[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
rebirth
[The Obeisances]
To the assembled Deities, to the Tutelaries, to the Gurus, Humbly is obeisance paid:
May Liberation in the Intermediate State be vouchsafed by Them.
[Introductory Verses]
Above, in the Great Bardo-Thödol,
The Bardo called Chönyid was taught;
And now, of the Bardo called Sidpa,
The vivid reminder is brought.
- 34 -
[The After-Death World]
[Introductory Instructions to the Officiant]: Although, heretofore, while in the Chönyid Bardo,
many vivid remindings have been given -- setting aside those who have had great familiarity
with the real Truth and those who have good karma -- for them of evil karma who have had
no familiarity, and for them of evil karma who because of the influence thereof become
stricken with fear and terror, recognition is difficult. These go down to the Fourteenth Day;
and, to reimpress them vividly, that which follows is to be read.
[The Bardo Body: Its Birth and Its Supernormal Faculties]
Worship having been offered to the Trinity, and the prayer invoking the aid of the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas having been recited, then, calling the deceased by name, three or seven
times, speak thus:
O nobly-born, listen thou well, and bear at heart that birth in the Hell-world, in the Deva-
world, and in this Bardo-body is of the kind called supernormal birth.
Indeed, when thou wert experiencing the radiances of the Peaceful and the Wrathful, in the
Chönyid Bardo, being unable to recognize, thou didst faint away, through fear, about three
and one-half days [after thy decease]; and, then, when thou wert recovered from the swoon,
thy Knower must have risen up in its primordial condition and a radiant body, resembling the
former body, must have sprung forth -- as the Tantra says,
'Having a body [seemingly] fleshly [ resembling] the former and that to be produced,
Endowed with all sense-faculties and power of unimpeded motion,
Possessing karmic miraculous powers,
Visible to pure celestial eyes [of Bardo beings] of like nature.'
Such, then, is the teaching.
That [radiant body] -- thus referred to as [resembling] 'the former and that to be produced'
(meaning that one will have a body just like the body of flesh and blood, the former human,
propensity body) -- will also be endowed with certain signs and beauties of perfection such as
beings of high destiny possess.
This body, [born] of desire, is a thought-form hallucination in the Intermediate State, and it is
called desire-body.
At that time -- if thou art to be born as a deva -- visions of the Deva-world will appear to thee;
similarly -- wherever thou art to be born -- if as an asura, or a human being, or a brute, or a
preta, or a being in Hell, a vision of the place will appear to thee.
- 35 -
Accordingly, the word 'former' [in the quotation] implieth that prior to the three and one-half
days thou wilt have been thinking thou hadst the same sort of a body as the former body of
flesh and blood, possessed by thee in the former existence because of habitual propensities;
and the word 'produced' is so used because, afterwards, the vision of thy future place of birth
will appear to thee. Hence, the expression as a whole, 'former and that to be produced',
referreth to these [i.e. the fleshly body just discarded and the fleshly body to be assumed at
rebirth].
At that time, follow not the visions which appear to thee. Be not attracted; be not weak: if,
through weakness, thou be fond of them, thou wilt have to wander amidst the Six Lokas and
suffer pain.
Up to the other day thou wert unable to recognize the Chönyid Bardo and hast had to wander
down this far. Now, if thou art to hold fast to the real Truth, thou must allow thy mind to rest
undistractedly in the nothing-to-do, nothing-to-hold condition of the unobscured, primordial,
bright, void state of thine intellect, to which thou hast been introduced by the guru. [Thereby]
thou wilt obtain Liberation without having to enter the door of the womb. But if thou art
unable to know thyself, then, whosoever may be thy tutelary deity and thy guru, meditate on
them, in a state of intense fondness and humble trust, as overshadowing the crown of thy
head. This is of great importance. Be not distracted.
[Instructions to the Officiant]: Thus speak, and, if recognition result from that, Liberation will
be obtained, without need of the wandering in the Six Lokas. If, however, through influence
of bad karma, recognition is made difficult, thereupon say as follows:
O nobly-born, again listen. 'Endowed with all sense-faculties and power of unimpeded
motion' implieth [that although] thou mayst have been, when living, blind of the eye, or deaf,
or lame, yet on this After-Death Plane thine eyes will see forms, and thine ears will hear
sounds, and all other sense-organs of thine will be unimpaired and very keen and complete.
Wherefore the Bardo-body hath been spoken of as 'endowed with all sense-faculties'. That
[condition of existence, in which thou thyself now art] is an indication that thou art deceased
and wandering in the Bardo. Act so as to know this. Remember the teachings; remember the
teachings.
O nobly-born, 'unimpeded motion' implieth that thy present body being a desire-body-thine
intellect having been separated from its seat-is not a body of gross matter, so that now thou
hast the power to go right through any rock-masses, hills, boulders, earth, houses, and Mt.
Meru itself without being impeded. Excepting Budh-Gaya and the mother's womb, even the
King of Mountains, Mt. Meru itself, can be passed through by thee, straight forwards and
backwards unimpededly. That, too, is an indication that thou art wandering in the Sidpa
Bardo. Remember thy guru's teachings, and pray to the Compassionate Lord.
O nobly-born, thou art actually endowed with the power of miraculous action, which is not,
however, the fruit of any samdhi, but a power come to thee naturally; and, therefore, it is of
the nature of karmic power. Thou art able in a moment to traverse the four continents round
about Mr. Meru. Or thou canst instantaneously arrive in whatever place thou wishest ; thou
hast the power of reaching there within the time which a man taketh to bend, or to stretch
forth his hand. These various powers of illusion and of shape-shifting desire not, desire not.
- 36 -
None is there [of such powers] which thou mayest desire which thou canst not exhibit. The
ability to exercise them unimpededly existeth in thee now. Know this, and pray to the guru.
O nobly-born, 'Visible to pure celestial eyes of like nature' implieth that those [beings] of like
nature, being those of similar constitution [or level of knowledge] in the Intermediate State,
will individually see each other. For example, those beings who are destined to be born
amongst devas will see each other [and so on]. Dote not on them [seen by thee], but meditate
upon the Compassionate One.
'Visible to pure celestial eyes' [also] implieth that the devas, being born [pure] in virtue of
merit, are visible to the pure celestial eyes of those who practice dhyna. These will not see
them at all times; when mentally concentrated [upon them] they see [them], when not, they
see [them] not. Sometimes, even when practicing dhyna, they are liable to become distracted
[and not see them].
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]