསམ་ེས་ཨ་དར། །
Recite this three times, considering that the deceased recites it too.
མཚན་ང་ཤར་བ་བ་་ང་།
Then there is the ablution for the tsenjang:
ྃ། འ་་མས་དང་བེ་བ་འལ། །
hung, di ni jam dang tsewé trul
Hūṃ. Through the flowing water of the nirmāṇakāya’s manifest display,
ལ་་རོལ་ལ་་ན་ིས། །
tulkü roltsal chugyün gyi
The expression of loving kindness and affection,
ོད་ི་ང་ཁམས་ེ་མད་ི། །
khyö kyi pung kham kyemché kyi
May all the impurity and obscurations of your
མ་དག་ིབ་ཚོགས་དག་ར་ག །
ma dak drib tsok dak gyur chik
Aggregates, elements and sense-sources be cleansed and purified!
ༀ་མ་་པེ་ྃ།
om mani padmé hung
་འདས་ི་་འར་བ་ཐོག་མ་ད་པ་ནས་ས་གམ་ན་་ས་ི་ོ་ནས་བསགས་པ་ིག་ིབ་
ཐམས་ཅད་ས་ེ་ེ་་།
tsedé kyi tsé khorwa tokma mepa né dü sum küntu lü kyi goné sakpé dikdrib tamché
sarva shuddhé shuddhé soha
Let all the harmful actions and obscurations accumulated with the body throughout all the
deceased’s countless lifetimes in the past, present and future throughout beginningless
saṃsāra, all be purified! Sarva shuddhe shuddhe svaha!
ྃ། འ་་ན་བ་དིངས་ང་ལ། ། 9
ྃ། འ་་ན་བ་དིངས་ང་ལ། །
hung, di ni lhündrub ying nang tsal
Hūṃ. Through the flowing water of the unceasing saṃbhogakāya,
འགགས་ད་ལོངས་་་ན་ིས། །
gakmé longkü chugyün gyi
The expression of the spontaneously perfect, all-pervading space,
ོད་ི་མ་ས་ཚོགས་བད་ི། །
khyö kyi namshé tsok gyé kyi
May all the impurity and obscurations of your
Eight consciousnesses be cleansed and purified!
ༀ་མ་་པེ་ྃ་ ིཿ
om mani padmé hung hrih
ༀ་ྃ་ཾ་ ིཿཿ
om hung tram hrih ah
་འདས་ི་་འར་བ་ཐོག་མ་ད་པ་ནས་ས་གམ་ན་་ངག་་ོ་ནས་བསགས་པ་ིག་ིབ་
ཐམས་ཅད་ས་ེ་ེ་་།
tsedé kyi tsé khorwa tokma mepa né dü sum küntu ngak gi goné sakpé dikdrib tamché
Let all the harmful actions and obscurations accumulated with the speech throughout all
the deceased’s countless lifetimes in the past, present and future throughout beginningless
ྃ། འ་་ཀ་དག་ོས་ལ་གདངས། །
hung, di ni kadak trödral dang
Hūṃ. Through the flowing water of the youthful vase body,
གཞོན་་མ་་་ན་ིས། །
shyönnu bumkü chugyün gyi
The radiance of primordial purity beyond conceptual elaboration,
ོད་ི་ན་ེས་ན་བགས་ིས། །
khyö kyi lhenkyé küntak kyi
May all impurities and obscurations,
Both innate and acquired, be cleansed and purified!
10
ༀ་མ་་པེ་ྃ་ ིཿ ་་ན་དྷ་དྷ་ཿ
om mani padmé hung hrih | buddha jnana dharma dhatu ah
་འདས་ི་་འར་བ་ཐོག་མ་ད་པ་ནས་ས་གམ་ན་་ད་ི་ོ་ནས་བསགས་པ་ིག་ིབ་
ཐམས་ཅད་ས་ེ་ེ་་།
tsedé kyi tsé khorwa tokma mepa né dü sum küntu yi kyi goné sakpé dikdrib tamché
Let all the harmful actions and obscurations accumulated with the mind throughout all
the deceased’s countless lifetimes in the past, present and future throughout beginningless
་ར་གས་གམ་བས་པ་དང་། །ཆབས་ག་ལས་མ་་ས་བ། །
Recite the mantras three times in this way, and cleanse with the water of the activity vase (lébum).
་ནས་ག་དང་་བ་།
Then there is the expelling of the poisons:
ྃ། མ་ག་ལ་ང་འོད་་པོ། །
hung, marik tsalnang ö ngapo
Hūṃ. The five-coloured light that is the expression of ignorance,
བདག་ར་བང་ལ་རབ་འཐས་པས། །
dakgir zung la rab tepé
By solidifying that which is clung to as mine,
ི་ནང་འང་བ་་ག་ང་། །
chinang jungwa nga trak zung
The outer and inner five elements
ག་་ེ་མད་ེ་ལ་ི། །
duk ngé kyemché kyeyul gyi
Are like the mother and father who create
ཕ་མ་་བན་ར་པ་ག །
pama jishyin gyurpé duk
The objects which give rise to the five poisons.
་གས་ང་འན་རོལ་ལ་ིས། །
lha ngak tingdzin roltsal gyi
May this poison be expelled through the powerful play of deity, mantra and samādhi,
ག་ང་ག་་ིབ་ཚོགས་ན། །
duk chung duk ngé drib tsok kün
And all the obscurations of the five poisons
འང་བ་སོ་སོ་དིངས་་དག ། 11
འང་བ་སོ་སོ་དིངས་་དག །
jungwa sosö ying su dak
Be purified in the space of each respective element,
ག་འན་མཁའ་ར་ོང་ར་ག །
duk dzin kha tar tong gyur chik
So that any clinging to the poisons is eliminated and left like empty space!
ེ་མ་བ་ལ་ག་ག་མཐར།
Scatter flour. And add the following to the end of the six syllable mantra:
་འདས་ི་་འར་བ་ཐོག་མ་ད་པ་ནས་ས་གམ་ན་་ག་་ོ་ནས་བསགས་པ་ིག་
ིབ་ཐམས་ཅད་ས་ེ་ེ་་།
tsedé kyi tsé khorwa tokma mepa né dü sum küntu duk ngé goné sakpé dikdrib tamché
Let all the harmful actions and obscurations accumulated by means of the five poisons
throughout all the deceased’s countless lifetimes in the past, present and future
throughout beginningless saṃsāra, all be purified! Sarva shuddhe shuddhe svaha!
ང་་ས་གས་གམ་པོ་དང་། །འོག་་ག་ང་གས་དང་བཅས། །སོ་སོ་བས་་གམ་གམ་བ། །

The three ablution mantras above and the mantra for purifying the poisons given here should each be recited three
times at the appropriate juncture.
་ནས་གས་ག་གནས་འེན་། །མཚན་ང་མ་བན་ོ་བ་དང་། །གཏོར་མ་ག་ང་བཤམས་ནས་། །འོ་ག་

གས་ལ་མ་བན་འལ། །
Then there is the guidance practice of the six realms. For this, the tsenjang must be moved up at the various phases,
and the six tormas should be set out and offered in the proper sequence.
དང་པོ་དལ་བ་ིབ་ང་།
1. Purifying the Hells
ྃ། འདོད་པ་ཡོན་ཏན་་ན་པ། །
hung, döpé yönten ngaden pé
Hūṃ. This torma, complete with all the qualities that delight the senses,
གཏོར་མ་མ་ད་ན་ཚོགས་གར། །
torma khogu püntsok ter
A perfect treasure of all that is desirable,
་འདས་་ང་ལས་བསགས་པ། །
tsedé shyedang lé sakpé
I dedicate in order to purify all the karmic debts and enmity
ལན་ཆགས་ཤ་མན་ང་ིར་བོ། ། 12
ལན་ཆགས་ཤ་མན་ང་ིར་བོ། །
lenchak shakhön jang chir ngo
The deceased has accumulated and provoked through anger.
ན་མཿས་ཏ་་ག་ཏ་ཨ་ཝ་ལོ་་་ༀ་་བྷ་ར་་བྷ་ར་ྃ། །
namah sarva tathagata avalokité om sambhara sambhara hung
ས་བོད་གཏོར་མ་བོ་འལ་། །དལ་བ་བ་པ་དབང་བར་།
Reciting this, dedicate the torma and immediately bestow the empowerment of the sage of the hells:
ྃ། ་ང་མ་དག་འོ་འལ་ལ་པ་། །
hung, shyedang namdak drodul trulpé ku
Hūṃ. Nirmāṇakāya tamer of beings, anger’s utter purity,
དལ་བ་བ་པ་་་ག་མཚན་བམས། །
nyalwé tubpa mé chü chaktsen nam
Sage of the hells, holding fire and water as your emblems—
་འདས་གས་ི་་ལ་དབང་བར་བས། །
tsedé rik kyi bu la wangkurwé
By granting empowerment to the deceased, this child of noble family,
་བོད་ོ་ེ་གསང་གམ་དབང་ཐོབ་ཤོག །
mi kyö dorjé sang sum wang tob shok
May he/she gain the power of the secret body, speech and mind of Vajra Akṣobhya!
ༀ་་་་་། ༀ་ད་ཧ་ད་ཧ་ས་ན་རཀ་ག་་་ན་ྃ་ཕ །
om muneyé soha | om daha daha sarva narak gaté hetün hung phat
ས་བོད་་འདས་ི་མས་དང་རང་་མས། །བེ་བན་དལ་བ་དོང་ནས་གས་པར་བསམ་ང་།
Reciting this, consider that the mind of the deceased merges with your own mind and the hell realms are emptied
from their very depths.
ྃ། ན་ག་་འདས་ས་བེས་གས་ི་། །
hung, nyön chik tsedé lü jé rik kyi bu
Hūṃ. Listen, deceased one, you who have left the body, child of noble family,
མས་ད་བདག་ད་བདག་་བང་ོན་དང་། །
semnyi dakmé dak tu zung kyön dang
Through the fault of clinging to a self in the selfless nature of the mind,
ང་བ་གཞན་ད་གཞན་བང་ང་ན་འས། །
nangwa shyenmé shyen zung dang shyen dré
And an ‘other’ in appearances which are devoid of any other,
ཚ་ང་དལ་བ་ོད་བད་་་འགས། ། 13
ཚ་ང་དལ་བ་ོད་བད་་་འགས། །
tsadrang nyalwé nöchü shyé ré jik
Arises the terrifying inner and outer world—the environment and beings—of the hot and
cold hells.
དོན་ལ་རང་མས་འལ་པ་ན་པ་ིར། །
dön la rangsem trulpa yinpé chir
In reality, as this is but the delusion of your very own mind,
འལ་ང་ི་ལམ་སད་པ་གནས་བས་ར། །
trulnang milam sepé nekab tar
Know it to be deluded experience,
ས་པར་ིས་ལ་དལ་གནས་ང་བར་མཛོད། །
shepar gyi la nyal né pangwar dzö
And, like waking from a dream, abandon these infernal realms!
ས་བོད་མཚན་ང་གནས་ོ་བགས་གཏོར་བཏང་།
Recite this, transfer the tsenjang, and cast out the gektor.
2. Purifying the Preta Realm
་འདས་ར་ས་ལས་བསགས་པ། །
tsedé serné lé sakpé
The deceased has accumulated and provoked through greed.
ན་མཿས་ཏ་་ག་ཏ་ཨ་ཝ་ལོ་་་ༀ་་བྷ་ར་་བྷ་ར་ྃ།
ས་བོ་ཁ་འབར་དབང་བར་བ།
With this, dedicate the torma. Then, for the empowerment of ‘blazing mouth’ recite:
ྃ། ར་་མ་དག་འོ་འལ་ལ་པ་། ། 14
ྃ། ར་་མ་དག་འོ་འལ་ལ་པ་། །
hung, serna namdak drodul trulpé ku
Hūṃ. Nirmāṇakāya tamer of beings, the utter purity of greed,
་གས་བ་པ་ོམ་་ག་མཚན་ཅན། །
yidak tubpa drom bü chaktsen chen
Sage of the pretas, holding a casket as your emblem—
ང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་གསང་གམ་དབང་ཐོབ་ཤོག །
nangwa tayé sang sum wang tob shok
May he/she gain the power of the secret body, speech and mind of Amitābha!
ༀ་་་་་། ༀ་པ་ཙ་པ་ཙ་ས་ེ་ཏ་ཀ་ག་་་ན་ྃ་ཕ ཿ
om muné ksham soha | om pa tsapa tsa sarva pretaka gaté hé tün hung phat
ས་བོད་་གས་འར་བ་དོང་གས་བསམ།
Recite this and consider that the preta realms are emptied from their very depths.
ྃ། ན་ག་་འདས་ས་བེས་གས་ི་། །
བདག་ད་མ་གས་མ་ོགས་འལ་དབང་ས། །
dakmé nam nyi ma tok trul wang gi
Through the delusion of not recognizing the two forms of selflessness,
ར་་ལས་བསགས་་གས་ལ་་ེས། །
serné lé sak yidak yul du kyé
You accumulate deeds out of greed and are reborn in the preta realm,
བེས་ོམ་ག་བལ་བཟོད་དཀའ་ཡ་་ང་། །
trekom dukngal zö ka yarenga
Afflicted by the unbearable sufferings of hunger and thirst,
་ཡང་ི་ལམ་བས་ར་ས་མཛོད་ལ། །
deyang milam kab tar shé dzö la
Know this to be just like a dream!
ེ་ཏ་ལ་ོང་ཐར་ལམ་ང་ཁམས་ོགས། །
tré té yul pong tarlam shyingkham nyok
Abandon the land of the pretas and seek instead the path to liberation and pure realms!
15
ས་བོད་མཚན་ང་གནས་ོ་བགས་གཏོར་བཏང་།
3. Purifying the Animal Realm
་འདས་བལ་ོད་ལས་བསགས་པ། །
tsedé kolchö lé sakpé
The deceased has accumulated and provoked through stupidity.
ས་བོ་ད་འོ་བ་པ་དབང་བར་བ།
With this, dedicate the torma. Then, for the empowerment of the sage of the animals recite:
ྃ། ག་ག་མ་དག་འོ་འལ་ལ་པ་། །
hung, timuk namdak drodul trulpé ku
Hūṃ. Nirmāṇakāya tamer of beings, stupidity’s utter purity,
ད་འོ་བ་པ་པོ་་ག་མཚན་ཅན། །
düdrö tubpa poti chaktsen chen
Sage of the animals, holding a volume of the scriptures—
མ་པར་ང་མཛད་གསང་གམ་དབང་ཐོབ་ཤོག །
nampar nang dzé sang sum wang tob shok
May he/she gain the power of the secret body, speech and mind of Vairocana!
ༀ་་་་་། ༀ་མ་་མ་་ས་ ་ཀ་ག་་ྃ་ཕ ཿ

om muné drem soha | om ma ta ma ta sarva tiryaka gaté hung phat
16
ས་བོད་ད་འོ་འར་བ་དོང་གས་བསམ།
Recite this and consider that the animal realms are emptied from their very depths.
ྃ། ན་ག་་འདས་ས་བེས་གས་ི་། །
རང་་མ་ས་ོངས་པ་ལས་དབང་ས། །
rang ngoma shé mongpé lé wang gi
Through the karma of ignorance, not recognizing your own nature,
ོལ་སོང་ལ་ེས་ག་ག་ལས་ལ་ོད། །
jolsong yul kyé timuk lé la chö
You will be born among the animals and experience dullness of mind,
བལ་ོད་ག་བལ་བཟོད་དཀའ་བག་་ང་། །
kolchö dukngal zö ka bakré drang
And the unbearable sufferings of servitude and exploitation.
་ཡང་ཐག་ར་ལ་འན་ལས་ོག་ར། །
deyang tak trar drul dzin lé dok tar
Now, as if turning away from the perception of a coloured rope as a snake,
ད་འོ་ལ་ོང་ཡང་དག་ལམ་་ཤོག །
düdrö yul pong yangdak lam du shok
Abandon the animal realm and take up the genuine path!
ས་བོད་མཚན་ང་གནས་ོ་བགས་གཏོར་བཏང་།
4. Purifying the Asura Realm
་འདས་འཐབ་ོད་ལས་བསགས་པ། །
tsedé tabtsö lé sakpé
I dedicate in order to purify
ལན་ཆགས་ཤ་མན་ང་ིར་བོ། ། 17
All the karmic debts and enmity the deceased has accumulated and provoked through
rivalry.
ས་བོ་་ན་བ་པ་དབང་།
With this, dedicate the torma. Then, for the empowerment of the sage of the asuras recite:
ྃ། ག་དོག་མ་དག་འོ་འལ་ལ་པ་། །
hung, trakdok namdak drodul trulpé ku
Hūṃ. Nirmāṇakāya tamer of beings, jealousy’s utter purity,
་ན་བ་པ་རལ་ི་་ཆ་འན། །
lhamin tubpa raldri gocha dzin
Sage of the asuras, bearing sword and armour—
དོན་ཡོད་བ་པ་གསང་གམ་དབང་ཐོབ་ཤོག །
dönyö drubpé sang sum wang tob shok
May he/she gain the power of the secret body, speech and mind of Amoghasiddhi!
ༀ་་་ཾ་་། ༀ་་དན་ཁ་ཏ་ཁ་་་ྃ་ཕ ཿ
om muné srum soha | om biden khata kha tsindha tsindha hung phat
ས་བོད་་ན་འར་བ་དོང་གས་བསམ།
Recite this and consider that the asura realms are emptied from their very depths.
ྃ། ན་ག་་འདས་ས་བེས་གས་ི་། །
ན་ེས་ན་བགས་མ་བས་་ེན་ི། །
lhenkyé küntak tu té gyukyen gyi
Based on the fully developed forms of ignorance, both innate and acquired,
ག་དོག་འན་འན་ལས་ིས་འཕངས་པ་འོ། །
trakdok khöndzin lé kyi pangpé dro
Acting out of jealousy and rivalry creates karma that impels beings,
་ན་ལ་ེས་འཐབ་ོད་བཟོད་དཀའ་ཡང་། ། 18
་ན་ལ་ེས་འཐབ་ོད་བཟོད་དཀའ་ཡང་། །
lhamin yul kyé tabtsö zö ka yang
So that they take birth in the asura realm, where conflict is unbearable.
ལ་ཁ་ཐོ་ཡོར་ར་འལ་སངས་པ་བན། །
lakhé toyor mir trul sangpa shyin
Now, as if clearing away the mistaken perception of a heap of stones as a man,
་ན་ལ་ངས་མ་དག་ང་ཁམས་ོགས། །
lhamin yul pang namdak shyingkham nyok
Abandon the asura realm, and seek instead the heavenly realms of total purity!
5. Purifying the Deva Realm
་འདས་ང་ལ་ལས་བསགས་པ། །
tsedé ngagyal lé sakpé
The deceased has accumulated and provoked through pride.
ན་མཿས་ཏ་་ག་ཏ་ཨ་ཝ་ལོ་་་་བྷ་ར་་བྷ་ར་་བྷ་ར་ྃ།
namah sarva tathagata avalokité sambhara sambhara sambhara hung
ས་བོ་་་བ་པ་དབང་།
With this, dedicate the torma. Then, for the empowerment of the sage of the devas recite:
ྃ། ང་ལ་མ་དག་འོ་འལ་ལ་པ་། །
hung, ngagyal namdak drodul trulpé ku
Hūṃ. Nirmāṇakāya tamer of beings, the utter purity of pride,
་་བ་པ་་ཝང་ག་མཚན་ཅན། ། 19
་་བ་པ་་ཝང་ག་མཚན་ཅན། །
lha yi tubpa piwang chaktsen chen
Sage of the devas, holding a vina as your emblem—
ན་ན་འང་ན་གསང་གམ་དབང་ཐོབ་ཤོག །
rinchen jungden sang sum wang tob shok
May he/she gain the power of the secret body, speech and mind of Ratnasambhava!
ༀ་་་་་། ༀ་ས་་ཁ་ས་ཀ་་་ྃ་ཕ ་་།

om muné trem soha | om sarva sukha sarva karma tsindha tsindha hung phat soha
ས་བོད་་འར་བ་དོང་གས་བསམ།
Recite this and consider that the deva realms are emptied from their very depths.
ྃ། ན་ག་་འདས་ས་བེས་གས་ི་། །
ན་ག་མ་ས་གཞན་དབང་ར་པ་ས། །
künshyi namshé shyenwang gyurpa yi
Through the power of being influenced by the all-ground consciousness,
ང་ལ་ངས་མས་ལས་ལ་ོད་འས་ིས། །
ngagyal khengsem lé la chö dré kyi
And carrying out actions based on pride and arrogance,
་ལ་ེས་ནས་འཕོ་ང་ལ་སོགས་ི། །
lha yul kyé né po tung lasok kyi
You will be born in the deva realm and suffer the unbearable torment
ག་བལ་བག་པར་དཀའ་ཡང་་མ་འལ། །
dukngal nakpar ka yang gyumé trul
Of death and transmigration and the like,
ག་་་ལ་འན་པ་ོང་མཛོད་ལ། །
shyik té lha yul dzinpa bong dzö la
So, as if dispelling an illusion, abandon the deva realm!
མ་མེན་ཡང་དག་ལམ་་འདོངས་པར་ིས། །
namkhyen yangdak lam du dongpar gyi
And take up the genuine path leading to omniscience!
20
6. Purifying the Human Realm
་འདས་ག་་ི་དང་། །
tsedé duk nga chi dang ni
ད་པར་འདོད་ཆགས་ལས་བསགས་པ། །
khyepar döchak lé sakpé
The deceased has accumulated and provoked through the five poisons in general,
And especially through desire.
ས་བོ་་བ་པ་དབང་།
With this, dedicate the torma. Then, for the empowerment of the sage of the Śākyas recite:
ྃ། འདོད་ཆགས་མ་དག་འོ་འལ་ལ་པ་། །
hung, döchak namdak drodul trulpé ku
Hūṃ. Nirmāṇakāya tamer of beings, jealousy’s utter purity,
་་བ་པ་གག་གཤང་ང་བད་བམས། །
mi yi tubpa sek shang lhungzé nam
Sage of the human beings, holding the mendicant’s staff and alms bowl—
གས་ེ་ན་པོ་གསང་གམ་དབང་ཐོབ་ཤོག ། 21
གས་ེ་ན་པོ་གསང་གམ་དབང་ཐོབ་ཤོག །
tukjé chenpö sang sum wang tob shok
May he/she gain the power of the secret body, speech and mind of the Great
Compassionate One!
ༀ་་་ཾ་་། ༀ་ྀ་་ཤ་་ཥ་་་ྃ་ཕ ཿ
om muné sum soha | om nri bi sha mu sha tsindha tsindha hung phat
ས་བོད་་་འར་བ་དོང་གས་བསམ།
Recite this and consider that the human realms are emptied from their very depths.
ྃ། ན་ག་་འདས་ས་བེས་གས་ི་། །
ོ་་མ་ས་ལ་་ེས་འང་བས། །
go ngé namshé yul ngé jé drangwé
As a result of the five sensory consciousnesses pursuing objects of the senses,
ཚོགས་ག་ལ་ལ་ཆགས་ང་ས་འས་ིས། །
tsok druk yul la chakdang jé dré kyi
And generating attachment and aversion for the six sense objects,
་ལ་ེས་ནས་ག་བལ་བ་གག་ལ། །
miyul kyé né dukngal chuchik la
You will be born in the human realm and constantly undergo the eleven types of
suffering, so difficult to bear.
ག་་ོད་པ་བཟོད་དཀ་གནས་ན་ང་། །
taktu chöpa zö ké né yin kyang
Instead, by realizing that this is like seeing your own shadow
རང་ིབ་མཐོང་་་ད་དར་བང་བ། །
rang drib tong tsé denyi drar zungwa
And taking it for an enemy,
་བན་ོགས་ར་ངར་འན་ོང་མཛོད་ལ། །
jishyin tok tar ngardzin pong dzö la
Abandon clinging to self,
ག་ན་པ་་སར་ེབས་པར་ཤོག །
chak na pemé gosar lebpar shok
And arrive at the level of Padmapāṇi!
་ནས་གན་པོར་དབང་བར་། །ཡན་ལག་བད་པ་ཚོགས་བསགས་།
Then, when bestowing empowerment on the deceased, the eight branch practice is as follows:
22
ན་མོ། མག་གམ་་གམ་་བོ་ད། །
namo, chok sum tsa sum ngowo nyi
Namo. Actual embodiments of the Three Jewels and Three Roots,
ག་བལ་རང་ོལ་་ཚོགས་ལ། །
dukngal rangdrol lhatsok la
Deities of the Natural Liberation of Suffering,
ག་འཚལ་བས་མ་ས་ཚོགས་བཤགས། །
chaktsal kyab chi nyé tsok shak
To you I prostrate! In you I take refuge! To you I confess all faults!
མད་ཚོགས་ན་འལ་ས་འར་བོར། །
chö tsok kün bul chökhor kor
I make offerings and implore you to turn the Dharma Wheel,
ད་ར་་རང་ག་བན་བགས། །
getsar yi rang takten shyuk
I rejoice in all sources of virtue and beseech you to remain.
བསོད་ནམས་འོ་ལ་ཕན་ིར་བོ། །
sönam dro la pen chir ngo
And I dedicate all merit for the benefit of beings.
ས་བོད་དལ་ི་ཤར་ོ་། །དབང་ེགས་པ་འདབ་བད་ལ། །་འདས་མན་མ་ར་གསལ་ལ། །ག་དར་

གདབ་ང་གས་འ་བོད། །
Recite this and consider that the deceased appears clearly at the eastern gate of the mandala, on an eight-petalled
lotus upon a raised platform. Attach the blindfold and recite this mantra:
ༀ་ཙ་བྷ་ཝ་ར་མ་ན་་་།
om tsakshu bhenda wa rama na yé soha
་ཏོག་གས་འས་གཏད་པར་། །
With this mantra, you cast the flower.
ༀ་་ཾ་ི་ར་ྃ།
om a kham wi ra hung
ༀ། རང་ང་མ་དག་འོག་ན་ང་། །
om, rangnang namdak womin shying
Om. In the Akaniṣṭha pure land that is the inherent purity of my own perception,
ག་བལ་རང་ོལ་ཕོ་ང་འར། །
dukngal rangdrol podrang dir
Within the palace of the Natural Liberation of Suffering
23
བདག་་ིན་པར་འཚལ་ལགས་ན། །
dak ni minpar tsal lak na
As I request the ripening of empowerment,
གས་ེ་ན་པོས་བདག་བས་མཛོད། །
tukjé chenpö dak kyab dzö
May the Great Compassionate One be my refuge!
ལན་གམ་གསོལ་བཏབ་དལ་ོ་དེ།
Pray like this three times and open the doors to the mandala.
ྃ། དོན་ི་འོག་ན་ོ་ོང་བ། །
hung, dön gyi womin go kyongwa
Hūṃ. Guardians of the doors to the ultimate Akaniṣṭha,
ཚད་ད་བ་ན་་བ་པོ། །
tsemé shyiden lhashyi po
Four deities who possess the four boundless qualities,
གས་ེས་མས་ཅན་དོན་མཛད་ིར། །
tukjé semchen dön dzé chir
So that you may work for beings’ welfare,
་ས་ན་པོ་ོ་ེས་ག །
yeshe chenpö go ché shik
Let the doors to great wisdom be opened!
ས་བོད་དིལ་འར་་ཚོགས་མས། །མན་མ་མཇལ་བ་མོས་འན་ིས། །གན་པོས་འ་ར་བོ་བར་

བསམ། །
Recite this, and consider that the deceased repeats the following with the aspiration to meet the deities face to face:
ོགས་བ་ལ་བ་ས་བཅས་ི། །
chok chü gyalwa sé ché kyi
Embodiment of all the buddhas of the ten directions and their heirs,
ི་གགས་འཕགས་མག་གས་ེ་གར། །
chizuk pakchok tukjé ter
Sublime and noble Avalokiteśvara, treasury of compassion,
ག་བལ་རང་ོལ་དིལ་འར་ར། །
dukngal rangdrol kyilkhor lhar
Natural Liberation of Suffering—in the deities of this mandala,
བདག་་ས་པས་བས་་མ། ། 24
བདག་་ས་པས་བས་་མ། །
dak nigü pé kyab su chi
With devotion I take refuge.
ད་བེན་ད་ལ་ད་ོང་དང་། །
genyen getsul gelong dang
All the vows and commitments of the lay practitioner, monk or nun,
ང་མས་གས་ི་བབ་ོམ་གས། །
changsem ngak kyi lab dom rik
And of the bodhisattva and the mantra practitioner—
མ་ས་བདག་ས་ཡོངས་་བང་། །
malü dak gi yongsu zung
All of them, without exception, I shall uphold.
ལན་གམ་གདབ་ེས་་ས་དབབ།
Recite this three times and then invoke the wisdom deities:
་ལས་འདས་པ་ད་ག་ས། །
tsé lé depa kechik gi
In a single instant the deceased appears clearly
འཕགས་པ་ར་གསལ་གནས་གམ་། །
pakpé kur sal né sum du
In the form of the noble Avalokiteśvara,
ག་འ་གམ་ིས་མཚན་པ་ལས། །
yikdru sum gyi tsenpa lé
With three syllables at the three centres,
འོད་འོས་་ས་་་ཚོགས། །
ö trö yeshe lha yi tsok
From which light radiates out,
ན་ངས་གན་པོ་ར་གསལ་བར། །
chendrang shinpo lhar salwar
Invoking the hosts of wisdom deities, who dissolve into the deceased in deity form,
དེར་ད་་མ་རོ་གག་ར། །
yermé duma ro chik gyur
And become inseparable, of a single taste.
་་ག་མ་གས་ཤམ་།
To the end of the six-syllable mantra add the following:
 ་ལོ་་་ར་་ན་བ་ཨ་་ཤ་ཡ་ཨ་ཨ། 25
 ་ལོ་་་ར་་ན་བ་ཨ་་ཤ་ཡ་ཨ་ཨ།
arya lokeshvara jnana benza abeshaya a a
་ས་དབབ་ང་བན་བགས་། ་བ་སོགས་བོད་ང་།
For the descent of the wisdom deities and ensuring their stable presence, recite tistha benza
etc.
དལ་་་ཏོག་དོར་བ་།
Then, casting the flower on the mandala:
ྃ། ེན་འེལ་ས་ི་་ཏོག་འ། །
hung, tendrel dzé kyi metok di
Hūṃ. This flower of auspicious substance
དིལ་འར་་ལ་འལ་ལགས་ན། །
kyilkhor lha la bul lak na
Is offered to the deities of the mandala.
ོན་ནས་ལས་འོ་གང་ཡོད་པ། །
ngön né letro gang yöpé
May it fall on the special deities with whom
ག་པ་་ར་འབབ་པར་ཤོག །
lhakpé lha der babpar shok
There is a karmic connection from the past!
ེ་་ི་་ཧོཿ
pupé pratitsa ho
་ཏོག་གང་བབ་་དང་། །མངས་ང་བཏགས་ང་ག་དེ་བ།
Confer a name corresponding to whichever deity the flower fell upon, and then perform the ‘opening of the eyes’:
ྃ། ག་དར་མ་ག་ང་ཏོག་མཚོན། །
hung, mik dar marik ling tok tsön
Hūṃ. The blindfold represents the cataracts of ignorance.
གས་ེ་ན་པོ་གར་ར་ིས། །
tukjé chenpö ser tur gyi
Through the golden utensil of great compassion,
་ས་ན་་དེ་བི་ན། །
yeshe chen du yé gyi na
Let the eyes of wisdom be opened,
རང་ང་་ཞལ་མཇལ་བར་ཤོག ། 26
རང་ང་་ཞལ་མཇལ་བར་ཤོག །
rangjung lha shyaljalwar shok
So that the face of the naturally arising deity is encountered!
་ན་ཙ་་་ཤ་ཡ་ཕ ཿ
jnana tsakshu prabeshaya phat
་ནས་་ཞལ་བན་པ་།
Then the deity’s face is revealed:
ྃ། ན་ག་ལ་ན་གས་ི་། །
hung, nyön chik kalden rik kyi bu
Hūṃ. Listen! Fortunate child of noble family,
ོས་ག་མན་ི་དལ་ལ་ོས། །
tö shik dün gyi dal la tö
Look! Look at the mandala before you!
མཚན་མ་ས་ི་དིལ་འར་འ། །
tsenma dzé kyi kyilkhor di
This mandala of material substance
འོག་ན་ལ་པ་ང་ཁམས་། །
womin trulpé shyingkham té
Is the nirmāṇakāya pure land of Akaniṣṭha,
གས་ེ་ན་པོ་དིལ་འར་ན། །
tukjé chenpö kyilkhor yin
The mandala of the Great Compassionate One.
དོན་ལ་རང་མས་མ་འལ་པ། །
dön la rangsem matrulpé
In reality, it is the essence, nature and compassionate energy
་བོ་རང་བན་གས་ེ་གམ། །
ngowo rangshyin tukjé sum
Of your own undeluded mind,
གས་ེ་ན་པོར་ན་ིས་བ། །
tukjé chenpor lhün gyi drub
Spontaneously present as the Great Compassionate Avalokiteśvara.
་མ་ོགས་པ་་དམ་། །
dé matokpé yidam lha
Know that there is no other yidam deity
ལོགས་ན་ད་དོན་ས་པར་མཛོད། ། 27
ལོགས་ན་ད་དོན་ས་པར་མཛོད། །
lok namé dön shepar dzö
Aside from this realization.
ༀ་མ་་པེ་ྃ་ ིཿ ཨ་ཨ་ཨཿ
om mani padmé hung hrih | a a ah
ས་བོད་མཉམ་གཞག་ངས་ད་། །
Recite this and remain in meditative equipoise without distraction.
་ནས་མ་དབང་བར་བ་།
1. The Vase Empowerment
ༀ། ི་ར་མ་པ་ོད་བད་ན། །
om, chitar bumpa nöchü den
Oṃ. Outwardly the vase and its contents,
ནང་ར་ག་ན་པོ་། །
nangtar chak na pemo yi
Inwardly the flowing nectar of the compassion
གས་ེ་བད་ི་་ན་ིས། །
tukjé dütsi chugyün gyi
Of Padmapāṇi, the Holder of the Lotus—
་འདས་ས་ལ་དབང་བར་བས། །
tsedé lü la wangkurwé
By bestowing this empowerment on the body of the deceased,
ལ་པ་་་ིན་པར་ཤོག །
trulpé ku ru minpar shok
May it ripen as the nirmāṇakāya!
་གས་ཤམ་་འ་བཏགས་བས།
Add the following to the root mantra and recite it:
་ཡ་ཨ་་་ༀ།
...kaya abhikintsa om
གང་གས་ི་དབང་བར་བ་།
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གང་གས་ི་དབང་བར་བ་།
2. The Mantra Empowerment of Enlightened Speech
ཿ ི་ར་ས་་་ང་། །
ah, chitar sa chu mé lung dra
Āḥ. Outwardly the sound of earth, water, fire and wind,
ནང་ར་འོ་བ་གས་ག་ད། །
nangtar drowa rik druk ké
Inwardly the languages of the six classes of beings,
གསང་བ་ལ་ན་གང་གསང་དོན། །
sangwa gyal kün sung sang dön
Secretly the secret speech of all the buddhas,
་་བན་པར་འས་པ་དབང་། །
yigé dünpar düpé wang
The empowerment that is contained within the seven syllables—
་འདས་ངག་ལ་དབང་བར་བས། །
tsedé ngak la wangkurwé
By bestowing this empowerment on the speech of the deceased,
ལོངས་ོད་ོགས་ར་ིན་པར་ཤོག །
longchö dzok kur minpar shok
May it ripen as the saṃbhogakāya!
་གས་ཤམ་ར་འ་ད་བཏགས།
་ཨ་་་ཿ
...waka abhikintsa ah
གས་ོ་ེས་དབང་བར་།
3. The Vajra Empowerment of Enlightened Mind
ྃ། མཚན་མ་ས་ི་ོ་ེ་འ། །
hung, tsenma dzé kyi dorjé di
Hūṃ. This material substance of the vajra
ལ་ན་གས་ི་མཚོན་ེད་། །
gyal kün tuk kyi tsönjé dé
Symbolizes the enlightened mind of all the buddhas—
29
་འདས་མས་ལ་དབང་བར་བས། །
tsedé sem la wangkurwé
By bestowing this empowerment on the mind of the deceased,
ས་ི་་་ིན་པར་ཤོག །
chö kyi ku ru minpar shok
May it ripen as the dharmakāya!
་གས་ཤམ་ར་འ་ད་བཏགས།
་ཨ་་་ྃ།
...tsitta abhikintsa hung
་ར་དབང་བར་ོགས་ེས་། །འདོད་ཡོན་ཟས་གཏད་འ་བན་།
Following the completion of the empowerment, dedicate sensual delights and food in the following way:
མན་་ན་པོ་་་ོད། །
dündu rinpoche yi nö
Before you, in a precious vessel
ཡངས་ང་་་ངས་ན་པ། །
yang shing gyaché drang denpé
Vast and expansive, are all manner of foodstuffs
ནང་་་དང་་སོགས་ི། །
nang du lha dang mi sok kyi
Numerous enough to be eaten
བཟའ་བཅའ་ག་གབ་ལ་སོགས་ཟས། །
zacha dak shyib lasok zé
By gods, human beings and the rest,
ཇ་ཆང་འོ་ཞོ་ལ་སོགས་ོམ། །
ja chang o shyo lasok kom
As well as tea, alcohol, milk, curd and other forms of drink—
འཛད་ད་ད་བན་གར་་ར། །
dzemé yishyin ter du gyur
An inexhaustible treasury fulfilling each and every wish.
ནམ་མཁའ་མཛོད་ི་གས་་བཅས། །ལན་གམ་བབས་ེས་འ་ར་བོ།
Reciting the sky-treasury mantra and performing the mudrā, bless the substances three times and dedicate them in
the following manner:
ྃ། ཁ་ཟས་རོ་མག་བ་ན་པ། ། 30
ྃ། ཁ་ཟས་རོ་མག་བ་ན་པ། །
hung, khazé ro chok gya denpé
Hūṃ. Supremely delicious food with a hundred flavours,
བཟའ་བ་ཟས་དང་བང་བ་ོམ། །
zawé zé dang tungwé kom
The very best of food and drink,
བ་བ་ས་དང་ཡོ་ད་ས། །
gowé gö dang yojé dzé
The finest clothes to wear and material things,
་ཟད་གར་་ིན་བབས་ནས། །
mizé ter du jinlab né
Are all blessed as an inexhaustible treasure
་འདས་ོད་ལ་བོས་པ་ས། །
tsedé khyö la ngöpa yi
And dedicated to you, the deceased.
དབང་པོ་ག་དང་རབ་མན་པ། །
wangpo druk dang rab tünpé
Through this, may you gain a perfect treasure of delight,
སོ་སོ་ལོངས་ོད་ན་ཚོགས་གར། །
sosö longchö püntsok ter
Perfectly suited to every sensory desire,
བོས་པ་་བན་ཐོབ་ར་ནས། །
ngöpa jishyin tob gyur né
Just as I have dedicated.
འལ་་དགའ་བ་རོས་མ་ང་། །
tral du ga dé rö tsim shying
May you be satisfied by the experience of happiness and bliss,
མཐར་ག་མ་དག་སར་ོད་ཤོག །
tartuk namdak sar chö shok
And ultimately arrive at the state of total purity!
ས་བོད་གར་བཏང་ེམས་གཏོར་ནས། །
Reciting this, send out the burnt offerings (sur) and liquid offerings.
ས་ེན་་ལ་འ་བན་འལ།
To the physical support visualized as the deity, perform the offering:
ྃ། ང་ཁམས་ེ་མད་དབང་ལ་བཅས། ། 31
ྃ། ང་ཁམས་ེ་མད་དབང་ལ་བཅས། །
hung, pung kham kyemché wang yul ché
Hūṃ. To the deities of the mandala of the three seats,
གདན་གམ་ཚང་བ་དིལ་འར་ར། །
den sum tsangwé kyilkhor lhar
Together with the objects, aggregates, elements and sense-sources,
ཡོན་་འལ་ལོ་ཡོངས་བས་ནས། །
yön du bul lo yong shyé né
We offer these gifts—accept them all!
ཚོགས་ོགས་ིབ་ང་་་། །
tsok dzok drib jang ku nga yi
May the accumulations be perfected and the obscurations purified!
དཔལ་ལ་ལོངས་ོད་མ་ཐོབ་ཤོག །
pal la longchö tu tob shok
And may you gain the power to enjoy the splendour of the five kāyas!
ས་དང་མར་ས་གསལ་ས་ལ།
Having lit a butter lamp, recite:
ྃ། ་ས་་ན་ོན་་འ། །
hung, yeshe ngaden drönmé di
Hūṃ. May this lamp of the five wisdoms—
་བོ་ོང་ང་རང་བན་གསལ། །
ngowo tong kyang rangshyin sal
Empty in essence, yet by nature clear,
གས་ེ་ལ་གས་མ་འགགས་པས། །
tukjé tsalshuk magakpé
And the expressive power of its compassion unceasing—
་འདས་མ་ག་ན་པ་ག །
tsedé marik münpé mak
Dispel the thick darkness of ignorance in the deceased,
བསལ་ནས་་གམ་ང་མཐོང་ཤོག །
sal né ku sum shying tong shok
So that he/she may see the realms of the three kāyas!
་ནས་གནས་ར་།
32
་ནས་གནས་ར་།
The Transference
ྃ། ་འདས་་ོད་གས་པར་ན། །
hung, tsedé bu khyö lekpar nyön
Hūṃ! Deceased one, son or daughter of noble family, listen well!
མག་དམན་འར་བ་གནས་གས་ན། །
chok men khorwé né rik kün
All the realms of samsara, high or low,
ག་བལ་གམ་ི་ི་ན་། །
dukngal sum gyi trimün du
Are like dungeons of the three sufferings,
མ་ད་་ཡང་ད་ས་ིར། །
ma tsü su yangmé ngé chir
In which all are imprisoned—this is certain.
མ་ཆགས་མ་ན་མས་མག་བེད། །
ma chak ma shyen sem chok kyé
So do not grasp! Do not be attached! But generate the supreme resolve.
འ་ནས་བ་ི་ོགས་རོལ་ན། །
di né nub kyi chok rol na
To the west of here there lies
བ་ིད་ལོངས་ོད་ན་ཚོགས་གནས། །
dekyi longchö püntsok né
A place of perfect happiness and enjoyment,
ག་བལ་ང་ད་བ་ན་ང་། །
dukngal mingmé dechen shying
Where even the name of suffering is unknown, a land of great bliss,
་ན་མན་པོ་་མཐའ་ཡས། །
dé na gönpo tsé tayé
Wherein dwells the Lord of Boundless Life,
གཡས་ན་འཕགས་པ་ན་རས་གགས། །
yé na pakpa chenrezik
To his right is noble Avalokiteśvara,
གཡོན་ན་མ་ན་ཐོབ་ལ་སོགས། ། 33
གཡོན་ན་མ་ན་ཐོབ་ལ་སོགས། །
yön na tuchen tob lasok
And to his left, the mighty Vajrapāṇi,
སངས་ས་ང་མས་དཔག་ད་ིས། །
sangye changsem pakmé kyi
All of them surrounded by countless buddhas and bodhisattvas.
བོར་བ་་སར་འོ་བར་ོས། །
korwé gosar drowar jö
Go there to that place!
ོད་ི་མས་ད་་་ ིཿ
khyö kyi semnyi yigé hrih
Your mind itself is the syllable Hrīḥ.
ར་མདའ་་བན་ར་བོད་ལ། །
karda jishyin nyur kyö la
Swiftly now it moves, like a shooting star.
ང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་གས་ོང་། །
nangwa tayé tuk long du
And in the expanse of Amitābha’s wisdom mind,
དེར་ད་རོ་གག་འེས་པར་ར། །
yermé ro chik drepar gyur
Merges indivisibly, of a single taste.
ས་པས་ ཿི ིཿ ིཿབོད་མཐར། །
hrih hrih hrih
Recite Hrīḥ three times and then:
ཕ ་ཕ ་ཕ ཿ གམ་བོད་པ་ས། །
phat phat phat
Three times.
་གམ་དིངས་་མ་པར་མོས། །
Consider that the consciousness dissolves in that realm of the three kāyas.
་ནས་་འདས་ང་ང་། །མ་ག་ང་ས་བན་པ་ེན། །ན་མོངས་བད་ི་བེན་པ་ས། །ཀ་དག་ན་

བ་ས་བེག་ེ།
Then the name card of the deceased, the support produced by the two forms of ignorance, a physical support for the
84,000 destructive emotions is burnt in the flames of primordial purity and spontaneous presence.
ྃ། ཀ་དག་ོས་ལ་་ཐབ་། ། 34
ྃ། ཀ་དག་ོས་ལ་་ཐབ་། །
hung, kadak trödral metab tu
Hūṃ. In the fireplace of primordial purity beyond conceptual elaboration,
རང་ང་་ས་་ར་བས། །
rangjung yeshe mé barwé
The fire of naturally arising wisdom is alight,
མཚན་མ་མ་ོག་ད་ང་ན། །
tsenmé namtok büshing kün
And the wood and kindling of conceptual thought
ག་ད་མཛོད་ག་་ལ་། །
lhakmé dzö chik dzala ram
Are consumed without trace: dzala ram!
ན་མོངས་་ས་་ལ་བེགས། །
nyönmong yeshe mé la sek
The destructive emotions are burned in the fire of wisdom,
བདག་གས་བདག་ད་དིངས་་བེགས། །
dak nyi dakmé ying su sek
The two forms of self are incinerated in the space of selflessness,
ན་ག་མ་ག་གས་དང་བཅས། །
künshyi marik nyi dangché
The ālaya and the two forms of ignorance
གཞོན་་མ་་ོང་་བེགས། །
shyönnu bumkü long du sek
Are burnt away in the expanse of the youthful vase body,
འར་བར་ོག་ད་་ས་གདབ། །
khorwar dokmé gya yi dab
And the seal of never falling back into saṃsāra is applied.
གདོད་མ་ོལ་ག་མན་ར་ནས། །
dömé drol shyi ngöngyur né
Having actualized the primordial ground of liberation,
མཐའ་ཡས་འོ་དོན་ཡོངས་འབ་ཤོག །
tayé dro dön yongdrub shok
May the welfare of limitless beings be accomplished!
ས་བོད་གངས་གས་ིས་ངས་མཐར། །ོས་ལ་དིངས་་མཉམ་པར་བཞག །
35
Recite this and purify with dhāraṇīs and mantras. At the end, rest in meditative equipoise in all-pervading space
beyond conceptual elaboration.
་ར་གས་བདག་་མ་ེ། །དངས་གར་ག་བལ་རང་ོལ་ི། །གནས་འེན་མ་ོལ་ལམ་བཟང་འ། །་

མ་སངས་ས་ས་འལ་ིས། །ཡང་ཡང་བལ་ར་་ལ་བ། །འགས་ད་ིན་ལས་འོད་ར་ིས། །ིས་འས་
མན་ད་གན་པོ་ཚོགས། །མ་མེན་ཐོབ་པ་ར་ར་ག །དའོ།། །།
This Excellent Path to Perfect Liberation, a guidance practice (nedren) for the Natural Liberation of Suffering
(Dukngal Rangdrol), a mind treasure of my guru, the lord of all buddha families, was written by Jikme Trinle Özer
in response to the repeated requests of Lama Sangye Chöpel. May it be a cause for all those who have died and who
lack protection to attain omniscience!
Rigpa Translations, 2014.
1. ↑ Tsenjang – an effigy, photograph or name card.
36
A Wondrous Instruction for the Moment of Death
by Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen
To the guru and the protector Mañjughoṣa, I pay homage!
First take refuge in the Three Jewels,

Then cultivate bodhicitta, awakening-mind,
Visualize Amitābha before you,
And pay homage and make offerings to him.
These are the preliminaries.
Generate conviction that your misdeeds have been purified.

Let go of all forms of attachment.
And with a mind lacking any fear of death,
Practice the meditation on Amitābha.
This is the main part.
Amitābha melts and dissolves into you,

So that you take on his essential nature.
Dedicate the virtue to sentient beings.
Then train in this all over again.
This is the conclusion.
Illness and harmful influences will not arise,

And at the time of death there'll be no suffering.
In the bardos you'll be cared for by the buddhas.
And thereafter you will attain liberation.
These are the benefits.
This wondrous instruction for the moment of death,

According to the teachings of the noble Sakya guru and his sons,
Was set down in brief form by the glorious Sakya Paṇḍita.
Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2016.
37
Meditation on Amitābha
by Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen
To the guru and Mañjughoṣa, I pay homage!
From the Good Actions:
When the time comes for me to die,

Let all that obscures me fade away, so
I look on Amitābha, there in person,
And go at once to his pure land of Sukhāvatī.
In that pure land, may I actualize every single one
Of all these aspirations!
Using this statement as a basis, I shall here explain a meditation on Amitābha.
When going to sleep at night, lie down on your right side and practise taking refuge
and generating bodhicitta. Imagine that the place you are in is the pure-land of
Sukhāvatī, and visualise yourself as your yidam deity. Consider that before you, on a
lotus and moon-disc is Amitābha, red in colour, with his two hands in the mudrā of
equanimity and holding an alms-bowl filled with amṛta-nectar. His legs are crossed
and he is adorned with various jewelled ornaments. Imagine that he is surrounded by
gurus, and, beyond them, buddhas and bodhisattvas. Mentally perform three
prostrations, and recite three times either the seven-branch practice from the Prayer
of Good Actions or, if you do not have that, the Ten Dharmic Actions prayer which I
composed.
Then, as you breathe out, consider that your own mind dissolves into the Buddha's
heart, merging with it inseparably. As you breathe in, consider that light emanates
from the Buddha's heart, and, following the pathway of your speech, dissolves into
your heart, so that the buddha's wisdom-mind merges inseparably with your own
mind. Repeat this process three times.
Then, at the end, consider that the buddhas and bodhisattvas dissolve into the gurus.
The gurus then dissolve into Amitābha. Amitābha, in turn, melts into light and
dissolves into you. You too melt into light, imagining that the Buddha, yidam deity
and your own mind all merge together inseparably. Recite the following prayer of
aspiration:
In this fine and joyful maṇḍala of the buddhas,

Born there in a beautiful lotus flower,
In that excellent and joyous buddha realm,
May the Buddha Amitābha himself
Grant me the prophecy foretelling my enlightenment!
38
Fall asleep in that state, without allowing your attention to wander elsewhere.
As a result of this practice, in future, you will leave your body behind, like a snake
shedding its skin, to be reborn miraculously from a lotus in the western pure-land of
Sukhāvatī, where you will receive Dharma teachings from Amitābha, as explained in
the Ratnakūṭa Sūtra.
This meditation on Amitābha was composed by the Lord of Dharma, Sakya Paṇḍita.
39
༁ྃ༔ བར་དོ་ག་་་ག་ས་་བ་བགས་སོ༔
The Root Verses on the Six Bardos

From the terma of Karma Lingpa
ཻ་མ༔ བདག་ལ་ེ་གནས་བར་དོ་འཆར་ས་འར༔
kyé ma dak la kyé né bar do charwé dü dir
Kyema! Now when the bardo of this life is dawning upon me,
་ལ་ལོངས་ད་་ལོ་ངས་ས་ནས༔
tsé la long mé lelo pang ché né
I will abandon laziness for which life has no time,
ཐོས་བསམ་ོམ་གམ་མ་ངས་ལམ་ལ་འག༔
tö sam gom sum ma yeng lam la juk
Enter, undistracted, the path of study, reflection and meditation,
ང་མས་ལམ་བོང་་གམ་མན་ར་༔
nang sem lam long ku sum ngön gyur cha
Making perceptions and mind the path, and realize the three kāyas;
་ས་ལན་གག་ཐོབ་པ་ས་ཚོད་འར༔
mi lü len chik tobpé dü tsö dir
Now that for once I have attained a human body,
ངས་མ་ལམ་ལ་ོད་པ་ས་ཚོད་ན༔
yeng ma lam la döpé dü tsö min
This is not the time to remain in the ways of distraction.
ཻ་མ༔ བདག་ལ་ི་ལམ་བར་དོ་འཆར་ས་འར༔
kye ma dak la milam bardo char dü dir
Kyema! Now when the bardo of dreams is dawning upon me,
ག་ག་རོ་ཉལ་བག་ད་ངས་ས་ནས༔
timuk ro nyel bakmé pang ché né
I will abandon the heedless, corpse-like sleep of ignorance,
ན་པ་ངས་ད་གནས་གས་ངང་ལ་འག༔
drenpa yeng mé neluk ngang la jok
And settle the mind in its natural state without distraction;
ི་ལམ་བང་ནས་ལ་བར་འོད་གསལ་ངས༔ 40
ི་ལམ་བང་ནས་ལ་བར་འོད་གསལ་ངས༔
milam zung né trül gyur ösel jang
Recognizing dreams, I will train in transformation and clear light,
ད་འོ་བན་་ཉལ་བར་མ་ེད་ག༔
düdro shyin du nyelwar ma ché chik
I must not simply slumber like an animal,
གད་དང་མན་མ་འེས་པ་ཉམས་ན་གས༔
nyi dang ngönsum drepé nyamlen ché
But combine sleep with realization—this is crucial.
ཻ་མ༔ བདག་ལ་བསམ་གཏན་བར་དོ་འཆར་ས་འར༔
kye ma dak la samten bardo char dü dir
Kyema! Now when the bardo of samādhi is dawning upon me,
མ་གངས་འལ་པ་ཚོགས་མས་ངས་ས་ནས༔
nam yeng trülpé tsok nam pang ché né
I will abandon all forms of distraction and delusion,
ངས་ད་འན་ད་མཐའ་ལ་ངང་ལ་འག༔
yeng mé dzin mé tadrel ngang la jok
And rest in the infinite state that is free of distraction and grasping;
བེད་ོགས་གས་ལ་བན་པ་ཐོབ་པར་༔
kyé dzok nyi la tenpa tobpar cha
Gaining stability in the two stages: generation and perfection,
་བ་ངས་ནས་ེ་གག་བོམ་ས་འར༔
chawa pang né tsé chik gom dü dir
At this time of single-pointed meditation, having given up activity,
ན་མོངས་འལ་བ་དབང་་མ་བཏང་ག༔
nyön mong trülpé wang du ma tang shyik
I must not fall under the sway of afflictions and delusion.
ཻ་མ༔ བདག་ལ་འ་ཁ་བར་དོ་འཆར་ས་འར༔
kye ma dak la chikha bardo char dü dir
Kyema! Now when the bardo of dying is dawning upon me,
ན་ལ་ཆགས་མས་ན་འན་ངས་ས་ནས༔ 41
ན་ལ་ཆགས་མས་ན་འན་ངས་ས་ནས༔
kun la chak sem shyen dzin pang ché né
I will abandon all grasping, yearning, and attachment,
གདམས་ངག་གསལ་བ་ངང་ལ་མ་ངས་འག༔
dam ngak salwé ngang la ma yeng juk
Enter, undistracted, a state in which the instructions are clear,
རང་ག་ེ་ད་ནམ་མཁ་དིངས་་འཕོ༔
rang rik kyé mé namkhé ying su po
And transfer my own awareness into the sphere of unborn space;
འས་ས་ཤ་ག་ས་དང་ལ་ལ་ཁད༔
düché sha trak lü dang dral la khé
As I am about to leave this compound body of flesh and blood,
་ག་་མ་ན་པར་ས་པར་༔
mi tak gyuma yinpar shepar cha
I will know it to be a transitory illusion.
ཻ་མ༔ བདག་ལ་ས་ད་བར་དོ་འཆར་ས་འར༔
kye ma dak la chönyi bardo char dü dir
Kyema! Now when the bardo of dharmatā is dawning upon me,
ན་ལ་ངས་ག་འགས་ང་ངས་ས་ནས།
kun la ngang trak jik nang pang ché né
I will abandon all fear and terror,
གང་ཤར་རང་ང་ག་པར་་ས་འག༔
gang shar rang nang rigpar ngo shé juk
Recognizing whatever appears as the natural display of awareness,
བར་དོ་ང་ལ་ན་པར་ས་པར་༔
bardö nang tsul yinpar shepar cha
I will know it to be the way this bardo unfolds;
དོན་ན་འགགས་ལ་ག་པ་ས་ག་འོང༔
dön chen gak la tukpé dü shik ong
Now that I have reached this momentous, crucial point,
རང་ང་་ོ་ཚོགས་ལ་མ་འགས་ག༔
rang nang shyi trö tsok la ma jik shik
I will not fear these natural manifestations, the peaceful and wrathful deities.
42
ཻ་མ༔ བདག་ལ་ིད་པ་བར་དོ་འཆར་ས་འར༔
kye ma dak la sipa bardo char dü dir
Kyema! Now when the bardo of becoming is dawning upon me,
འན་པ་ེ་གག་མས་ལ་བང་ས་ནས༔
dünpa tsé chik sem la zung ché né
I will concentrate my mind with single-pointed determination,
བཟང་པོ་ལས་ི་འོ་ལ་ནན་ིས་མད༔
zang po lé kyi tro la nen gyi tü
Strive to prolong the results of good karma,
མངལ་ོ་བགག་ནས་་ལོག་ན་པར་༔
ngal go gak né ru lok drenpar cha
Close the entrance to rebirth, and try to keep from being reborn.
ིང་ས་དག་ང་དས་པ་ས་ག་ན༔
nying rü dak nang göpé dü shik yin
This is the time when perseverance and pure perception are required;
ག་ར་ོངས་ལ་་མ་ཡབ་མ་བོམ༔
mikser pong la lama yabyum gom
Abandon jealousy, and meditate on the master and consort.
འ་བ་འོང་ོམས་ད་པ་ོ་ང་པོ༔
chiwa ong nyom mepé lo ringpo
With mind far off and no thought of impending death,
དོན་ད་་འ་་བ་བབས་བབས་ནས༔
dön mé tsé di chawa drup drup né
Performing the meaningless activities of this life,
ད་ས་ོང་ལོག་ས་ན་ན་་འལ༔
daré tong lok ché na shintu trül
To return empty-handed now would be utterly deluded;
དས་་ས་པ་དམ་པ་་ས་ན༔
gö ngo shepa dampé lha chö yin
Recognize what is needed: the sacred Dharma,
ད་་ད་་་ས་་ེད་དམ༔ 43
ད་་ད་་་ས་་ེད་དམ༔
data nyi du lha chö mi ché dam
Why not practise it now, at this very moment?
བ་ན་་མ་ཞལ་ནས་འ་ད་གངས༔
drupchen lamé shyal né di ké sung
The great accomplished gurus have said:
་མ་གདམས་ངག་མས་ལ་མ་བཞག་ན༔
lamé damngak sem la ma shyak na
If you do not keep in mind your master's instructions
རང་ས་རང་ད་བ་བར་་འར་རམ༔
rang gi rang nyi luwar mi gyur ram
Are you not deceiving yourself?
བར་དོ་ཐོས་ོལ་ི་་ག་འ༔ འར་བ་མ་ོངས་བར་་མ་ོགས་སོ༔
May these root verses of Liberation Upon Hearing in the Bardo remain until saṃsāra itself is emptied.
| Translated by Rigpa Translations, 2016, with reference to earlier versions, especially that of Chögyam Trungpa
Rinpoche and Francesca Freemantle.
44
Crucial Advice: A Complete Set of Instructions for
the Bardos
by Longchen Rabjam
At the feet of the sacred master, respectfully I pay homage!
Although you have gained this life of freedom and advantage, it will not last,
So keep in mind these instructions for the moment of death.
Now, during this intermediate period of the bardo of this life,

Decide, with complete certainty, that the wisdom of your own awareness is
dharmakāya,
And sustaining the ongoing experience of its self-radiance, the meditation which is
naturally clear,
Everything will only enhance naturally arising wisdom!
During the bardo of dying, when the four elements dissolve,

There will be the illusory experiences of rising and falling, shaking, and haziness.1
And the dissolution of earth, water, fire, wind and space.
The sense faculties too will cease to function. At that time, remind yourself:
“Now I am dying, but there is no need to fear.”
Examine: “What is death? Who is dying? Where does dying take place?”
Death is merely the return of borrowed elements.
In the face of rigpa itself, there is no birth or death.
Within the very form2 of the dharmakāya of primordial purity, the union of rigpa
and emptiness,
Examine: “What is death? Who is dying? Where does dying take place?”
As dying exists nowhere, it is absolutely unreal.
In the experience of this, generate courage and confidence.
The arising of rigpa is not obstructed in any way.
Earth, water, fire, wind and consciousness dissolve into space.
When space dissolves into pure luminosity,
The six consciousnesses dissolve into the basis of all, the dharmadhātu,
As awareness parts from the inanimate, there is an experience of pure awareness,
devoid of phenomena.
Separated from the ordinary mind, the great primordial purity of dharmakāya dawns.
Through having recognized this here and now in training,
You will be freed directly, in a single instant.
And gain the dharmakāya of twofold purity.
This is how it dawns, but should you fail to recognize it,

Thereafter, clear light appearances—manifestations of the ground—will arise.
45
Sounds, lights and colours, peaceful and wrathful ones filling the sky,
By recognizing all these appearances as rigpa's self-radiance,
You will be freed in the original state, and attain awakening.
It is crucial, therefore, to recognize everything as intrinsic radiance.
Through recognizing the essence, you will gain enlightenment.
This is how it all arises, but should you fail to recognize it,
The dream-like bardo of becoming will dawn.
At that time, by recalling a pure land,
And taking refuge in the lama and the yidam deity,
Some will find freedom in a pure buddha paradise,
And some will gain the seven qualities of birth in a higher realm,
And be assured of gaining liberation in the next life.
Therefore, this most profound essence of instructions,

Which is like placing buddhahood in the palm of the hand,
Will delight the fortunate children of my heart.
This the yogin of the Natural Great Perfection,
Longchen Rabjam Zangpo, has set down.
Through this virtue, may all beings, equal to the vastness of space,
Become fully enlightened within the primordial realm!
This complete instruction for the dying, a secret, unsurpassed introduction, was
composed by the heir of the victorious ones, Drimé Özer, in response to the requests of
devoted disciples, in the isolated hermitage of Khothang Rinchen Ling.
| Translated by Adam Pearcey, Rigpa Translations, 2010. With many thanks to Alak Zenkar Rinpoche
and Patrick Gaffney. Tulku Thondup Rinpoche's Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth (Shambhala, 2005)
contains a partial translation of this text, which in Tibetan is called bar do'i gdams pa tshangs sprugs su
gdab pa gnad kyi man ngag.
1. Phya phyo signifies a major sensation of up and down movement. Yam yom is a
major sensation of shaking to and fro. Ban bun means blurred or hazy. (Alak
Zenkar Rinpoche) ↩
2. Its very form is no form. (Alak Zenkar Rinpoche) ↩
46
A Brief Introduction to the Bardos
by Patrul Rinpoche
Generally, whenever physically embodied beings die, they first experience the
twenty phases of coarse dissolution, which are as follows:
1. As the aggregate of form dissolves, the limbs twitch, and the body loses its
strength and power.
2. As the mirror-like wisdom dissolves, the mind grows unclear and hazy.
3. As the earth element dissolves, the body grows dry.
4. As the eye faculty dissolves, sight becomes unclear and the eye takes on a
rounder shape.
5. As the object form dissolves, the body loses its vitality and weakens.
6. As the aggregate of sensations dissolves, the dying person can no longer

detect feelings.
7. As the wisdom of equality dissolves, there is no longer any awareness of

the three types of sensation (i.e., pleasant, painful or neutral).
8. As the water element dissolves, the lips, sweat, urine, semen and ovum all
dry up.
9. As the ear faculty dissolves, external and internal sounds can no longer be
heard.
10. As the object sound dissolves, the sounds of the body itself can no longer
be heard.
11. As the aggregate of perception dissolves, it is no longer possible to

distinguish between different creatures.1
12. As the wisdom of discernment dissolves, the dying person forgets the
names of his or her own parents, siblings or children.
13. As the fire element dissolves, proper digestion of food is no longer

possible.
14. As the nose faculty dissolves, upper respiration2 slows.
47
15. As the object smell dissolves, the person can no longer detect the odours
of their own body.
16. As the aggregate of formations dissolves, the person is unable to carry out
physical activities.
17. As the all-accomplishing wisdom dissolves, the person can no longer

remember ordinary mundane tasks or their purpose.
18. As the wind element dissolves, the ten internal winds shift from their
usual locations.
19. As the tongue faculty dissolves, the tongue feels thicker and shorter than
usual and turns blue at its base.
20. As the object taste dissolves, the person can no longer detect the six kinds
of taste.
Following the twenty coarse forms of dissolution, which unfold in this way, comes
the process of subtle inner dissolution:
As earth dissolves into water, the person is unable to move the body and can no
longer maintain its strength.3 It feels as if the body is sinking into the ground. As an
inner sign, there is a shimmering expanse of blue, and the impression of softly
drizzling rain and flowing water.
As water dissolves into fire, the mouth and nostrils dry up, and the tongue becomes
lodged against the palate. As an inner sign, there is an appearance of a smoky haze
swirling on a plain.
As fire dissolves into wind, the body loses heat in its extremities, and the stomach’s
digestive energy grows weaker. As an inner sign, shimmering red sparks crackle and
flicker like fireflies.
As wind dissolves into consciousness, exhalations become longer, and, as the coarse
outer breathing ceases, the person is unable to inhale. As an inner sign, there is a
vision of a burning lamp, and many torches arranged in a row.
As consciousness dissolves into space, as an inner sign, awareness is very clear, and
as an outer sign, there is an experience like the sky devoid of clouds.4
Then, as space dissolves into luminosity, four visions gradually unfold:
1. The white essence obtained from the father descends from the crown, and
when it reaches the heart there is what is called ‘appearance’. As an outer
sign, this is accompanied by an experience of whiteness, as when
48
moonlight fills a completely clear sky that is entirely free from clouds. As
an inner sign, there is a clear experience of the self-clarity of
consciousness devoid of any coarse thought states focused on perceived
objects.
2. As the subtle red element of the mother ascends from the base of the
central channel, the wisdom of appearance fades into ‘increase’. As an
outer sign, a red vision unfolds like a cloudless sky pervaded by sunlight.
As an inner sign, there is an extremely clear state of mind devoid of any
coarse thought states focused on the perceiving subject.
3. As the subtle white and red essences meet at the heart, the wisdom of
increase dissolves into ‘attainment’. Through this, as an outer sign, there
is an experience of blackness, like the thick darkness which falls when the
sky turns completely black. As an inner sign, extremely subtle thoughts
involving perceived objects and perceiving subject become completely
absent, and all distinct concepts based on the appearance aspect of mind
fade away, so that, as the ordinary dualistic mind ceases, the wisdom of
attainment dawns.
4. When the the subtle essences of blood and breath, the bindus A and
HAṂ5 and so on, which are inside the white, silken thread-like channel in
the heart, all dissolve completely, the ground luminosity of the moment of
death arises. As an outer sign, there is an experience of emptiness and
clarity without centre or periphery, like a cloudless sky when it is
completely clear. As an inner sign, you remain in co-emergent, non-
conceptual wisdom that is entirely without elaboration. If, having
recognized this, you can settle into an ongoing experience of the present
moment, mother and child luminosities will meet together, and you will be
liberated in the first bardo.
In this context, empty luminosity is explained according to the general approach of

the tantras, whereas how the forms of the deities arise out of clear light, how the
tikles of light and so on appear are explained in the Dzogchen tantras. Nevertheless,
it would seem to be rare for these to unfold in a way that provides an opportunity for
liberation.6
Next, out of the luminosity into which the three visions dissolved, appearances
unfold gradually once again, and the body of the bardo of becoming is formed. For
the first half of this bardo, however long that might be, you have the form of your
preceding life, and for the second half you take on the appearance of your eventual
rebirth. All sensory faculties are intact, and you can travel anywhere but the
mother’s womb, miraculously and without obstruction. You are invisible to all except
those of the same class (i.e. other bardo beings) and those who have obtained divine
49
vision. Since you have taken on something like a body in a dream, for example,
which is generated in an instant, and knows neither light nor complete darkness, this
is known as the ‘bardo of semi-darkness’.
It is difficult at this time to realize that you have died, so certain indications that you
are in the bardo have been taught. For instance, you do not see the sun or moon
when looking into the sky, and you leave no footprints and cast no shadow.
All manner of experiences, both positive and negative, arise at this stage, as a result
of both good and bad karma. In particular, there are the four so-called ‘fear-inducing
sounds’, which are:
the sound of a mountain collapsing, which comes from earth prāṇa,

the sound of waves crashing in the ocean, which comes from water prāṇa,
the sound of fire ravaging a forest, which comes from fire prāṇa, and
the sound of a thousand simultaneous claps of thunder, which comes from
wind prāṇa.7
The so-called ‘three terrifying abysses’ are the three white, red and black abysses
which are the spontaneous forms of the three poisons. When seeing them and falling
into them, you enter the womb.
This is also the stage at which you undertake a search for a birthplace, feel craving
for a home and a body, and so on. Various visions, which are indications of the
entrance to a birthplace can occur, with appearances such as wheels of light, caves,
empty hollows, male and female animals, male and female human beings and so on.
At these times, the crucial points of practice are as follows:
At first, when you are certain that you are going to die, you must cut all ties and
attachment to this life. Confess from the depths of your heart any downfalls and
breakages of samaya, harmful actions and so on. Devote not even so much as a single
moment to feeling guilty about your own negative actions, fearing death, or being
attached to this life. Instead, feel happiness and joy, and say to yourself: “Now I shall
recognize the clear light at death. Or, if that is not possible, since I shall certainly use
the bardo as an opportunity to travel to a pure realm such as Akaniṣṭha,
Zangdokpalri or Sukhāvatī, I shall be joyful.” Maintain, without ever letting it slip
away, the strong intention and thought “I shall travel to the pure realms!”
Gently, in a relaxed way, as you settle into an experience of whichever practice is the
clearest and most vivid for you, let go of the constituents of this life. Since you will
be unable to practise any unfamiliar pith instructions, rely only on those practices
which are clearest for you at the moment. These two points—settling into a practice
in this way, and aspiring to travel to a pure land such as Zangdokpalri—are
unsurpassable. In particular, it is absolutely crucial that you repeatedly form the
50
intention to travel to the pure land of your choosing. It is exceptionally important to
understand that even now, both day and night, you must never let go of this thought.
| Translated by Adam Pearcey, Rigpa Translations, 2010. With gratitude to Alak Zenkar Rinpoche, who
kindly clarified many points of the text.
1. Literally “there is no awareness of bipeds and other creatures.” ↩
2. This is the same as the ‘supporting wind’ ('degs byed kyi rlung). Alak Zenkar
Rinpoche ↩
3. ངས་་བ། zungs refers to something like the body’s vital constituents. As an

indication of their degeneration, the person can no longer support themselves
and remain upright. Alak Zenkar Rinpoche ↩
4. The text may be incorrect here and the outer and inner signs confused. ↩
5. A (ཨ) and HAṂ () here symbolize the white essence received from the father
(an upside-down HAṂ) and the red essence received from the mother (A),
which meet at the heart. ↩
6. In other words, for most people this process of subtle dissolution unfolds so
quickly it is almost impossible to recognize. ↩
7. In Tsele Natsok Rangdrol’s Mirror of Mindfulness (dran pa'i me long) these are
referred to as the ‘four enemies’ (dgra bzhi), indicating there has been some
confusion at some point over the homophonic syllables sgra/dgra. ↩
51
Extensive Instructions on the Transference of
Consciousness to the Land of Great Bliss
From the Namchö Wisdom-Mind Treasure

by Karma Chakme, aka Rāga Asya
Guru Deva Ḍākinī Hūṃ!
What follows is a commentary on Transference to the Land of Great Bliss, which is

part of the secondary literature connected with the Land of Great Bliss (bde chen
zhing) sādhana from the cycle of the profound aural lineage of the Namchö wisdom-
mind treasure.
To tell a little of the history of this teaching, “The Chronicle of the King”, which is
one of The Five Chronicles, says that at the end of time, thirty-three vidyādharas,
lords of secret mantra, will appear. In the prophecy of their supreme enlightenment,
it is written:
In the buddhafield of Śākya[muni] known as Do Kham1 , a yogi who practises

the secret mantra of the Great Vehicle, a lord of mantra, Dorje Drakpo, will
appear. Having transferred from there, he will perform vast activities. In the
northern direction of this three thousand-fold world-system in the pristine
buddhafield known as Forest of Sandalwood, he will become a tathāgata, a
guide to beings, an unsurpassable teacher nurturing a gathering of three-
thousand, the victorious one known as Jñāna Samantabhadra (Yeshe
Kunzang).
Thus, the nirmāṇakāya known as Mingyur Dorje, who was foretold in many
treasures, such as the prophecy just cited, is the essential embodiment in a single
emanation of both the great lotsāwa Vairotsana and Shüpu Palseng. And in the
future he will become the buddha Jñāna Samantabhadra.
While performing the deeds of a bodhisattva, at the age of thirteen, on the seventh
day of Saga Dawa2 in the year of the Golden Pendant (hemalamba, i.e., 1657)3 he
actually saw the face of Buddha Amitābha and his two attendants, their bodies as
vast as mountains and immeasurable in their splendour. At that time, he received
directly the sādhana of the Land of Great Bliss, the method for seeing the Land of
Great Bliss in dreams, the longevity sādhana of Amitāyus, the transference of
consciousness to the Land of Great Bliss, the prayer for the Land of Great Bliss, the
aspiration for the Land of Great Bliss, and the empowerment for the Land of Great
Bliss. Then, that evening, having once again seen the face of Buddha Amitābha and
his retinue, he was given both the prayer for dream yoga and the oral instructions.
52
All of this is reminiscent of the following statement from the Bodhisattva Piṭaka:
Bodhisattvas, who remain devoted in this way, are recognized by all the
buddhas, the transcendent conquerors, as fit vessels for the Dharma.
Appearing before them, the Buddhas perfectly reveal to them the bodhisattva
path.
Even though there are many traditions for the transference of consciousness in the
school of Early Translations and the New Schools, this is a very recent lineage, one
still warm with the speech of Amitāyus, and is therefore especially blessed.
Moreover, the Precious Master of Oḍḍiyāna said:
I, the Lotus-born, and those like me

Have, for the sake of lazy yogis,
Revealed the instruction on transference.
Distracted practitioners may have received profound teachings on the Great

Perfection and the like, but still not find any time to train. Then there are those who,
because of the afflictive emotion of laziness have not yet gained the indwelling
confidence of liberation. For such practitioners, this oral instruction is for attaining
Buddhahood at the time of death without the need for further training. As a powerful
method, applicable even to great wrongdoers, it is a vitally important instruction on
attaining buddhahood.
It is best if, by training from now on, you are able to practise the transference by
yourself when you are certain that you are about to die. Yet, should you be unable to
do that, even to receive the oral transmission for the transference of consciousness
now will make it easier for a guru to perform the transference of consciousness for
you when you die.
As for the benefits of the skilful means of the transference of consciousness, it is said
in The Four Vajra Seats:4
Completely untainted by evil deeds,

You will cross to saṃsāra’s supreme and distant shore.
And:
This opening of brahma above

Is directly5 explained as “transference.”
Emao! It is the path of the supreme teaching.
Emao! It cuts through saṃsāra.
Emao! It remains in the state of freedom.
Emao! Primordial wisdom is amazing!
53
Also:
One stained by every fault

Is freed through the practice of transference.
The Precious Master of Oḍḍiyāna also said:
Through transference at the proper time,

Even perpetrators of the five deeds of immediate fruition6
Will gain rebirth in the higher realms or liberation.
Therefore, the benefits are extremely great. It is also said:
If you perform the transference of consciousness in this way, then no matter

how severe your evil deeds may be, through the blessings of the visualisation
you will take the extraordinary form of a god, or a human being and so on for
as long as the teachings of even a single buddha remain. Then, having quickly
exhausted your remaining karma, you will attain Buddhahood. And some
individuals will attain the state of a vidyādhara in the extraordinary
buddhafield of Manifest Perfection.
Moreover, there are several types of transference, including:
dharmakāya transference,
sambhogakāya transference,
nirmāṇakāya transference,
ordinary transference,
forceful transference, and
the transference of entering another body.7
Dharmakāya Transference
Through excellent practice of Mahāmudrā, or the Great Perfection’s practice of
Trekchö in this lifetime, the mother and son luminosities will meet at the time of
death. You will then remain in that state [of luminosity] for seven days or some
other length of time. As this is the ultimate form of transference, free from the
concepts of something to be transferred or one who transfers, there are said to be no
good or bad openings.
If you perform the dharmakāya transference in this way, the outer sign will be a
pure, immaculate sky; as the inner sign, the body’s radiance will not fade for a long
time; and as the secret sign, syllables, such as a white ĀḤ, or a blue HŪṂ, will
appear.
54
Sambhogakāya Transference
This is the form of transference to be explained here on this occasion.
As a sign of having performed it the sky will be filled with rainbows and lights. As an
inner sign, blood or serum will emerge from the brahma-aperture at the crown of the
head, and a dew-like moisture will appear there. The same part of the head will swell
up, and steam or vapour will rise from it. Just below the brahma-aperture, hair will
fall out and the body’s heat will be concentrated there. As a secret sign, as many as
five types of relics, or the deities’ bodies and hand implements will manifest.
Nirmāṇakāya Transference
For this you lie down on your right side, and breathe through your left nostril. You
place an image of Śākyamuni, or the Lotus-born, or a similar figure, in view, visualize
the deity’s presence, and then transfer your consciousness through the left nostril.
You then generate the intention to appear as a nirmāṇakāya for the benefit of beings,
and make prayers of aspiration. As an outer sign of performing this kind of
transference, there will be clouds or rainbows in the form of wish-fulfilling trees, and
rains of flowers will fall. As an inner sign, blood, serum or bodhicitta will emerge
from the left nostril, or shimmering dewdrops will appear. As a secret sign, the
whole skull will remain [even after cremation], or the hand implements of the deities
or many tiny ringsel will appear.
Forceful Transference
It is wrong to practise forceful transference. Even if all the signs of impending death
are present, you must perform the ritual for deceiving death three times. To enact
the transference without having performed such a ritual would be to incur the fault
of murdering the deities. Even in the case of punishment by the state,8 chronic illness
or severe pain—no matter what might occur—it is still wrong to perform the
transference before the actual time for death arrives, as it would bring about the
transgression of killing deities.
Therefore, even when life is at an end, the transference should not be performed until
it is certain that the vital channel in the neck has actually been cut. If the lifespan has
not been exhausted and there is still a chance of revival, the transgression of killing
deities can and will occur. ‘Deities’ here means the assembled deities of the hundred
sublime buddha families, who reside within the body. This is the equivalent of killing
them all. Thus, to perform the transference at any time other than when the lifespan
has definitively run its course will not only be of no benefit, it will actually lead to
the lower realms. And this holds the key as to why the forceful method of
transference is unacceptable. As The Four Vajra Seats Tantra says:
When the time is right, perform the transference,

But to do so at other times would be deity murder.
55
It is also said in the verses of an authentic scripture in the chapter on transference:
To transfer at the wrong time is to kill the deities.

As long as you are alive, practise Dharma,
And for that long the flow of virtue will increase.
Similarly, the Precious Master of Oḍḍiyāna said:
Then, earnestly practise the ritual for deceiving death in accordance with the
signs of impending death. Even though the signs and marks of death may be
complete, if you were to practise transference without having first performed
the ritual for deceiving death, you would incur the transgression of killing the
deities and the transgression of suicide. As this is even than worse than the
five deeds of immediate fruition, perform whichever general or particular
rituals for deceiving death are most appropriate.
Transference of Entering Another Body

It is well known that the right interdependent circumstances did not come together
for this teaching to be passed on in Tibet. And that is why, although the textual
transmission exists, there is no lineage of actual practice.
Ordinary Transference
Even though this is not a forceful transference it is still referred to as ‘instantaneous
transference’. As the circumstances of death—which include ravines, water, arrows,
piercing weapons, strokes and more—can arise unexpectedly, whenever fear or panic
strike train in focusing your awareness on Amitāyus or the Precious Master of
Oḍḍiyāna at the crown of your head. Doing this continually will ensure that if
serious life-threatening circumstances should occur all of a sudden, you will direct
your consciousness to the crown of your head through the force of habit, and your
consciousness will exit there. The Precious Master of Oḍḍiyāna said, “Directing your
intentions toward the guru at your crown is of inconceivable value.”
For the ordinary transference, you should lie on your right side with your head
pointing north. Visualize a deity such as Buddha Śikhin, or the Buddha of Medicine
(Bhaiṣajyaguru-vaiḍūryaprabharāja) above the crown of your head. Then recite any
names of the Three Jewels with which you are familiar, as well as blessed dhāraṇī
mantras, and make aspirations. By doing so, it said, you will avoid rebirth in the
lower realms.
Furthermore, the vajra song that encapsulates the six dharmas says:
Eight doorways open on to saṃsāra,

One door is the path to Mahāmudrā.
56
The Profound Inner Meaning, which draws upon several classes of unsurpassable
tantras, also teaches:
Then, if the all-ground consciousness departs

From the brahma-aperture this means the formless realm;
From the bindu, the great goddess;
From the navel, a god of the desire realm;
From the eyes, a powerful person in the desire realm;
From the nose, the realms of the yakṣa;
From the ear, a god of accomplishment;
From the door of existence, a hungry ghost, it is said;
From the urethra, we will become an animal;
From the lower door, the eight hells.
This means that if you have not trained in the instructions for the transference of
consciousness, and still, under the power of karma, your consciousness leaves the
body through the brahma-aperture, you will be reborn in the formless realm.
Through the oral instructions on transference, however, departure through the
brahma-aperture will lead to rebirth in pure celestial lands. This is one tradition of
explanation. The Vajra Verses of the Hearing Lineage says:
When the signs of death arise, be joyful,9 and cast away attachment.
Block the nine doors, apply substances and adorn with aspiration.
Thus, in this case [i.e., when nine doorways are blocked], another 'brahma-aperture'
is being referred to: a cranial opening, which is four finger-widths back from the
hairline, and if consciousness departs from there you will be reborn in the formless
realm. The actual brahma-aperture, however, is located in the centre of the coil of
hair eight finger-widths back from the hairline. And if consciousness leaves from
there you will be reborn in the celestial lands.
Although there exist these two traditions of explanation, the Precious Master of
Oḍḍiyāna also said:
There are great differences in the various paths of transference: three each for
superior, middling, and inferior, making nine in all. As the brahma-aperture
on the crown of the head is the path for travelling to pure celestial lands, if
consciousness emerges there you will obtain liberation. Therefore, since this
is the supreme path it is crucially important that this is where you direct your
intentions. If consciousness departs through the eyes, you will be reborn as a
cakravartin king. If consciousness exits from the left nostril you will be
reborn in a clean human body. These are the three superior doors. If
consciousness exits through the right nostril you will be reborn as a yakṣa;
from the two ears, as a god in the form realm; from the navel, a god in the
desire realm. These are the three middling doors. If consciousness exits from
57
the urethra, you will be reborn as an animal; from the so-called ‘door of
existence’, the path journeyed by the cause and seed, the white and red
essences, you will be born as a hungry ghost; from the anus, you will be
reborn in the hells. These are the three inferior doors.
Now, as for the actual instruction for the transference of consciousness, The Four
Vajra Seats Tantra says:
That to be purified, the one and a half syllables.

Drawn up with the third to the last of eight.
This seed, a fierce fire,
Rests on a maṇḍala of wind.
Focus on this with the mind.
Above, the brahma-aperture
Is supreme on account of the nine.
Without a body, the entity that is mind’s essence
Meditates on entities.
The Vajra Verses of the Hearing Lineage says:
The alchemy of transference, which brings Buddhahood without meditation…

…Draw HŪṂ and prāṇa-mind indivisible up into the central channel
(avadhūti).
Visualise the syllable KṢA and propel it through the path of brahma.
Transferring it to the dharmakāya-guru and buddha-realm.
The Precious Master of Oḍḍiyāna said:
Should you fail to accomplish nirvāṇa without remainder in this life,

Since you wish to find the celestial lands at the time of transference
Apply yourself to the necessary trainings and actions!
And:
This instruction is a powerful means for bringing buddhahood even to great

evildoers. This instruction, a transformative golden dharma, through which a
yogi can leave the seal of the body and simultaneously awaken, is revealed
herein.
What follows is in two parts: 1) training in transference, and 2) the actual

application.
1. Training in Transference
In order to request the teaching on the visualisations for training in transference, it is
necessary to offer the maṇḍala. For this, repeat the following:
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Having transformed this maṇḍala of bronze into precious substances,
And these grains of barley too into gold and turquoise,
I offer them with devotion to the one nirmāṇakāya, the compassionate guru:
Look on me with your compassion!
Then, for taking refuge and generating bodhicitta, repeat the following three times:
Namo! In the three jewels and the three roots,

In all the sources of refuge, I take refuge.
In order to lead all beings to buddhahood
I set my mind upon supreme awakening.
Now, consider that in an instant you appear as the Great Compassionate Lord (i.e.,
Mahākārunika, a form of Avalokiteśvara), with a body that is white in colour, and
with one face, peaceful and smiling. You have four hands: the palms of the first two
joined at your heart, and the lower two holding a white crystal rosary and a white
lotus flower. With your legs in the vajra posture, you sit on a lotus and moon-disc
seat. Your topknot of hair is adorned with the five small crests of jewels. You are
wearing silken garments and jewel ornaments, and you are radiant and resplendent
with all the marks and signs. Meditate on this vividly.
From the outside, the Great Compassionate One’s body is like a white silk tent, while
on the inside it is empty like an inflated balloon.10 Inside this clear, empty space is
the central channel with its four characteristics: as a sign of bliss, it is white on the
outside; to symbolize clarity, it is red on the inside; to signify the bodhisattva path, it
stands perfectly upright; and to signify that the doors to the lower realms have been
closed, its lower tip, which is below the navel, is sealed. To allow for travel along the
path to higher realms, the upper tip opens straight onto the brahma-aperture at the
crown. Visualize this.
Above the crown of your head,

On top of a lion-throne, lotus, and moon-disc seat,
Is the protector Amitābha, his body red in colour.
With one face, and two hands in the gesture of equanimity,
On top of which he holds an alms-bowl; he wears the dharma robes;
He is seated with his two legs in the posture of Maitreya,
And his two big toes
At the upper tip of the central channel.
To his right is Lokeśvara, Lord of the World, white in colour,
With one face and four hands: two joined at the palms,
And the remaining two, to the right and left, holding a rosary and lotus.
He is in the standing posture, upon a lotus and moon.
To his left is Vajrapāṇi, the one of great power and might (i.e.,
Mahāsthāmaprāpta).
59
He has one face, two hands and is blue in colour.
He holds a vajra in his right hand and a bell in his left.
He is in the standing posture, upon a lotus and moon.
They are surrounded by countless buddhas, bodhisattvas,
Śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and arhats.
Light shines out from the three seed-syllables
At the three centres of each of the three main figures,
Inviting the deities from Sukhāvatī to merge indivisibly.
Then, there is the prayer for transference:
Emaho!
Exceedingly wondrous protector, Amitābha,
Great Compassionate One, and Vajrapāṇi, the one of great power and might,
With a one-pointed mind, I pray to you:
Grant your blessings so that I may master the profound path of the
transference.
When the time of death eventually arrives,
Grant your blessings so that my consciousnesses may be transferred to
Sukhāvatī.
Pray like this as much as possible, and then consider the following.
At your heart-centre, inside the central channel, is, like Hrīḥ

a knot in a length of bamboo, an eight-petalled red
lotus. On top of it is a moon-disc, about the size of half a grain. On top of that is the
essence into which prāṇa-mind and consciousness are gathered, a white bindu, and
red syllable HRĪḤ ( ིཿ), complete with the long-vowel sign and the visarga, and
radiant and bright. Consider that it is on the point of ascending, just about to rise.
From that HRĪḤ there emanates a single ray of light in the form of another HRĪḤ
syllable, which seals off the lower gateway, the doorway to the hells. Then, another
HRĪḤ emerges to seal the doorway to rebirth as an animal, the urethra. Then two
further HRĪḤ syllables shoot out, sealing the doors of the secret place and the mouth,
gateways to rebirth as a hungry ghost. Then, another HRĪḤ appears, sealing the
navel, which is the gateway to rebirth as a god in the desire realm. Then, two more
HRĪḤ syllables shine out, blocking the two ears, which are gateways for rebirth as a
demi-god, in the form realm, or as a kumbhāṇḍa. Next, two further HRĪḤs emerge,
block the two nostrils, gateways to rebirth as a yakṣa or a human being who must
experience birth, ageing, sickness and death. Then, three HRĪḤ syllables shine out to
block the spot between the eyebrows, which is the gateway to rebirth in the form
realm; the right eye, which is the gateway for rebirth as a human king; and the left
eye. Then, another HRĪḤ shoots out and blocks the cranial opening, which is the
gateway to rebirth in the formless realm. You can also verbally recite HRĪḤ during
60
this process.
Then, consider that as you utter HIK, your mind, which is represented by the bindu
and the white syllable HRĪḤ, shoots upwards through the path of the central
channel. It just about touches the big toe of Amitābha, who is on the crown of your
head. Then, consider that as you utter KA, it descends again and remains on the
moon seat at your heart centre.
You can combine this with expelling the stale breath three times, and holding the
prāṇa. While holding the prāṇa, keep it sealed for a long time. Consider that as you
mentally utter HIK, the prāṇa from the right and left channels emerges from the
central channel at the crown of the head as blue smoke just as the bindu touches
Amitābha’s big toe. As you mentally utter KA it falls back down and remains in the
heart centre. Then send it up again. As you send it up you can hold vajra-fists at the
top of the thighs and gather together the prāṇa, mind, and all appearances in the
upper part of the body.
If you do not know how to control the prāṇa like this, you should consider that as
you utter HIK the bindu shoots up through the central channel and touches the big
toe of Buddha Amitābha’s foot. And as you say KA it descends and remains in the
heart centre. Visualise this clearly, sending the bindu up and bringing it back down
again, about twenty-one times in all.
Then recite the following prayer of aspiration:
Emaho!
Amitābha, magnificent Buddha of Boundless Light,
With the great compassionate lord Avalokiteśvara to his right,
And Vajrapāṇi, the one of great power and might, on his left,
Surrounded by an assembly of countless buddhas and bodhisattvas
In the place of wonder and boundless joy and happiness
That is the heavenly realm of Sukhāvatī, the Blissful Paradise.
When the time comes for me to leave this present life,
May I go there directly, without any other birth upon the way,
And being reborn there, may I see Amitābha face to face!
May this, my fervent prayer of aspiration,
Be blessed by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions
So that it is accomplished, without the slightest hindrance!
Tadyathā pañcendriya avabodhanāya svāhā.
Consider that making these aspirations causes a stream of deathless amṛta nectar to
flow from the alms-bowl in Amitābha’s hands, dissolving into and filling your body.
Then, as a prayer for longevity, recite the following:
61
Emaho!
To the perfect Buddha Amitāyus,
The Great Compassionate One, Vajrapāṇi, and
All the countless buddhas and bodhisattvas,
With a devoted mind I prostrate and praise you all.
I pray to you: please bestow the siddhi of longevity!
Oṃ amideva āyusiddhi hūṃ
Recite this for a single rosary or as many times as you can.
Consider that the main deity, Amitābha, and his retinue melt into light and then
dissolve into you, and your brahma-aperture is blocked by HAṂ and various vajras.
By practising like this in six, four or however many sessions, the signs of having
perfected the transference will arise: warmth and heat at the brahma-aperture, or
itchiness, stinging, numbness, and swelling; the crown of the head may feel soft and
pulpy; and blood or serum may emerge at the brahma-aperture. When such signs
appear, carefully examine the spot eight finger-widths behind the hairline. If you
insert a stalk of kuśa grass there, it should stay firmly planted.
When this happens, to persist any further could create obstacles for your life-force,
so put the visualisation aside. Don’t send the bindu up and down in the central
channel, and don’t recite HIK or KA.
There are also some people who do not have a brahma-aperture or cannot locate it,
and who may find that they get headaches or become dizzy. In this case, you should
visualize Amitābha a forearm’s length above their head, and consider that the bindu,
which is combined with the syllable HRĪḤ, ascends into the sky until it touches his
lotus seat. Then, having returned, it remains in their heart centre inside the central
channel. By meditating like this for a few sessions the brahma-aperture will open,
and blood or serum will emerge from it.
This concludes the explanation of how to train in the transference of consciousness.
2. The Actual Application
i. Transference for Oneself

When performing transference for yourself, if all the signs of death are fully present,
perform the ritual for deceiving death10 three times. If even this should prove
ineffective however, then it is said [in The Root Verses on the Six Bardos]:
Kyema! Now when the bardo of dying is dawning upon me,

I will abandon all grasping, yearning, and attachment,
Enter, undistracted, a state in which the instructions are clear,
62
And transfer my own awareness into the sphere of unborn space;
As I am about to leave this compound body of flesh and blood,
I will know it to be a transitory illusion.
As this indicates, you must offer your own body, possessions and relatives as a
maṇḍala to Buddha Amitābha. Then, having offered them, let go of all attachment.
As when training in the visualisation for transference, block the nine doors by means
of the syllable HRĪḤ, and meditate on the main deity, Amitābha, together with his
retinue, in the sky about a forearm’s length above you. Propel your consciousness—
represented by the bindu and HRĪḤ—so that it shoots upwards and dissolves into the
heart centre of Amitābha. Repeat this visualization again and again until your
breathing stops. Recite the prayer and the aspiration for transference as many times
as you can. Dharma friends and others too should also recite these on your behalf.
Through this, your consciousness will depart at the crown of the head, and it is
certain that you will be reborn in Sukhāvatī in your next life.
ii. Transference for Others

When it is certain that a person who was very ill has died and their outer breath has
ceased, arrange the corpse so that the head is upright. Then begin by reciting aloud
the verses of taking refuge and generating bodhicitta, as well as any buddhas’ names
that are familiar. Then, when it is certain that the vital channel has been cut, go
through the visualization for the transference in your mind, while reciting the
following verses in a gentle and melodious voice:
Kyema! Noble child, whose life has ended,

Your body is that of the yidam, the white sattva,
Inside your body is the central channel, like an arrow of bamboo,
At your heart, imagine a red syllable HRĪḤ,
Complete with long vowel and visarga.
Then, as six further HRĪḤ syllables emerge,
They seal the gateways to rebirth in the six classes,
While the brahma-aperture at your crown is open.
Above your crown, on a lotus and moon-disc seat,
Is the protector Amitābha, his body red in colour,
With one face, and two hands in the gesture of equanimity,
On top of which he holds an alms-bowl; he wears the dharma robes,
And is seated in a cross-legged posture.
To his right is Lokeśvara, Lord of the World, white in colour,
With one face and four arms: two joined at the palms,
And the remaining two, to the left and right, holding a rosary and lotus.
He is in the standing posture, upon a lotus and moon disc.
To his left is Vajrapāṇi, the one of great power and might.
He has one face, two hands and is blue in colour.
63
He holds a vajra in his right hand and a bell in his left.
He is in the standing posture upon a lotus and moon.
They are surrounded by countless buddhas, bodhisattvas,
Śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and arhats.
Light radiates out from the three seed-syllables
At the three centres of each of the three main figures,
Inviting the deities from Sukhāvatī to merge indivisibly.
Then visualize that this consciousness of yours,

In the form of a white bindu marked with the syllable HRĪḤ,
Is transferred into the heart of Amitābha.
Emaho!
Exceedingly wondrous protector Amitābha,
This departed one prays to you with one-pointed mind:
Grant your blessings so that their consciousness may be transferred to the
land of great bliss!
Repeat this, together with the necessary visualizations, seven or twenty-one times.
Recite KA and HIK as many times as you can. Then, utter a loud PHAṬ, and pull a
single tuft of hair from the crown of the deceased, eight finger-widths back from the
hairline. The hair should come out as easily as if it had moulted. There might also be
a “Kak!” sound, and the appearance of steam, or swelling, or serum or dew-like
moisture. There could also be some gentle warmth or more intense heat. When
practising for someone without hair, you should continue to press your finger until
you notice some swelling or serum, or the other signs occur.
Consider that rays of light shine out from Amitābha’s heart, so that the whole
retinue and the aggregates of the deceased all melt completely into light, which then
dissolves into Amitābha’s heart. Then recite the following prayer three, five or seven
times:
Emaho! Amitābha, magnificent Buddha of Boundless Light,

With the great compassionate lord Avalokiteśvara to his right,
And Vajrapāṇi, the one of great power and might, on his left,
Surrounded by an assembly of countless buddhas and bodhisattvas
In the place of wonder and boundless joy and happiness
That is the heavenly realm of Sukhāvatī, the Blissful Paradise.
As soon as the deceased transfers from the present life,
May they go there directly, without any other birth upon the way,
And being reborn there, may they see Amitābha face to face!
May this, my fervent prayer of aspiration,
Be blessed by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions
64
So that it is accomplished, without the slightest hindrance!
Tadyathā pañcendriya avabodhanāya svāhā
Then, in a melodious voice, recite the following verses of showing the way:
Emaho!
This departed one prays to you with one-pointed mind:
Grant your blessings so that their consciousness may be transferred to the
land of great bliss!
Kyema! Noble child, whose life has ended,
Without becoming attached to saṃsāra,
And without even the slightest doubt or hesitation,
Go directly to the land of great bliss!
Phaṭ! Phaṭ! Phaṭ!
With this, consider that Amitābha travels to the realm of Sukhāvatī as swiftly as an
arrow in flight. Then recite the verses beginning, “Not experiencing the sufferings of
the lower realms…”11 and “Like a lotus, unsullied by the mire…”
If you can practise the transference for the deceased in this way, without being
corrupted by pursuit of personal wealth, and with love and compassion, it will be of
unimaginable benefit.
If there are no signs of the transference having been effected, it might mean that the
consciousness had already transferred—for it may remain no longer than an instant
or the time taken to eat a meal.
If you arrive to perform the transference before the outer breath has ceased, you
should perform the mental visualization of sealing the nine gateways and so on, and
spend a long time simply reciting the names of the buddhas and prayers of
aspiration, without causing consciousness to ascend and so forth. By proceeding in
this way, it is certain that the transference will be effected properly.
It is well known that consciousness remains in the body for up to three nights and a
day, and it is therefore crucial that transference is performed during this time. Still,
as The Book of Kadam12 explains that it might remain for three to seven days, it is
also acceptable to practise the transference up until the seventh day. Those who
conduct village rituals also say that it is appropriate to send consciousness from an
effigy or name-card, and they have a tradition of summoning consciousness into a
corpse after many days have passed, so that it can then be re-transferred from there.
Although this is not taught in the tantric scriptures, I do not think there is any real
contradiction.
65
All this has been by way of commentary. Now, as it is extremely beneficial to cite the
root text of the Namchö wisdom-mind treasure itself, I shall do so.
Root Text
The stages of the transference:
At my heart I visualize a red syllable HRĪḤ,

Complete with the long vowel sign and visarga.
From this there emerge six further HRĪḤs,
To seal the gateways to rebirth in the six classes,
Leaving the brahma-aperture open at my crown.
Then, at my crown is Amitābha, ‘Boundless Light’,
I visualize him and the two attendants as described above.
Then my own consciousness appears
As a white bindu marked with a syllable HRĪḤ,
Which, I consider, transfers into Amitābha’s heart.
Without even the slightest doubt or hesitation,
I pray that I may be reborn in the land of great bliss.
Samaya. Gya. Gya. Gya.
Then, the prayer for transference:
Emaho!
With one-pointed mind, I pray to you:
Grant your blessings so that my consciousness may be transferred to the land
of great bliss!
Samaya. Gya. Gya. Gya.
The prayer of aspiration was already cited above.
I, Rāgāsya composed this elaborate explanation of the transference of consciousness to

Sukhāvatī, having been urged to do so by the words of the nirmāṇakāya [Mingyur
Dorje] himself. Whatever contradictions, mistakes, and faults I may have made I hereby
confess. Through this virtue may all sentient beings who see or hear this text be reborn
in Sukhāvatī!
| Translated by Lhasey Lotsawa and Adam Pearcey, 2016.
66
Bibliography
Tibetan sources
Padma chos rgyal. "gNam chos thugs kyi gter kha las bde chen zhing du 'pho ba'i
gdams pa rgyas par bsgrigs pa" In dKar rnying gi skyes chen du ma'i phyag rdzogs kyi
gdams ngag gnad bsdus nyer mkho rin po che'i gter mdzod. TBRC W20749. 21: 171 -
202. Darjeeling: Kargyu Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1978-1985.
Secondary sources
Halkias, Georgios, T. "Pure-lands and Other Visions in Seventeenth-Century Tibet: A
gNam chos sādhana for the Pure-land Sukhāvatī Revealed in 1658 by gNam chos Mi
'gyur rdo rje (1645–1667)" in Power, Politics, and the Reinvention of Tradition: Tibet in
the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century, Bryan J. Cuevas and Kurtis R. Schaeffer (eds)
Leiden: Brill, 2006, pp. 103–128.
Kapstein, Matthew, T. "Pure Land Buddhism in Tibet? From Sukhāvatī to the Field of
Great Bliss" in Richard K. Payne and Kenneth K. Tanaka (eds) Approaching the Land
of Bliss: Religious Praxis in the Cult of Amitābha. Honolulu: University of Hawaii
Press, 2004, pp. 16–51. (includes a partial translation of this text)
Patrul Rinpoche. The Words of My Perfect Teacher. Translated by Padmakara

Translation Group. Boston: Shambhala. 1998.
Skorupski, Tadeusz. "Funeral Rites for Rebirth in the Sukhāvatī Abode" in The
Buddhist Forum: Volume VI. Tring: The Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2001, pp. 137–
156 (includes a partial translation of this text)
Notes
1. i.e., Eastern Tibet ↩
2. The fourth month in the Tibetan calendar. ↩
3. The thirty-first year in the Tibetan cycle of sixty years. ↩
4. Catuṣpīṭha. Although the Tibetan translators took the Sanskrit title of this
tantra to be a reference to four seats (gdan bzhi), Péter-Dániel Szántó, has noted
that the original meaning of pītha(m) in this context is more likely ‘heap’, and
by extension ‘collection’, and by extension of that, ‘chapter’, so that a better
translation might be The Four Vajra Chapters. See Péter-Dániel Szántó, Selected
67
Chapters from the Catuṣpīṭhatantra: Introductory study with the annotated
translation of selected chapters (D.Phil. Thesis), Balliol College, Oxford
University, 2012, Part 1, p. 26. ↩
5. Although some versions of the Tibetan have “mdo las” meaning “from the
sūtras”, the texts of the Catuṣpīṭha preserved in the Tibetan canon have the
similarly written “mod las” and it is the latter reading which has been followed
here. ↩
6. 1) killing one’s father; 2) killing one’s mother; 3) killing an arhat; 4) creating a

schism in the sangha; and 5) with a harmful intention, drawing blood from the
body of the Tathāgata. ↩
7. grong du 'jug pa'i 'pho ba (Skt. purapraveśa) literally means 'the transference of
entering the city', but 'city' here signifies another's body. ↩
8. Literally 'by the king'. ↩
9. Although the Tibetan of Karma Chakme's text has skol, the original text of
Nāropa’s Vajra Verses reads dga’ in all available versions and the translation has
been made accordingly. ↩
10. phru ma phus btab pa. Literally ‘like an inflated bladder’. ↩
11. i.e., Bodhicaryāvatāra, X, 47. ↩
12. bka' gdams glegs bam. See The Book of Kadam: The Core Texts, translated by
Thupten Jinpa, Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008, p. 248. ↩
68
Instructions on Phowa: Buddhahood Without Meditation
by Nyala Pema Dündul
ཨ། ད་ག་གསལ་ོང་ང་འག་ངང་ད་ལས། །
a kechik saltong zungjuk ngang nyi lé
A! In an instant, out of the state of the inseparable unity of clarity and emptiness,
འོད་ར་་ས་གས་ག་གནས་་འོས། །
özer yeshe rik druk né su trö
Rays of wisdom light shine out, travelling to all six realms,
མས་ཅན་མ་ས་ཨ་དཀར་གག་་ར། །
semchen namshé a kar chik tu gyur
So that the consciousnesses of all beings transform into a single white syllable A, which
དན་མག་་གམ་བན་པ་ིན་བས་ིས། །
könchok tsa sum denpé jinlab kyi
Through the blessings of the truth of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and the Lama,
Yidam and Khandro,
ག་་བ་ས་བག་ནས་རང་ལ་བིམ། །
chakgya shyi yi kuk né rang la tim
Is gathered with the four mudrās, dissolving into me.
གསལ་ག་ོང་གམ་དེར་ད་གག་མ་གས། །
salrik tongsum yermé nyukmé shi
The original nature, in which clarity, awareness and emptiness are indivisible.
འཕོ་་འཕོ་ེད་ད་པ་་བོ་ད། །
poja pojé mepé ngowo nyi
Is the essence, in which there is nothing to be transferred and no transferrer.
གས་ོང་བོད་ལ་ོ་འདས་ཀཿ་གདབ། །
drak tong jödral lodé hik dra dab
I utter the syllable Hik, which is inexpressible sound and emptiness, beyond the ordinary
mind,
མཐའ་ལ་རོལ་པ་ན་པོར་བ་བ་བོ། །
tadral rolpa chenpor ub chubwo
And everything is united and perfected within the great display that is beyond any
limitation.
རང་ག་ེ་ད་ས་་དིངས་་འཕོ། །
rangrik kyemé chökü ying su po
My own rigpa is transferred into the expanse of the unborn dharmakāya.
69
ཀཿ ཀཿ ཀཿ
hik hik hik
Hik! Hik! Hik!
ས་འཕོ་བ་འ་དད་དང་ན་པ་་མ་་ན་ལ་མཚན་དང་་ན་གར་དབང་ལ་མཚན་གས་ིས་བལ་ར་ཉག་
ང་ག་ང་ན་བད་འལ་ང་ས་ེལ་བས་མ་བོམ་སངས་ས་འཕོ་བ་གདམས་པ་འ་ཐོས་ཚད་མས་ཅན་
ཐམས་ཅད་རང་ག་ང་བ་ིང་པོ་ཐོབ་པར་ར་ག
This phowa practice was composed by the old beggar of Nyarong Lhangdrak named Dündul, in response to requests
made by the devoted lamas Orgyen Gyaltsen and Orgyen Garwang Gyaltsen. May all beings who hear this
instruction on the method of transference that brings enlightenment without meditation attain the essence of
awakening within their very own rigpa. Sarva Buddha Maṅgalaṃ.
Translated by Rigpa Translations, 2011.
70
A Simple Practice of Phowa, 'Transference of
Consciousness'
by Tulku Tsultrim Zangpo
Hrīḥ!
From the palace of the dharmadhātu, the utter purity of my own perception,
Embodiment of all the buddhas of past, present future,
Supreme refuge for beings of this degenerate age,
Glorious master, most precious guru, to you I pray!
Grant your blessings, so that my mind may be matured and liberated!

Grant your blessings, so that I may realize the profound path!
Grant your blessings, so that I may perfect the realization of the Great Perfection in
this very life!
I appear clearly in the form of noble Avalokiteśvara,

With a channel of light running from my heart's centre to my crown,
At its tip, upon a lotus and sun-disc seat is the lord guru,
Appearing vividly in the form of Amitābha, 'Limitless Light',
And in the centre of my heart, in a circle of wind, is my own consciousness
In the form of white and red sphere, the size of a pea,
Perfectly round, it pulses and vibrates.
Drawn upwards through the brilliant rays from the heart of the guru at my crown,
It merges indivisibly with the victorious buddha's wisdom mind.
Hrīḥ! Amitābha, 'Limitless Light', Avalokiteśvara, 'Lord of the World',

And Vajrapāṇi, 'Lord of Secrets' – all you buddhas and bodhisattvas together with
your retinues,
With unshakeable, single-pointed devotion, I pray to you!
Grant your blessings so that I may transfer my consciousness into the dharmadhātu!
Grant your blessings so that I may directly actualize the primordial, natural state!
Grant your blessings so that I may seize the ultimate stronghold!
Recite this many times, and transfer your consciousness again and again by uttering
"Hikka!" and performing the visualisation as before.
Then, at the end, consider that the buddha at your crown transforms into Amitāyus,
who descends from your crown to remain at the centre of your heart, and settle in a
non-conceptual state.
The one called Tsul wrote this from his meditation room simply to avoid turning down
the request of the devoted old monk Norbu Zangpo.
71
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Dying and the Bardos

Written by the one called Fearless (Jigme).

The Excellent Path to Perfect Liberation:

A Guidance Practice (Nedren) for the Dukngal Rangdrol (Natural Liberation of

་ལ་ཐོག་མར་ག་བལ་རང་ོལ་ི། །་ག་དས་བན་འཛབ་བས་བོད་པ་བཅས། །བ་ེས་གས་ག་དལ་་

ང་་ས་གས་གམ་པོ་དང་། །འོག་་ག་ང་གས་དང་བཅས། །སོ་སོ་བས་་གམ་གམ་བ། །

་ནས་གས་ག་གནས་འེན་། །མཚན་ང་མ་བན་ོ་བ་དང་། །གཏོར་མ་ག་ང་བཤམས་ནས་། །འོ་ག་

1. Purifying the Hells

2. Purifying the Preta Realm

3. Purifying the Animal Realm

ༀ་་་་་། ༀ་མ་་མ་་ས་ ་ཀ་ག་་ྃ་ཕ ཿ

4. Purifying the Asura Realm

5. Purifying the Deva Realm

ༀ་་་་་། ༀ་ས་་ཁ་ས་ཀ་་་ྃ་ཕ ་་།

6. Purifying the Human Realm

ས་བོད་དལ་ི་ཤར་ོ་། །དབང་ེགས་པ་འདབ་བད་ལ། །་འདས་མན་མ་ར་གསལ་ལ། །ག་དར་

ས་བོད་དིལ་འར་་ཚོགས་མས། །མན་མ་མཇལ་བ་མོས་འན་ིས། །གན་པོས་འ་ར་བོ་བར་

1. The Vase Empowerment

2. The Mantra Empowerment of Enlightened Speech

3. The Vajra Empowerment of Enlightened Mind

་ནས་་འདས་ང་ང་། །མ་ག་ང་ས་བན་པ་ེན། །ན་མོངས་བད་ི་བེན་པ་ས། །ཀ་དག་ན་

་ར་གས་བདག་་མ་ེ། །དངས་གར་ག་བལ་རང་ོལ་ི། །གནས་འེན་མ་ོལ་ལམ་བཟང་འ། །་

1. ↑ Tsenjang – an effigy, photograph or name card.

First take refuge in the Three Jewels,

Generate conviction that your misdeeds have been purified.

Amitābha melts and dissolves into you,

Illness and harmful influences will not arise,

This wondrous instruction for the moment of death,

Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2016.

From the Good Actions:

When the time comes for me to die,

Using this statement as a basis, I shall here explain a meditation on Amitābha.

In this fine and joyful maṇḍala of the buddhas,

Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2016.

The Root Verses on the Six Bardos

Now, during this intermediate period of the bardo of this life,

During the bardo of dying, when the four elements dissolve,

This is how it dawns, but should you fail to recognize it,

Therefore, this most profound essence of instructions,

2. Its very form is no form. (Alak Zenkar Rinpoche) ↩

3. As the earth element dissolves, the body grows dry.

6. As the aggregate of sensations dissolves, the dying person can no longer

7. As the wisdom of equality dissolves, there is no longer any awareness of

11. As the aggregate of perception dissolves, it is no longer possible to

13. As the fire element dissolves, proper digestion of food is no longer

14. As the nose faculty dissolves, upper respiration2 slows.

17. As the all-accomplishing wisdom dissolves, the person can no longer

Then, as space dissolves into luminosity, four visions gradually unfold:

In this context, empty luminosity is explained according to the general approach of

the sound of a mountain collapsing, which comes from earth prāṇa,

At these times, the crucial points of practice are as follows:

1. Literally “there is no awareness of bipeds and other creatures.” ↩

3. ངས་་བ། zungs refers to something like the body’s vital constituents. As an

From the Namchö Wisdom-Mind Treasure

Guru Deva Ḍākinī Hūṃ!

What follows is a commentary on Transference to the Land of Great Bliss, which is

In the buddhafield of Śākya[muni] known as Do Kham1 , a yogi who practises

I, the Lotus-born, and those like me

Distracted practitioners may have received profound teachings on the Great

Completely untainted by evil deeds,

This opening of brahma above

One stained by every fault

The Precious Master of Oḍḍiyāna also said: