The Bardo Is Not a Metaphor
Padmasambhava taught a technology of dying. Most translations turned it into poetry.
By Robert Shumake · · 1 min read
A technology, not a poem
The Bardo Thodol was written as an instruction manual, read aloud to the dying by someone who had practised the route.
Modern editions treat it as literature. That is a loss.
The core instruction
- Recognise the light as your own mind.
- Do not flee the wrathful forms; they are also yours.
- Stay awake through the transition you rehearsed while alive.
You cannot learn to die well in the hour of dying. Rehearsal is the entire method.
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