~ The Psychedelic Experience ~ A manual based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead By Timothy Leary, Ph.D., alph !

et"ner, Ph.D., # ichard Alpert, Ph.D. The authors $ere en%a%ed in a pro%ram of experiments $ith L&D and other psychedelic dru%s at 'ar(ard )ni(ersity, until sensational national publicity, unfairly concentratin% on student interest in the dru%s, led to the suspension of the experiments. &ince then, the authors ha(e continued their $ork $ithout academic auspices. This (ersion of T'E T*BETA+ B,,- ,. T'E DEAD is dedicated to ALD,)& ')/LE0 1uly 23, 4567 8 +o(ember 22, 4639 $ith profound admiration and %ratitude. :*f you started in the $ron% $ay,: * said in ans$er to the in(esti%ator;s <uestions, :e(erythin% that happened $ould be a proof of the conspiracy a%ainst you. *t $ould all be self8(alidatin%. 0ou couldn;t dra$ a breath $ithout kno$in% it $as part of the plot.: :&o you think you kno$ $here madness lies=: !y ans$er $as a con(inced and heartfelt, :0es.: :And you couldn;t control it=: :+o * couldn;t control it. *f one be%an $ith fear and hate as the ma>or premise, one $ould ha(e to %o on the conclusion.: :?ould you be able,: my $ife asked, : to fix your attention on $hat The Tibetan Book of the Dead calls the @lear Li%ht=: * $as doubtful. :?ould it keep the e(il a$ay, if you could hold it= ,r $ould you not be able to hold it=: * considered the <uestion for some time. :Perhaps,: * ans$ered at last, :perhaps * could 8 but only if there $ere somebody there to tell me about the @lear Li%ht. ,ne couldn;t do it by oneself. That;s the point, * suppose, of the Tibetan ritual 8 somebody sittin% there all the time and tellin% you $hat;s $hat.: AD,, & ,. PE @EPT*,+, BC8B5D

EE+E AL *+T ,D)@T*,+ A psychedelic experience is a >ourney to ne$ realms of consciousness. The scope and content of the experience is limitless, but its characteristic features are the transcendence of (erbal concepts, of space8time dimensions, and of the e%o or identity. &uch experiences of enlar%ed consciousness can occur in a (ariety of $aysF sensory depri(ation, yo%a exercises, disciplined meditation, reli%ious or aesthetic ecstasies, or spontaneously. !ost recently they ha(e become a(ailable to anyone throu%h the in%estion of psychedelic dru%s such as L&D, psilocybin, mescaline, D!T, etc. GThis is the statement of an ideal, not an actual situation, in 4637. The psychedelic dru%s are in the )nited &tates classified as :experimental: dru%s. That is, they are not a(ailable on a prescription basis, but only to :<ualified in(esti%ators.: The .ederal .ood and Dru% Administration has defined :<ualified in(esti%ators: to mean psychiatrists $orkin% in a mental hospital settin%, $hose research is sponsored by either state or federal a%encies.H ,f course, the dru% dose does not produce the transcendent experience. *t merely acts as a chemical key 8 it opens the mind, frees the ner(ous system of its ordinary patterns and structures. The nature of the experience depends almost entirely on set and settin%. &et denotes the preparation of the indi(idual, includin% his personality structure and his mood at the time. &ettin% is physical 8 the $eather, the room;s atmosphereI social 8 feelin%s of persons present to$ards one anotherI and cultural 8 pre(ailin% (ie$s as to $hat is real. *t is for this reason that manuals or %uide8books are necessary. Their purpose is to enable a person to understand the ne$ realities of the expanded consciousness, to ser(e as road maps for ne$ interior territories $hich modern science has made accessible. Different explorers dra$ different maps. ,ther manuals are to be $ritten based on different models 8 scientific, aesthetic, therapeutic. The Tibetan model, on $hich this manual is based, is desi%ned to teach the person to direct and control a$areness in such a $ay as to reach that le(el of understandin% (ariously called liberation, illumination, or enli%htenment. *f the manual is read se(eral times before a session is attempted, and if a trusted person is there to remind and refresh the memory of the (oya%er durin% the experience, the consciousness $ill be freed from the %ames $hich comprise :personality: and from positi(e8ne%ati(e hallucinations $hich often accompany states of expanded a$areness. The Tibetan Book of the Dead $as called in its o$n lan%ua%e the Bardo Thodol, $hich means :Liberation by 'earin% on the After8Death Plane.: The book stresses o(er and o(er that the free consciousness has only to hear and remember the teachin%s in order to be liberated. The Tibetan Book of the Dead is ostensibly a book describin% the experiences to be expected at the moment of death, durin% an intermediate phase lastin% forty8nine Ase(en times se(enD days, and durin% rebirth into another bodily frame. This ho$e(er is merely the exoteric frame$ork $hich the Tibetan Buddhists used to cloak their mystical teachin%s. The lan%ua%e and symbolism of death rituals of Bonism, the traditional pre8Buddhist Tibetan reli%ion, $ere skillfully blended $ith Buddhist conceptions. The esoteric meanin%, as it has been interpreted in this manual, is that it is death and rebirth that is described, not of the body. Lama Eo(inda indicates this clearly in his introduction $hen he $ritesF :*t is a book for the li(in% as $ell as

*.

the dyin%.: The book;s esoteric meanin% is often concealed beneath many layers of symbolism. *t $as not intended for %eneral readin%. *t $as desi%ned to be understood only by one $ho $as to be initiated personally by a %uru into the Buddhist mystical doctrines, into the pre8mortem8death8rebirth experience. These doctrines ha(e been kept a closely %uarded secret for many centuries, for fear that nai(e or careless application $ould do harm. *n translatin% such an esoteric text, therefore, there are t$o stepsF one, the renderin% of the ori%inal text into En%lishI and t$o, the practical interpretation of the text for its uses. *n publishin% this practical interpretation for use in the psychedelic dru% session, $e are in a sense breakin% $ith the tradition of secrecy and thus contra(enin% the teachin%s of the lama8%urus. 'o$e(er, this step is >ustified on the %rounds that the manual $ill not be understood by anyone $ho has not had a consciousness8expandin% experience and that there are si%ns that the lamas themsel(es, after their recent diaspora, $ish to make their teachin%s a(ailable to a $ider public. .ollo$in% the Tibetan model then, $e distin%uish three phases of the psychedelic experience. The first period A@hikhai BardoD is that of complete transcendence 8 beyond $ords, beyond space8time, beyond self. There are no (isions, no sense of self, no thou%hts. There are only pure a$areness and ecstatic freedom from all %ame Aand biolo%icalD in(ol(ements. G:Eames: are beha(ioral se<uences defined by roles, rules, rituals, %oals, strate%ies, (alues, lan%ua%e, characteristic space8time locations and characteristic patterns of mo(ement. Any beha(ior not ha(in% these nine features is non8%ameF this includes physiolo%ical reflexes, spontaneous play, and transcendent a$areness.H The second len%thy period in(ol(es self, or external %ame reality A@honyid BardoD 8 in sharp ex<uisite clarity or in the form of hallucinations Akarmic apparitionsD. The final period A&idpa BardoD in(ol(es the return to routine %ame reality and the self. .or most persons the second Aaesthetic or hallucinatoryD sta%e is the lon%est. .or the initiated the first sta%e of illumination lasts lon%er. .or the unprepared, the hea(y %ame players, those $ho anxiously clin% to their e%os, and for those $ho take the dru% in a non8supporti(e settin%, the stru%%le to re%ain reality be%ins early and usually lasts to the end of their session. ?ords like these are static, $hereas the psychedelic experience is fluid and e(er8chan%in%. Typically the sub>ect;s consciousness flicks in and out of these three le(els $ith rapid oscillations. ,ne purpose of this manual is to enable the person to re%ain the transcendence of the .irst Bardo and to a(oid prolon%ed entrapments in hallucinatory or e%o8dominated %ame patterns. The Basic Trusts and Beliefs. 0ou must be ready to accept the possibility that there is a limitless ran%e of a$areness for $hich $e no$ ha(e no $ordsI that a$areness can expand beyond ran%e of your e%o, your self, your familiar identity, beyond e(erythin% you ha(e learned, beyond your notions of space and time, beyond the differences $hich usually separate people from each other and from the $orld around them. 0ou must remember that throu%hout human history, millions ha(e made this (oya%e. A fe$ A$hom $e call mystics, saints or buddhasD ha(e made this experience endure and ha(e communicated it to their fello$ men.

0ou must remember, too, that the experience is safe Aat the (ery $orst, you $ill end up the same person $ho entered the experienceD, and that all of the dan%ers $hich you ha(e feared are unnecessary productions of your mind. ?hether you experience hea(en or hell, remember that it is your mind $hich creates them. A(oid %raspin% the one or fleein% the other. A(oid imposin% the e%o %ame on the experience. 0ou must try to maintain faith and trust in the potentiality of your o$n brain and the billion8 year8old life process. ?ith you e%o left behind you, the brain can;t %o $ron%. Try to keep the memory of a trusted friend or a respected person $hose name can ser(e as a %uide and protection. Trust your di(inity, trust your brain, trust your companions. ?hene(er in doubt, turn off your mind, relax, float do$nstream. After readin% this %uide, the prepared person should be able, at the (ery be%innin% of his experience, to mo(e directly to a state of non8%ame ecstasy and deep re(elation. But if you are not $ell prepared, or if there is %ame distraction around you, you $ill find yourself droppin% back. *f this happens, then the instructions in Part *J should help you re%ain and maintain liberation. :Liberation in this context does not necessarily imply Aespecially in the case of the a(era%e personD the Liberation of +ir(ana, but chiefly a liberation of the ;life8flux; from the e%o, in such a manner as $ill afford the %reatest possible consciousness and conse<uent happy rebirth. 0et for the (ery experienced and (ery hi%hly efficient person, the GsameH esoteric process of Transference G eaders interested in a more detailed discussion of the process of :Transference: are referred to Tibetan 0o%a and &ecret Doctrines, edited by ?. 0. E(ans8 ?ent", ,xford )ni(ersity Press, 46B5.H can be, accordin% to the lama8%urus, so employed as to pre(ent any break in the flo$ of the stream of consciousness, from the moment of the e%o8 loss to the moment of a conscious rebirth Aei%ht hours laterD. 1ud%in% from the translation made by the late Lama -a"i Da$a8&amdup, of an old Tibetan manuscript containin% practical directions for e%o8loss states, the ability to maintain a non8%ame ecstasy throu%hout the entire experience is possessed only by persons trained in mental concentration, or one8pointedness of mind, to such a hi%h de%ree of proficiency as to be able to control all the mental functions and to shut out the distractions of the outside $orld.: AE(ans8?ent", p. 53, note 2D This manual is di(ided into four parts. The first part is introductory. The second is a step8by8 step description of a psychedelic experience based directly on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The third part contains practical su%%estions on ho$ to prepare for and conduct a psychedelic session. The fourth part contains instructi(e passa%es adapted from the Bardo Thodol, $hich may be read to the (oya%er durin% this session, to facilitate the mo(ement of consciousness. *n the remainder of this introductory section, $e re(ie$ three commentaries on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, published $ith the E(ans8?ent" edition. These are the introduction by

E(ans8?ent" himself, the distin%uished translator8editor of four treatises on Tibetan mysticismI the commentary by @arl 1un%, the &$iss psychoanalystI and by Lama Eo(inda, and initiate of one of the principle Buddhist orders of Tibet. A T *B)TE T, ?. 0. EJA+&8?E+TK :Dr. E(ans8?ent", $ho literally sat at the feet of a Tibetan lama for years, in order to ac<uire his $isdom . . . not only displays a deeply sympathetic interest in those esoteric doctrines so characteristic of the %enius of the East, but like$ise possesses the rare faculty of makin% them more or less intelli%ible to the layman.: GLuoted from a book re(ie$ in Anthropolo%y on the back of the ,xford )ni(ersity Press edition of The Tibetan Book of the Dead.H ?. 0. E(ans8?ent" is a %reat scholar $ho de(oted his mature years to the role of brid%e and shuttle bet$een Tibet and the $estF like an +A molecule acti(atin% the latter $ith the coded messa%e of the former. +o %reater tribute could be paid to the $ork of this academic liberator than to base our psychedelic manual upon his insi%hts and to <uote directly his comments on :the messa%e of this book.: The messa%e is, that the Art of Dyin% is <uite as important as the Art of Li(in% Aor of @omin% into BirthD, of $hich it is the complement and summationI that the future of bein% is dependent, perhaps entirely, upon a ri%htly controlled death, as the second part of this (olume, settin% forth the Art of eincarnatin%, emphasi"es. The Art of Dyin%, as indicated by the death8rite associated $ith initiation into the !ysteries of Anti<uity, and referred to by Apuleius, the Platonic philosopher, himself an initiate, and by many other illustrious initiates, and as The E%yptian Book of the Dead su%%ests, appears to ha(e been far better kno$n to the ancient peoples inhabitin% the !editerranean countries than it is no$ by their descendants in Europe and the Americas. To those $ho had passed throu%h the secret experiencin% of pre8mortem death, ri%ht dyin% is initiation, conferrin%, as does the initiatory death8rite, the po$er to control consciously the process of death and re%eneration. AE(ans8?ent", p. xiii8xi(D The ,xford scholar, like his %reat predecessor of the ele(enth century, !arpa A:The Translator:D, $ho rendered *ndian Buddhist texts into Tibetan, thereby preser(in% them from extinction, sa$ the (ital importance of these doctrines and made them accessible to many. The :secret: is no lon%er hiddenF :the art of dyin% is <uite as important as the art of li(in%.: A T *B)TE T, @A L E. 1)+E Psycholo%y is the systematic attempt to describe and explain man;s beha(ior, both conscious and non8conscious. The scope of study is broad 8 co(erin% the infinite (ariety of human acti(ity and experienceI and it is lon% 8 tracin% back throu%h the history of the indi(idual,

throu%h the history of his ancestors, back throu%h the e(olutionary (icissitudes and triumphs $hich ha(e determined the current status of the species. !ost difficult of all, the scope of psycholo%y is complex, dealin% as it does $ith processes $hich are e(er8chan%in%. Little $onder that psycholo%ists, in the face of such complexity, escape into speciali"ation and parochial narro$ness. A psycholo%y is based on the a(ailable data and the psycholo%ists; ability and $illin%ness to utili"e them. The beha(iorism and experimentalism of t$entieth8century $estern psycholo%y is so narro$ as to be mostly tri(ial. @onsciousness is eliminated from the field of in<uiry. &ocial application and social meanin% are lar%ely ne%lected. A curious ritualism is enacted by a priesthood rapidly %ro$in% in po$er and numbers. Eastern psycholo%y, by contrast, offers us a lon% history of detailed obser(ation and systemati"ation of the ran%e of human consciousness alon% $ith an enormous literature of practical methods for controllin% and chan%in% consciousness. ?estern intellectuals tend to dismiss ,riental psycholo%y. The theories of consciousness are seen as occult and mystical. The methods of in(esti%atin% consciousness chan%e, such as meditation, yo%a, monastic retreat, and sensory depri(ation, and are seen as alien to scientific in(esti%ation. And most damnin% of all in the eyes of the European scholar, is the alle%ed disre%ard of eastern psycholo%ies for the practical, beha(ioral and social aspects of life. &uch criticism betrays limited concepts and the inability to deal $ith the a(ailable historical data on a meanin%ful le(el. The psycholo%ies of the east ha(e al$ays found practical application in the runnin% of the state, in the runnin% of daily life and family. A $ealth of %uides and handbooks existsF the Book of Tao, the Analects of @onfucius, the Eita, the * @hin%, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, to mention only the best8kno$n. Eastern psycholo%y can be >ud%ed in terms of the use of a(ailable e(idence. The scholars and obser(ers of @hina, Tibet, and *ndia $ent as far as their data allo$ed them. They lacked the findin%s of modern science and so their metaphors seem (a%ue and poetic. 0et this does not ne%ate their (alue. *ndeed, eastern philosophic theories datin% back four thousand years adapt readily to the most recent disco(eries of nuclear physics, biochemistry, %enetics, and astronomy. A ma>or task of any present day psycholo%y 8 eastern or $estern 8 is to construct a frame of reference lar%e enou%h to incorporate the recent findin%s of the ener%y sciences into a re(ised picture of man. 1ud%ed a%ainst the criterion of the use of a(ailable fact, the %reatest psycholo%ists of our century are ?illiam 1ames and @arl 1un%. GTo properly compare 1un% $ith &i%mund .reud $e must look at the a(ailable data $hich each man appropriated for his explorations. .or .reud it $as Dar$in, classical thermodynamics, the ,ld Testament, enaissance cultural history, and most important, the close o(erheated atmosphere of the 1e$ish family. The broader scope of 1un%;s reference materials assures that his theories $ill find a %reater con%eniality $ith recent de(elopments in the ener%y sciences and the e(olutionary sciences.H Both of these men

a(oided the narro$ paths of beha(iorism and experimentalism. Both fou%ht to preser(e experience and consciousness as an area of scientific research. Both kept open to the ad(ance of scientific theory and both refused to shut off eastern scholarship from consideration. 1un% used for his source of data that most fertile source 8 the internal. 'e reco%ni"ed the rich meanin% of the eastern messa%eI he reacted to that %reat orshach inkblot, the Tao Te @hin%. 'e $rote percepti(e brilliant fore$ords to the * @hin%, to the &ecret of the Eolden .lo$er, and stru%%led $ith the meanin% of The Tibetan Book of the Dead. :.or years, e(er since it $as first published, the Bardo Thodol has been my constant companion, and to it * o$e not only many stimulatin% ideas and disco(eries, but also many fundamental insi%hts. . . *ts philosophy contains the <uintessence of Buddhist psycholo%ical criticismI and, as such, one can truly say that it is of an unexampled superiority.: The Bardo Thodol is in the hi%hest de%ree psycholo%ical in its outlookI but, $ith us, philosophy and theolo%y are still in the mediae(al, pre8psycholo%ical sta%e $here only the assertions are listened to, explained, defended, critici"ed and disputed, $hile the authority that makes them has, by %eneral consent, been deposed as outside the scope of discussion. !etaphysical assertions, ho$e(er, are statements of the psyche, and are therefore psycholo%ical. To the ?estern mind, $hich compensates its $ell8kno$n feelin%s of resentment by a sla(ish re%ard for :rational: explanations, this ob(ious truth seems all too ob(ious, or else it is seen as an inadmissible ne%ation of metaphysical :truth.: ?hene(er the ?esterner hears the $ord :psycholo%ical,: it al$ays sounds to him like :only psycholo%ical.: 1un% dra$s upon ,riental conceptions of consciousness to broaden the concept of :pro>ection:F +ot only the :$rathful: but also the :peaceful: deities are concei(ed as san%saric pro>ections of the human psyche, an idea that seems all too ob(ious to the enli%htened European, because it reminds him of his o$n banal simplifications. But thou%h the European can easily explain a$ay these deities as pro>ections, he $ould be <uite incapable of positin% them at the same time as real. The Bardo Thodol can do that, because, in certain of its most essential metaphysical premises, it has the enli%htened as $ell as the unenli%htened European at a disad(anta%e. The e(er8present, unspoken assumption of the Bardo Thodol is the anti8nominal character of all metaphysical assertions, and also the idea of the <ualitati(e difference of the (arious le(els of consciousness and of the metaphysical realities conditioned by them. The back%round of this unusual book is not the ni%%ardly European :either8or,: but a ma%nificently affirmati(e :both8and.: This statement may appear ob>ectionable to the ?estern philosopher, for the ?est lo(es clarity and unambi%uityI conse<uently, one philosopher clin%s to the position, :Eod is,: $hile another clin%s e<ually fer(ently to the ne%ation, :Eod is not.: 1un% clearly sees the po$er and breadth of the Tibetan model but occasionally he fails to %rasp its meanin% and application. 1un%, too, $as limited Aas $e all areD to the social models of his

tribe. 'e $as a psychoanalyst, the father of a school. Psychotherapy and psychiatric dia%nosis $ere the t$o applications $hich came most naturally to him. 1un% misses the central concept of the Tibetan book. This is not Aas Lama Eo(inda reminds usD a book of the dead. *t is a book of the dyin%I $hich is to say a book of the li(in%I it is a book of life and ho$ to li(e. The concept of actual physical death $as an exoteric facade adopted to fit the pre>udices of the Bonist tradition in Tibet. .ar from bein% an embalmers; %uide, the manual is a detailed account of ho$ to lose the e%oI ho$ to break out of personality into ne$ realms of consciousnessI and ho$ to a(oid the in(oluntary limitin% processes of the e%oI ho$ to make the consciousness8expansion experience endure in subse<uent daily life. 1un% stru%%les $ith this point. 'e comes close but ne(er <uite clinches it. 'e had nothin% in his conceptual frame$ork $hich could make practical sense out of the e%o8loss experience. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, or the Bardo Thodol, is a book of instructions for the dead and dyin%. Like The E%yptian Book of the Dead it is meant to be a %uide for the dead man durin% the period of his Bardo existence. . . . *n this <uote 1un% settles for the exoteric and misses the esoteric. *n a later <uote he seems to come closerF . . . the instruction %i(en in the Bardo Thodol ser(es to recall to the dead man the experience of his initiation and the teachin%s of his %uru, for the instruction is, at bottom, nothin% less than an initiation of the dead into the Bardo life, >ust as the initiation of the li(in% $as a preparation for the Beyond. &uch $as the case, at least, $ith all the mystery cults in ancient ci(ili"ations from the time of the E%yptian and Eleusinian mysteries. *n the initiation of the li(in%, ho$e(er, this :Beyond: is not a $orld beyond death, but a re(ersal of the mind;s intentions and outlook, a psycholo%ical :Beyond: or, in @hristian terms, a :redemption: from the trammels of the $orld and of sin. edemption is a separation and deli(erance from an earlier condition of darkness and unconsciousness, and leads to a condition of illumination and releasedness, to (ictory and transcendence o(er e(erythin% :%i(en.: Thus far the Bardo Thodol is, as Dr. E(ans8?ent" also feels, an initiation process $hose purpose it is to restore to the soul the di(inity it lost at birth. *n still another passa%e 1un% continues the stru%%le but misses a%ainF +or is the psycholo%ical use $e make of it Athe Tibetan BookD anythin% but a secondary intention, thou%h one that is possibly sanctioned by lamaist custom. The real purpose of this sin%ular book is the attempt, $hich must seem (ery stran%e to the educated European of the t$entieth century, to enli%hten the dead on their >ourney throu%h the re%ions of the Bardo. The @atholic @hurch is the only place in the $orld of the $hite man $here any pro(ision is made for the souls of the departed.

*n the summary of Lama Eo(inda;s comments $hich follo$ $e shall see that the Tibetan commentator, freed from the European concepts of 1un%, mo(es directly to the esoteric and practical meanin% of the Tibetan book. *n his autobio%raphy A$ritten in 463MD 1un% commits himself $holly to the inner (ision and to the $isdom and superior reality of internal perceptions. *n 4695 A$hen his Tibetan commentary $as $rittenD he $as mo(in% in this direction but cautiously and $ith the ambi(alent reser(ations of the psychiatrist cum mystic. The dead man must desperately resist the dictates of reason, as $e understand it, and %i(e up the supremacy of e%ohood, re%arded by reason as sacrosanct. ?hat this means in practice is complete capitulation to the ob>ecti(e po$ers of the psyche, $ith all that this entailsI a kind of symbolo%ical death, correspondin% to the 1ud%ement of the Dead in the &idpa Bardo. *t means the end of all conscious, rational, morally responsible conduct of life, and a (oluntary surrender to $hat the Bardo Thodol calls :karmic illusion.: -armic illusion sprin%s from belief in a (isionary $orld of an extremely irrational nature, $hich neither accords $ith nor deri(es from our rational >ud%ments but is the exclusi(e product of uninhibited ima%ination. *t is sheer dream or :fantasy,: and e(ery $ell8meanin% person $ill instantly caution us a%ainst itI nor indeed can one see at first si%ht $hat is the difference bet$een fantasies of this kind and the phantasma%oria of a lunatic. Jery often only a sli%ht abaissement du ni(eau mental is needed to unleash this $orld of illusion. The terror and darkness of this moment has its e<ui(alent in the experiences described in the openin% sections of the &idpa Bardo. But the contents of this Bardo also re(eal the archetypes, the karmic ima%es $hich appear first in their terrifyin% form. The @honyid state is e<ui(alent to a deliberately induced psychosis. . . . The transition, then, from the &idpa state to the @honyid state is a dan%erous re(ersal of the aims and intentions of the conscious mind. *t is a sacrifice of the e%o;s stability and a surrender to the extreme uncertainty of $hat must seem like a chaotic riot of phantasmal forms. ?hen .reud coined the phrase that the e%o $as :the true seat of anxiety,: he $as %i(in% (oice to a (ery true and profound intuition. .ear of self8sacrifice lurks deep in e(ery e%o, and this fear is often only the precariously controlled demand of the unconscious forces to burst out in full stren%th. +o one $ho stri(es for selfhood Aindi(iduationD is spared this dan%erous passa%e, for that $hich is feared also belon%s to the $holeness of the self 8 the sub8human, or supra8 human, $orld of psychic :dominants: from $hich the e%o ori%inally emancipated itself $ith enormous effort, and then only partially, for the sake of a more or less illusory freedom. This liberation is certainly a (ery necessary and (ery heroic undertakin%, but it represents nothin% finalF it is merely the creation of a sub>ect, $ho, in order to find fulfillment, has still to be confronted by an ob>ect. This, at first si%ht, $ould appear to be the $orld, $hich is s$elled out $ith pro>ections for that (ery purpose. 'ere $e seek and find our difficulties, here $e seek and find our enemy, here $e seek and find $hat is dear and precious to usI and it is comfortin% to kno$ that all e(il and all %ood is to be found out there, in the (isible ob>ect, $here it can be con<uered, punished, destroyed or en>oyed. But nature herself does not allo$ this paradisal state of innocence to continue for e(er. There are, and al$ays ha(e been, those $ho cannot help but see that the $orld and its experiences are in the nature of a symbol, and that it really

reflects somethin% that lies hidden in the sub>ect himself, in his o$n transub>ecti(e reality. *t is from this profound intuition, accordin% to lamaist doctrine, that the @honyid state deri(es its true meanin%, $hich is $hy the @honyid Bardo is entitled :The Bardo of the Experiencin% of eality.: The reality experienced in the @honyid state is, as the last section of the correspondin% Bardo teaches, the reality of thou%ht. The :thou%ht8forms: appear as realities, fantasy takes on real form, and the terrifyin% dream e(oked by karma and played out by the unconscious :dominants: be%ins. 1un% $ould not ha(e been surprised by professional and institutional anta%onism to psychedelics. 'e closes his Tibetan commentary $ith a poi%nant political asideF The Bardo Thodol be%an by bein% a :closed: book, and so it has remained, no matter $hat kind of commentaries may be $ritten upon it. .or it is a book that $ill only open itself to spiritual understandin% and this is a capacity $hich no man is born $ith, but $hich he can only ac<uire throu%h special trainin% and special experience. *t is %ood that such to all intents and purposes :useless: books exist. They are meant for those :<ueer folk: $ho no lon%er set much store by the uses, aims, and meanin% of present8day :ci(ili"ation.: To pro(ide :special trainin%: for the :special experience: pro(ided by psychedelic materials is the purpose of this (ersion of The Tibetan Book of the Dead. A T *B)TE T, LA!A A+AEA *-A E,J*+DA *n the precedin% section the point $as made that eastern philosophy and psycholo%y 8 poetic, indeterministic, experiential, in$ard8lookin%, (a%uely e(olutionary, open8ended 8 is more easily adapted to the findin%s of modern science than the syllo%istic, certain, experimental, externali"in% lo%ic of $estern psycholo%y. The latter imitates the irrele(ant rituals of the ener%y sciences but i%nores the data of physics and %enetics, the meanin%s and implications. E(en @arl 1un%, the most penetratin% of the $estern psycholo%ists, failed to understand the basic philosophy of the Bardo Thodol. Luite in contrast are the comments on the Tibetan manual by Lama Ana%arika Eo(inda. 'is openin% statement at first %lance $ould cause a 1udaeo8@hristian psycholo%ist to snort in impatience. But a close look at these phrases re(eals that they are the poetic statement of the %enetic situation as currently described by biochemists and D+A researchers. *t may be ar%ued that nobody can talk about death $ith authority $ho has not diedI and since nobody, apparently, has e(er returned from death, ho$ can anybody kno$ $hat death is, or $hat happens after it=

The Tibetan $ill ans$erF :There is not one person, indeed, not one li(in% bein%, that has not returned from death. *n fact, $e all ha(e died many deaths, before $e came into this incarnation. And $hat $e call birth is merely the re(erse side of death, like one of the t$o sides of a coin, or like a door $hich $e call :entrance: from outside and :exit: from inside a room.: The lama then %oes on to make a second poetic comment about the potentialities of the ner(ous system, the complexity of the human cortical computer. *t is much more astonishin% that not e(erybody remembers his or her pre(ious deathI and, because of this lack of rememberin%, most persons do not belie(e there $as a pre(ious death. But, like$ise, they do not remember their recent birth 8 and yet they do not doubt that they $ere recently born. They for%et that acti(e memory is only a small part of our normal consciousness, and that our subconscious memory re%isters and preser(es e(ery past impression and experience $hich our $akin% mind fails to recall. The lama then proceeds to slice directly to the esoteric meanin% of the Bardo Thodol 8 that core meanin% $hich 1un% and indeed most European ,rientalists ha(e failed to %rasp. .or this reason, the Bardo Thodol, the Tibetan book (ouchsafin% liberation from the intermediate state bet$een life and re8birth,8 $hich state men call death,8 has been couched in symbolical lan%ua%e. *t is a book $hich is sealed $ith the se(en seals of silence,8 not because its kno$led%e $ould be misunderstood, and, therefore, $ould tend to mislead and harm those $ho are unfitted to recei(e it. But the time has come to break the seals of silenceI for the human race has come to the >uncture $here it must decide $hether to be content $ith the sub>u%ation of the material $orld, or to stri(e after the con<uest of the spiritual $orld, by sub>u%atin% selfish desires and transcendin% self8imposed limitations. The lama next describes the effects of consciousness8expansion techni<ues. 'e is talkin% here about the method he kno$s8the 0o%ic8but his $ords are e<ually applicable to psychedelic experience. There are those $ho, in (irtue of concentration and other yo%ic practices, are able to brin% the subconscious into the realm of discriminati(e consciousness and, thereby, to dra$ upon the unrestricted treasury of subconscious memory, $herein are stored the records not only of our past li(es but the records of the past of our race, the past of humanity, and of all pre8human forms of life, if not of the (ery consciousness that makes life possible in this uni(erse. *f, throu%h some trick of nature, the %ates of an indi(idual;s subconsciousness $ere suddenly to sprin% open, the unprepared mind $ould be o(er$helmed and crushed. Therefore, the %ates of the subconscious are %uarded, by all initiates, and hidden behind the (eil of mysteries and symbols. *n a later section of his fore$ord the lama presents a more detailed elaboration of the inner meanin% of the Thodol.

*f the Bardo Thodol $ere to be re%arded as bein% based merely upon folklore, or as consistin% of reli%ious speculation about death and a hypothetical after8death state, it $ould be of interest only to anthropolo%ists and students of reli%ion. But the Bardo Thodol is far more. *t is a key to the innermost recesses of the human mind, and a %uide for initiates, and for those $ho are seekin% the spiritual path of liberation. Althou%h the Bardo Thodol is at present time $idely used in Tibet as a bre(iary, and read or recited on the occasion of death,8 for $hich reason it has been aptly called :The Tibetan Book of the Dead:8 one should not for%et that it $as ori%inally concei(ed to ser(e as a %uide not only for the dyin% and the dead, but for the li(in% as $ell. And herein lies the >ustification for ha(in% made The Tibetan Book of the Dead accessible to a $ider public. +ot$ithstandin% the popular customs and beliefs $hich, under the influence of a%e8old traditions of pre8Buddhist ori%in, ha(e %ro$n around the profound re(elations of the Bardo Thodol, it has (alue only for those $ho practise and reali"e its teachin% durin% their life8time. There are t$o thin%s $hich ha(e caused misunderstandin%. ,ne is that the teachin%s seem to be addressed to the dead or the dyin%I the other that the title contains the expression :Liberation throu%h 'earin%: Ain Tibetan, Thos8%rolD. As a result, there has arisen the belief that it is sufficient to read or recite the Bardo Thodol in the presence of a dyin% person, or e(en of a person $ho has >ust died, in order to effect his or her liberation. &uch misunderstandin% could only ha(e arisen amon% those $ho do not kno$ that it is one of the oldest and most uni(ersal practices for the initiate to %o throu%h the experience of death before he can be spiritually reborn. &ymbolically he must die to his past, and to his old e%o, before he can take his place in the ne$ spiritual life into $hich he has been initiated. The dead or the dyin% person is addressed in the Bardo Thodol mainly for three reasonsF A4D the earnest practitioner of these teachin%s should re%ard e(ery moment of his or her life as if it $ere the lastI A2D $hen a follo$er of these teachin%s is actually dyin%, he or she should be reminded of the experiences at the time of initiation, or of the $ords Aor mantraD of the %uru, especially if the dyin% one;s mind lacks alertness durin% the critical momentsI and A9D one $ho is still incarnate should try to surround the person dyin%, or >ust dead, $ith lo(in% and helpful thou%hts durin% the first sta%es of the ne$, or afterdeath, state of existence, $ithout allo$in% emotional attachment to interfere or to %i(e rise to a state of morbid mental depression. Accordin%ly, one function of the Bardo Thodol appears to be more to help those $ho ha(e been left behind to adopt the ri%ht attitude to$ards the dead and to$ards the fact of death than to assist the dead, $ho, accordin% to Buddhist belief, $ill not de(iate from their o$n karmic path. . . . This pro(es that $e ha(e to do here $ith life itself and not merely $ith a mass for the dead, to $hich the Bardo Thodol $as reduced in later times. . . .

)nder the %uise of a science of death, the Bardo Thodol re(eals the secret of lifeI and therein lies its spiritual (alue and its uni(ersal appeal. 'ere then is the key to a mystery $hich has been passed do$n for o(er 2,BMM years 8 the consciousness8expansion experience 8 the pre8mortem death and rebirth rite. The Jedic sa%es kne$ the secretI the Eleusinian initiates kne$ itI the Tantrics kne$ it. *n all their esoteric $ritin%s they $hisper the messa%eF it is possible to cut beyond e%o8consciousness, to tune in on neurolo%ical processes $hich flash by at the speed of li%ht, and to become a$are of the enormous treasury of ancient racial kno$led%e $elded into the nucleus of e(ery cell in your body. !odern psychedelic chemicals pro(ide a key to this for%otten realm of a$areness. But >ust as this manual $ithout the psychedelic a$areness is nothin% but an exercise in academic Tibetolo%y, so, too, the potent chemical key is of little (alue $ithout the %uidance and the teachin%s. ?esterners do not accept the existence of conscious processes for $hich they ha(e no operational term. The attitude $hich is pre(alent isF 8 if you can;t label it, and if it is beyond current notions of space8time and personality, then it is not open for in(esti%ation. Thus $e see the e%o8loss experience confused $ith schi"ophrenia. Thus $e see present8day psychiatrists solemnly pronouncin% the psychedelic keys as psychosis8producin% and dan%erous. The ne$ (isionary chemicals and the pre8mortem8death8rebirth experience may be pushed once a%ain into the shado$s of history. Lookin% back, $e remember that e(ery middle8eastern and European administrator A$ith the exception of certain periods in Ereece and PersiaD has, durin% the last three thousand years, rushed to pass la$s a%ainst any emer%in% transcendental process, the pre8mortem8death8rebirth session, its adepts, and any ne$ method of consciousness8expansion. The present moment in human history Aas Lama Eo(inda points outD is critical. +o$, for the first time, $e possess the means of pro(idin% the enli%htenment to any prepared (olunteer. AThe enli%htenment al$ays comes, $e remember, in the form of a ne$ ener%y process, a physical, neurolo%ical e(ent.D .or these reasons $e ha(e prepared this psychedelic (ersion of The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The secret is released once a%ain, in a ne$ dialect, and $e sit back <uietly to obser(e $hether man is ready to mo(e ahead and to make use of the ne$ tools pro(ided by modern science. **. T'E T*BETA+ B,,- ,. T'E DEAD .* &T BA D,F T'E PE *,D ,. EE,8L,&& , +,+8EA!E E@&TA&0 A@hikhai BardoD Part *F The Primary @lear Li%ht &een At the !oment of E%o8Loss. All indi(iduals $ho ha(e recei(ed the practical teachin%s of this manual $ill, if the text be remembered, be set face to face $ith the ecstatic radiance and $ill $in illumination instantaneously, $ithout enterin% upon hallucinatory stru%%les and $ithout further sufferin% on the a%e8lon% path$ay of normal e(olution $hich tra(erses the (arious $orlds of %ame existence. This doctrine underlies the $hole of the Tibetan model. .aith is the first step on the :&ecret Path$ay.: Then comes illumination and $ith it certaintyI and $hen the %oal is $on, emancipation. &uccess implies (ery unusual preparation in consciousness expansion, as $ell as much calm, compassionate %ame playin% A%ood karmaD on the part of the participant. *f the participant can be made to see and to %rasp the idea of the empty mind as soon as the %uide re(eals it 8 that is to say, if he has the po$er to die consciously 8 and, at the supreme moment of <uittin% the e%o, can reco%ni"e the ecstasy $hich $ill da$n upon him then, and become one $ith it, all %ame bonds of illusion are broken asunder immediatelyF the dreamer is a$akened into reality simultaneously $ith the mi%hty achie(ement of reco%nition. *t is best if the %uru Aspiritual teacherD, from $hom the participant recei(ed %uidin% instructions, is present, but if the %uru cannot be present, then another experienced personI or it the latter is also una(ailable, then a person $hom the participant trusts should be a(ailable to read this manual $ithout imposin% any of his o$n %ames. Thereby the participant $ill be put in mind of $hat he had pre(iously heard of the experience and $ill at once come to reco%ni"e the fundamental Li%ht and undoubtedly obtain liberation. Liberation is the ner(ous system de(oid of mental8conceptual acti(ity. G eali"ation of the Joidness, the )nbecome, the )nborn, the )nmade, the )nformed, implies Buddhahood, Perfect Enli%htenment 8 the state of the di(ine mind of the Buddha. *t may be helpful to remember that this ancient doctrine is not in conflict $ith modern physics. The theoretical physicist and cosmolo%ist, Eeor%e Eamo$, presented in 46BM a (ie$point $hich is close to the phenomenolo%ical experience described by the Tibetan lamas. *f $e ima%ine history runnin% back in time, $e ine(itably come to the epoch of the :bi% s<uee"e: $ith all the %alaxies, stars, atoms and atomic nuclei s<uee"ed, so to speak, to a pulp.

Durin% that early sta%e of e(olution, matter must ha(e been dissociated into its elementary components. . . . ?e call this primordial mixture ylem. At this first point in the e(olution of the present cycle, accordin% to this first8rank physicist, there existed only the )nbecome, the )nborn, the )nformed. And this, accordin% to astrophysicists, is the $ay it $ill endI the silent unity of the )nformed. The Tibetan Buddhists su%%est that the uncluttered intellect can experience $hat astrophysics confirms. The Buddha Jairochana, the Dhyani Buddha of the @enter, !anifester of Phenomena, is the hi%hest path to enli%htenment. As the source of all or%anic life, in him all thin%s (isible and in(isible ha(e their consummation and absorption. 'e is associated $ith the @entral ealm of the Densely8 Packed, i.e., the seed of all uni(ersal forces and thin%s are densely packed to%ether. This remarkable con(er%ence of modern astrophysics and ancient lamaism demands no complicated explanation. The cosmolo%ical a$areness8 and a$areness of e(ery other natural process8 is there in the cortex. 0ou can confirm this preconceptual mystical kno$led%e by empirical obser(ation and measurement, but it;s all there inside your skull. 0our neurons :kno$: because they are linked directly to the process, are part of it.H The mind in its conditioned state, that is to say, $hen limited to $ords and e%o %ames, is continuously in thou%ht8formation acti(ity. The ner(ous system in a state of <uiescence, alert, a$ake but not acti(e is comparable to $hat Buddhists call the hi%hest state of dhyana Adeep meditationD $hen still united to a human body. The conscious reco%nition of the @lear Li%ht induces an ecstatic condition of consciousness such as saints and mystics of the ?est ha(e called illumination. The first si%n is the %limpsin% of the :@lear Li%ht of eality,: :the infallible mind of the pure mystic state.: This is the a$areness of ener%y transformations $ith no imposition of mental cate%ories. The duration of this state (aries $ith the indi(idual. *t depends upon experience, security, trust, preparation and the surroundin%s. *n those $ho ha(e had e(en a little practical experience of the tran<uil state of non8%ame a$areness, and in those $ho ha(e happy %ames, this state can last from thirty minutes to se(eral hours. *n this state, reali"ation of $hat mystics call the :)ltimate Truth: is possible, pro(ided that sufficient preparation has been made by the person beforehand. ,ther$ise he cannot benefit no$, and must $ander on into lo$er and lo$er conditions of hallucinations, as determined by his past %ames, until he drops back to routine reality. *t is important to remember that the conscious8expansion process is the re(erse of the birth process, birth bein% the be%innin% of %ame life and the e%o8loss experience bein% a temporary endin% of %ame life. But in both there is a passin% from one state of consciousness into another. And >ust as an infant must $ake up and learn from experience the nature of this $orld, so like$ise a person at the moment of consciousness expansion must $ake up in this ne$ brilliant $orld and become familiar $ith its o$n peculiar conditions.

*n those $ho are hea(ily dependent on their e%o %ames, and $ho dread %i(in% up their control, the illuminated state endures only so lon% as it $ould take to snap a fin%er. *n some, it lasts as lon% as the time taken for eatin% a meal. *f the sub>ect is prepared to dia%nose the symptoms of e%o loss, he needs no outside help at this point. +ot only should the person about to %i(e up his e%o be able to dia%nose the symptoms as they come, one by one, but he should also be able to reco%ni"e the @lear Li%ht $ithout bein% set face to face $ith it by another person. *f the person fails to reco%ni"e and accept the onset of e%o loss, he may complain of stran%e bodily symptoms. This sho$s that he has not reached a liberated state. Then the %uide or friend should explain the symptoms as indicatin% the onset of e%o loss. 'ere is a list of commonly reported physical sensationsF 4. Bodily pressure, $hich the Tibetans call earth8sinkin%8into8$aterI 2. @lammy coldness, follo$ed by fe(erish heat, $hich the Tibetans call $ater8sinkin%8into8fireI 9. Body disinte%ratin% or blo$n to atoms, called fire8sinkin%8into8airI 7. Pressure on head and ears, $hich Americans call rocket8launchin%8into8spaceI B. Tin%lin% in extremitiesI 3. .eelin%s of body meltin% or flo$in% as if $axI C. +auseaI 5. Tremblin% or shakin%, be%innin% in pel(ic re%ions and spreadin% up torso. These physical reactions should be reco%ni"ed as si%ns heraldin% transcendence. A(oid treatin% them as symptoms of illness, accept them, mer%e $ith them, en>oy them. !ild nausea occurs often $ith the in%estion of mornin%8%lory seeds or peyote, rarely $ith mescaline and infre<uently $ith L&D or psilocybin. *f the sub>ect experiences stomach messa%es, they should be hailed as a si%n that consciousness is mo(in% around in the body. The symptoms are mentalI the mind controls the sensation, and the sub>ect should mer%e $ith the sensation, experience it fully, en>oy it and, ha(in% en>oyed it, let consciousness flo$ on to the next phase. *t is usually more natural to let consciousness stay in the body 8 the sub>ect;s attention can mo(e from the stomach and concentrate on breathin%, heart beat. *f this does not free him from nausea, the %uide should mo(e the consciousness to external e(ents 8 music, $alkin% in the %arden, etc. The appearance of physical symptoms of e%o8loss, reco%ni"ed and understood, should result in peaceful attainment of illumination. *f ecstatic acceptance does not occur Aor $hen the period of peaceful silence seems to be endin%D, the rele(ant sections of the instructions can be spoken in a lo$ tone of (oice in the ear. *t is often useful to repeat them distinctly, clearly impressin% them upon the person so as to pre(ent his mind from $anderin%. Another method of %uidin% the experience $ith a minimum of acti(ity is to ha(e the instructions pre(iously recorded in the sub>ect;s o$n (oice and to flip the tape on at the appropriate moment. The readin% $ill recall to the mind of the (oya%er the former preparationI it $ill cause the naked consciousness to be reco%ni"ed as the :@lear Li%ht of the Be%innin%I: it $ill remind the sub>ect of his unity $ith this state of perfect enli%htenment and help him to maintain it.

*f, $hen under%oin% e%o8loss, one is familiar $ith this state, by (irtue of pre(ious experience and preparation, the ?heel of ebirth Ai.e., all %ame playin%D is stopped, and liberation instantaneously is achie(ed. But such spiritual efficiency is so (ery rare, that the normal mental condition of the person is une<ual to the supreme feat of holdin% on to the state in $hich the @lear Li%ht shinesI and there follo$s a pro%ressi(e descent into lo$er and lo$er states of the Bardo existence, and then rebirth. The simile of a needle balanced and set rollin% on a thread is used by the lamas to elucidate this condition. &o lon% as the needle retains its balance, it remains on the thread. E(entually, ho$e(er, the la$ of %ra(itation Athe pull of the e%o or external stimulationD affects it, and it falls. *n the realm of the @lear Li%ht, similarly, the mentality of a person in the e%o8transcendent state momentarily en>oys a condition of balance, of perfect e<uilibrium, and of oneness. )nfamiliar $ith such a state, $hich is an ecstate state of non8e%o, the consciousness of the a(era%e human bein% lacks the po$er to function in it. -armic Ai.e., %ameD propensities becloud the consciousness8principle $ith thou%hts of personality, of indi(iduali"ed bein%, of dualism. Thus, losin% e<uilibrium, consciousness falls a$ay from the @lear Li%ht. *t is thou%ht processes $hich pre(ent the reali"ation of +ir(ana A$hich is the :blo$in% out of the flame: of selfish %ame desireDI and so the ?heel of Life continues to turn. All or some of the appropriate passa%es in the instructions may be read to the (oya%er durin% the period of $aitin% for the dru% to take effect, and $hen the first symptoms of e%o8loss appear. ?hen the (oya%er is clearly in a profound e%o8transcendent ecstasy, the $ise %uide $ill remain silent. Part **F The &econdary @lear Li%ht &een *mmediately After E%o8Loss. The precedin% section describes ho$ the @lear Li%ht may be reco%ni"ed and liberation maintained. But if it becomes apparent that the Primary @lear Li%ht has not been reco%ni"ed, then it can certainly be assumed there is da$nin% $hat is called the phase of the &econdary @lear Li%ht. The first flash of experience usually produces a state of ecstasy of the %reatest intensity. E(ery cell in the body is sensed as in(ol(ed in or%astic creati(ity. *t may be helpful to describe in more detail some of the phenomena $hich often accompany the moment of e%o8loss. ,ne of these mi%ht be called :$a(e ener%y flo$.: The indi(idual becomes a$are that he is part of and surrounded by a char%ed field of ener%y, $hich seems almost electrical. *n order to maintain the e%o8loss state as lon% as possible, the prepared person $ill relax and allo$ the forces to flo$ throu%h him. There are t$o dan%ers to a(oidF the attempt to control or to rationali"e this ener%y flo$. Either of these reactions is indicati(e of e%o8acti(ity and the .irst Bardo transcendence is lost. The second phenomenon mi%ht be called :biolo%ical life8flo$.: 'ere the person becomes a$are of physiolo%ical and biochemical processesI rhythmic pulsin% acti(ity $ithin the body. ,ften this may be sensed as po$erful motors or %enerators continously throbbin% and radiatin% ener%y. An endless flo$ of cellular forms and colors flashes by. *nternal biolo%ical processes may also be heard $ith characteristic s$ooshin%, cracklin%, and poundin% noises.

A%ain the person must resist the temptation to label or control these processes. At this point you are tuned in to areas of the ner(ous system $hich are inaccessible to routine perception. 0ou cannot dra% your e%o into the molecular processes of life. These processes are a billion years older than the learned conceptual mind. Another typical and most re$ardin% phase of the .irst Bardo in(ol(es ecstatic ener%y mo(ement felt in the spine. The base of the backbone seems to be meltin% or seems on fire. *f the person can maintain <uiet concentration the ener%y $ill be sensed as flo$in% up$ards. Tantric adepts de(ote decades of concentrated meditation to the release of these ecstatic ener%ies $hich they call -undalini, the &erpent Po$er. ,ne allo$s the ener%ies to tra(el up$ards throu%h se(eral %an%lionic centers AchakrasD to the brain, $here they are sensed as a burnin% sensation in the top of the cranium. These sensations are not unpleasant to the prepared person, but, on the contrary, are accompanied by the most intense feelin%s of >oy and illumination. *ll8prepared sub>ects may interpret the experience in patholo%ical terms and attempt to control it, usually $ith unpleasant results. GProfessor . @. Kaehner, $ho as an ,riental scholar and :expert: on mysticism should ha(e kno$ better, has published an account of ho$ this pri"ed experience can be lost and distorted into hypochondriacal complaint in the ill8educated. . . . * had a curious sensation in my body $hich reminded me of $hat !r. @ustance describes as a :tin%lin% at the base of the spine,: $hich accordin% to him, usually precedes a bout of mania. *t $as rather like that. *n the Broad ?alk this sensation occurred a%ain and a%ain until the climax of the experiment $as reached . . . * did not like it at all. A . @. KaehnerF !ysticism, &acred and Profane. ,xford )ni(. Press, 46BC, p. 247D *f the sub>ects fails to reco%ni"e the rushin% flo$ of .irst Bardo phnomena, liberation from the e%o is lost. The person finds himself slippin% back into mental acti(ities. At this point he should try to recall the instructions or be reminded of them, and a second contact $ith these processes can be made. The second sta%e is less intense. A ball set bouncin% reaches its %reatest hei%ht at the first bounceI the second bounce is lo$er, and each succeedin% bounce is still lo$er until the ball comes to rest. The consciousness at the loss of the e%o is similar to this. *ts first spiritual bound, directly upon lea(in% the body8e%o, is the hi%hestI the next is lo$er. Then the force of karma, Ai.e., past %ame8playin%D, takes o(er and different forms of external reality are experienced. .inally, the force of karma ha(in% spent itself, consciousness returns to :normal.: outines are taken up a%ain and thus rebirth occurs. The first ecstasy usually ends $ith a momentary flashback to the e%o condition. This return can be happy or sad, lo(in% or suspicious, fearful or coura%eous, dependin% on the personality, the preparation, and the settin%.

This flashback to the e%o8%ame is accompanied by a concern $ith identity. :?ho am * no$= Am * dead or not dead= ?hat is happenin%=: 0ou cannot determine. 0ou see the surroundin%s and your companions as you had been used to seein% them before. There is a penetratin% sensiti(ity. But you are on a different le(el. 0our e%o %rasp is not <uite as sure as it $as. The karmic hallucinations and (isions ha(e not yet started. +either the fri%htenin% apparitions nor the hea(enly (isions ha(e be%un. This is a most sensiti(e and pre%nant period. The remainder of the experience can be pushed one $ay or another dependin% upon preparation and emotional climate. *f you are experienced in consciousness alteration, or if you are a naturally intro(erted person, remember the situation and the schedule. &tay calm and let the experience take you $here it $ill. 0ou $ill probably re8experience the ecstasy of illumination once a%ainI or you may drift into aesthetic or philosophic or interpersonal enli%htenments. Don;t hold onF let the stream carry you alon%. The experienced person is usually beyond dependence on settin%. 'e can turn off external pressure and return to illumination. An extro(erted person, dependent upon social %ames and outside situations may, ho$e(er, become pleasantly distracted Acolors, sounds, peopleD. *f you anticipate extro(erted distraction and if you $ant to maintain a non8%ame state of ecstasy, then remember the follo$in% su%%estionsF do not be distractedI try to concentrate on an ideal contemplati(e persona%e, e.%., Buddha, @hrist, &ocrates, amakrishna, Einstein, 'erman 'esse or Lao TseF follo$ his model as if he $ere a bein% $ith a physical body $aitin% for you. 1oin him. *f this is not successful, don;t fret or think about it. Perhaps you don;t ha(e a mystical or transcendental ideal. That means your conceptual limits are $ithin external %ames. +o$ that you kno$ $hat the mystic experience is, you can prepare for it next time. 0ou ha(e lost the content8free flo$ and should no$ be ready to slip into excitin% confrontation $ith external reality. *n the &econd Bardo you can reash and deeply experience %ame re(elations. ?e ha(e >ust anticipated the reactions of the naturally mystical intro(ert, the experienced person, and the extro(ert. +o$ let;s turn to the no(itiate $ho sho$s confusion at this early sta%e of the se<uence. The best procedure is to make a reassurin% si%n and do nothin%. 'e $ill ha(e read this manual and $ill ha(e some %uidepost. Lea(e him alone and he $ill probably di(e into his panic and master it. *f he indicates that he $ishes %uidance, repeat the instructions. Tell him $hat is happenin%. emind him of his phase in the process. )r%e him <uietly to release his e%o stru%%le and drift back into contact $ith the @lear Li%ht. Preparation and %uidance of this sort $ill allo$ many to reach the illuminated state $ho $ould not be expected to reco%ni"e it. At this point, it is necessary to in>ect a $ord of beni%n $arnin%. eadin% this manual is extremely useful, but no $ords can communicate experience. 0ou are %oin% to be surprised, startled and deli%hted. A person may ha(e heard a detailed description of the art of s$immin%

and yet ne(er had the chance to s$im. &uddenly di(in% into the $ater, he finds himself unable to s$im. &o $ith those $ho ha(e tried to learn the theory of ho$ to experience e%o8loss, and ha(e ne(er applied it. They cannot maintain unbroken continuity of consciousness, they %ro$ be$ildered at the chan%ed conditionI they fail to maintain the mystical ecstasyI they fail to take ad(anta%e of the opportunity unless upheld and directed by a %uide. E(en $ith all that a %uide can do, they ordinarily, because of bad karma Ahea(y e%o %amesD fail to reco%ni"e the liberation. But this is no cause for $orry. At the $orst, they >ust slip back to shore. +o one has dro$ned, and most of those $ho ha(e taken the (oya%e ha(e been ea%er to try a%ain. E(en those $ho ha(e familiari"ed themsel(es $ith the road maps and $ho pre(iously ha(e had illumination, may find themsel(es in settin%s $here hea(y %ame beha(ior on the part of others forces them into contact $ith external reality. *f this happens, recall the instructions. The person $ho masters this principle can block out the external. The one $ho has mastered control of consciousness is independent of settin%. A%ain there are those, $ho althou%h pre(iously successful, may ha(e brou%ht e%o %ames into the session $ith them. They may $ant to pro(ide someone else $ith a particular type of experience. They may be promotin% some self %oal. They may be nurturin% ne%ati(e or competiti(e or seducti(e feelin%s to$ards someone in the session. *f this happens, recall the instructions. emember the unity of all bein%s. ,ne to me is shame and fame. ,ne to me is loss or %ain. 1ettison your e%o pro%ram and float back to the radiant bliss of at8one8ness. *f you reach the @lear Li%ht immediately and maintain it, that is best. But if not, if you ha(e slipped do$n to reality concerns, by rememberin% these instructions you should be able to re%ain $hat the Tibetans call the &econdary @lear Li%ht. ?hile on this secondary le(el, an interestin% dialo%ue occurs bet$een pure transcendence and the a$areness that this ecstatic (ision is happenin% to oneself. The first radiance kno$s no self, no concepts. The secondary experience in(ol(es a certain state of conceptual lucidity. The kno$in% self ho(ers $ithin that transcendent terrain from $hich it is usually barred. *f the instructions are remembered, external reality $ill not intrude. But the flashin% in and out bet$een pure e%o8less unity, and lucid, non8%ame selfhood, produces an intellectual ecstasy and understandin% that defies description. Pre(ious philosophic readin% $ill suddenly take on li(in% meanin%. Thus in this secondary sta%e of the .irst Bardo, there is possible both the mystic non8self and the mystic self experience. After you ha(e experienced these t$o states, you may $ish to pursue this distinction intellectually. ?e are confronted here $ith one of the oldest debates in Eastern philosophy. *s it better to be part of the su%ar or to taste the su%ar= Theolo%ical contro(ersies and their dualities are far remo(ed from experience. Thanks to the experimental mysticism made possible by consciousness8expandin% dru%s, you may ha(e been lucky enou%h to ha(e experienced the flashin% back and forth bet$een the t$o states. 0ou may be lucky enou%h to kno$ $hat the academic monks could only think about.

'ere ends the .irst Bardo, The Period of E%o8loss or +on8Eame Ecstasy

&E@,+D BA D,F T'E PE *,D ,. 'ALL)@*+AT*,+& A@honyid BardoD *ntroduction *f the Primary @lear Li%ht is not reco%ni"ed, there remains the possibility of maintainin% the &econdary @lear Li%ht. *f that is lost, then comes the @honyid Bardo, the period of karmic illusions or intense hallucinatory mixtures of %ame reality. *t is (ery important that the instructions be remembered 8 they can ha(e %reat influence and effect. Durin% this period, the flo$ of consciousness, microscopically clear and intense, is interrupted by fleetin% attempts to rationali"e and interpret. But the normal %ame8playin% e%o is not functionin% effecti(ely. There exist, therefore, unlimited possibilities for, on the one hand, deli%htful sensuous, intellectual and emotional no(elties if one floats $ith the currentI and, on the other hand, fearful ambuscades of confusion and terror if one tries to impose his $ill on the experience. The purpose of this part of the manual is to prepare the person for the choice points $hich arise durin% this sta%e. &tran%e sounds, $eird si%hts and disturbed (isions may occur. These can a$e, fri%hten and terrify unless one is prepared. The experienced person $ill be able to maintain the reco%nition that all perceptions come from $ithin and $ill be able to sit <uietly, controllin% his expanded a$areness like a phantasma%oric multi8dimensional tele(ision setF the most acute and sensiti(e hallucinations 8 (isual, auditory, touch, smell, physical and bodilyI the most ex<uisite reactions, compassionate insi%ht into the self, the $orld. The key is inactionF passi(e inte%ration $ith all that occurs around you. *f you try to impose your $ill, use your mind, rationali"e, seek explanations, you $ill %et cau%ht in hallucinatory $hirlpools. The mottoF peace, acceptance. *t is all an e(er8chan%in% panorama. 0ou are temporarily remo(ed from the $orld of %ame. En>oy it. The inexperienced and those to $ho e%o control is important may find this passi(ity impossible. *f you cannot remain inacti(e and subdue your $ill, then the one certain acti(ity $hich can reduce panic and pull you out of hallucinatory mind8%ames is physical contact $ith another person. Eo to the %uide or to another participant and put your head on his lap or chestI put your face next to his and concentrate on the mo(ement and sound of his inspiration. Breathe deeply and feel the air rush in and the si%hin% release. This is the oldest form of li(in% communicationI the brotherhood of breath. The %uide;s hand on your forehead may add to the relaxation.

@ontact $ith another participant may be misunderstood and pro(oke sexual hallucinations. .or this reason, helpin% contact should be made explicit by prearran%ement. )nprepared participants may impose sexual fears or fantasies on the contact. Turn them offI they are karmic illusory productions. The tender, %entle, supporti(e huddlin% to%ether of participants is a natural de(elopment durin% the second phase. Do not try to rationali"e this contact. 'uman bein%s and, for that matter, most all mobile terrestrial creatures ha(e been huddlin% to%ether durin% lon%, dark confused ni%hts for se(eral hundred thousand years. Breathe in and breathe out $ith you companions. ?e are all oneN That;s $hat your breath is tellin% you. Explanation of the &econd Bardo The underlyin% problem of the &econd Bardo is that any and e(ery shape 8 human, di(ine, diabolical, heroic, e(il, animal, thin% 8 $hich the human brain con>ures up or the past life recalls, can present itself to consciousnessF shapes and forms and sounds $hirlin% by endlessly. The underlyin% solution 8 repeated a%ain and a%ain 8 is to reco%ni"e that your brain is producin% the (isions. They do not exist. +othin% exists except as your consciousness %i(es it life. 0ou are standin% on the threshold of reco%ni"in% the truthF there is no reality behind any of the phenomena of the e%o8loss state, sa(e the illusions stored up in your o$n mind either as accretions from %ame A&an%saricD experience or as %ifts from or%anic physical nature and its billion8year old past history. eco%nition of this truth %i(es liberation. There is, of course, no $ay of classifyin% the infinite permutations and combinations of (isionary elements. The cortex contains file8cards for billions of ima%es from the history of the person, of the race, and of li(in% forms. Any of these, at the rate of a hundred million per second Aaccordin% to neuro8physiolo%istsD, can flood into a$areness. Bobbin% around in this brilliant, symphonic sea of ima%ery is the remnant of the conceptual mind. ,n the endless $atery turbulence of the Pacific ,cean bobs a tiny open mouth shoutin% Abet$een saline mouthfulsD, :,rderN &ystemN Explain all thisN: ,ne cannot predict $hat (isions $ill occur, nor their se<uence. ,ne can only ur%e the participants to shut the mouth, breathe throu%h the nose, and turn off the fid%ety, rationali"in% mind. But only the experienced person of mystical bent can do this Aand thus remain in serene enli%htenmentD. The unprepared person $ill be confused or, $orse, panickyF the intellectual stru%%le to control the ocean.

*n order to %uide the person, to help him or%ani"e his (isions into explicable units, the @honyid Bardo $as $ritten. There are t$o sectionsF A4D &e(en Peaceful Deities $ith their symmetrically opposed e%o traps. A2D Ei%ht ?rathful Deities $ho can be >oyfully accepted as (isionary productions, or fled from in terror. Each of the &e(en Peaceful Deities Abisexual .ather8!other fi%uresD are accompanied by consorts, attendants, lesser deities, saints, an%els, heroes. Each of the ?rathful Deities is similarly accompanied. Li%hts, symbolic ob>ects, beautiful, horrid, threatenin%, seethin%, are like$ise seen. *f read literally, The Tibetan Book of the Dead $ould ha(e you expect the :!aster of All Jisible &hapes: Aor his opposite, the fondness for stupidityD on the first dayI the :*mmo(able Deity of 'appiness: and his consort, attendants and opposite on the second, etc. The manual should, of course, not be used ri%idly, exoterically, but should be taken in its esoteric, alle%orical form. ead from this perspecti(e, $e see that the lamas ha(e listed or named a thousand ima%es $hich can boil up in the e(er8chan%in% >e$eled mosaic of the retina Athat multi8layered s$amp of billions of rods and cones, infiltrated, like a Persian ru% or a !ayan car(in%, $ith countless multi8colored capillariesD. By preparatory readin% of the manual and by its repetition durin% the experience, the no(ice is led (ia su%%estion to reco%ni"e this fantastic retinal kaleidoscope. !ost important, he is told that they come from $ithin. All deities and demons, all hea(ens and hells are internal. The student $ith a particular interest in Tibetan or Tantric Buddhism should steep himself in the text of the @honyid Bardo. 'e should obtain colored plates of the fourteen dramas of the Bardo, and he should arran%e to ha(e the %uide lead him throu%h the prescribed se<uence durin% the dru% session. This $ill pro(ide an unfor%ettable series of liberations and $ill permit the de(otee to emer%e from the experience :reincarnated: in the lamaist tradition. The aim of this manual is to make a(ailable the %eneral outline of the Tibetan Book and to translate it into psychedelic En%lish. .or this reason $e shall not present the detailed se<uence of lamaist hallucinations but, rather, list some apparitions commonly reported by ?esterners. .ollo$in% the Tibetan Thodo, $e ha(e classified &econd Bardo (isions into se(en typesF 4. The &ource or @reator Jision 2. The *nternal .lo$ of Archetypal Processes 9. The .ire8 .lo$ of *nternal )nity 7. The ?a(e8Jibration &tructure of External .orms B. The Jibratory ?a(es of External )nity 3. :The etinal @ircus: C. :The !a%ic Theatre: G?e o$e the phrase :retinal circus: to 'enri !ichaux A!iserable !iracleD, and the term :ma%ic theatre: to 'ermann 'esse A&teppen$olfD. Jisions 2 and 9 in(ol(e closed eyes and no contact $ith external stimuli. *n Jision 2 the internal ima%ery is primarily conceptual. The experience can ran%e from re(elation and insi%ht

to confusion and chaos, but the co%niti(e, intellectual meanin% is paramount. *n Jision 9 the internal ima%ery is primarily emotional. The experience can ran%e from lo(e and ecstatic unity to fear, distrust and isolation. Jisions 7 and B in(ol(e open eyes and rapt attention to external stimuli, such as sounds, li%hts, touch, etc. *n Jision 7 the external ima%ery is primarily conceptual and in Jision B emotional factors predominate. The se(enfold table >ust defined bears some similarity to the mandalic schema of the Peaceful Deities listed for the &econd Bardo in The Tibetan Book of the Dead. T'E PEA@E.)L J*&*,+& Jision 4F The &ource GThe first Peaceful Deity listed by the Bardo Thodol is the Bha%a(an Jairochana $ho occupies the center of the mandala of the fi(e Dhyani8Buddhas. 'is attributes of source8 po$er ha(e been translated into those of the monotheistic creator of ?estern reli%ions.H AEyes closed, external stimuli i%noredD The ?hite Li%ht, or .irst Bardo ener%y, may be interpreted as Eod the @reator. The &preader of the &eed. The Po$er $hich makes all shapes (isible. &eed of all that is. &o(erei%n Po$er. The All8Po$erful. The @entral &un. The ,ne Truth. The &ource of all ,r%anic Life. The Di(ine !other. The .emale @reati(e Principle. !other of the &pace of 'ea(en. adiant .ather8!other. !a%nificent re(elations, both spiritual and philosophic, can occur at this point makin% the hi%hest union of experience and intellect. But, because of bad karma Ausually reli%ious beliefs of a monotheistic or puniti(e natureD, the %lorious li%ht of the seed $isdom it can produce a$e and terror. The person $ill $ish to flee and $ill be%et a fondness for the dull $hite li%ht symboli"in% stupidity. Persons from a 1udaeo8@hristian back%round concei(e of an enormous %ulf bet$een di(inity A$hich is :up there:D and the self A:do$n here:D. @hristian mystics; claims to unity $ith di(ine radiance has al$ays posed problems for theolo%ians $ho are committed to the cosmolo%ical sub>ect8ob>ect distinction. !ost ?esterners, therefore, find it difficult to attain unity $ith the source8li%ht. *f the %uide ascertains that the (oya%er is stru%%lin% $ith thou%hts or feelin%s about the creati(e source ener%y, he can read the appropriate instructions. OOPOOQQ *+&T )@T*,+& ., J*&*,+ 4F T'E &,) @E Jision 2F The *nternal .lo$ of Archetypal Processes AEyes closed, external stimuli i%noredI intellectual aspectsD

*f the undifferentiated li%ht of the .irst Bardo or of the &ource Ener%y is lost, luminous $a(es of differentiated forms can flood throu%h the consciousness. The person;s mind be%ins to identify these fi%ures, that is, to label them and experience re(elations about the life process. GLama Eo(inda tells us that Amo%hasiddhi represents :. . . the mysterious acti(ity of spiritual forces, $hich $ork remo(ed from the senses, in(isible and imperceptible, $ith the aim of %uidin% the indi(idual Aor, more properlyF all li(in% bein%sD to$ards the maturity of kno$led%e and liberation. The yello$ li%ht of an AinnerD sun in(isible to human eyes . . . Ain $hich the unfathomable space of the uni(erse seems to open itselfD for the serene mystic %reen of Amo%hasiddhi. . . . ,n the elementary plane this all8per(adin% po$er corresponds to the element of air 8 the principle of mo(ement and extension, of life and breath ApranaD.: Lama Eo(indaF .oundations of Tibetan !ysticism. LodonF E. P. Dutton # @o., *nc., 46B6, p.42M. The fifth day of the Baro Thodol confronts the deceased $ith the Bha%a(an Buddha Amo%hasiddhi, Almi%hty @on<ueror, from the %reen +orther realm of &uccessful Performance of Best Actions, attended by a Di(ine !other, and t$o Bodhisatt(as representin% the mental functions of :e<uilibrium, immutability, and almi%hty po$er: and :clearer of obscurations.:H &pecifically, the sub>ect is cau%ht up in an endless flo$ of colored forms, microbiolo%ical shapes, cellular acrobatics, capillary $hirlin%. The cortex is turned in on molecular processes $hich are completely ne$ and stran%eF a +ia%ara of abstract desi%nsI the life8stream flo$in%, flo$in%. These (isions mi%ht perhaps be described as pure sensations of cellular and sub8cellular processes. *t is uncertain $hether they in(ol(e the retina andRor the (isual cortex, or $hether they are flashes of direct, molecular sensation in other areas of the central ner(ous system. They are sub>ecti(ely described as internal (isions. Another class of internal process ima%es in(ol(es sound. A%ain $e do not kno$ $hether these sensations ori%inate in the auditory apparatus andRor in the auditory cortex, or $hether they are flashes of direct, molecular sensations in other areas. They are sub>ecti(ely described as internal soundsF clickin%, thuddin%, clashin%, sou%hin%, rin%in%, tappin%, moanin%, shrill $histles. G The Tibetan Book includes a brilliant discussion of internal process noises. :. . . innumerable AotherD kinds of musical instruments, fillin% A$ith musicD the $hole $orld8 systems and causin% them to (ibrate, to <uake and tremble $ith sounds so mi%hty as to da"e one;s brain. . . .: :Tibetan lamas, in chantin% their rituals, employ se(en Aor ei%htD sorts of musical instrumentsF bi% drums, cymbals Acommonly brassD, conch shells, bells Alike the handbells used in the @hristian !ass &er(iceD, timbrels, small clarionets Asoundin% like 'i%hland ba%pipesD, bi% trumpets, and human thi%hbone trumpets. Althou%h the combined sounds of these instruments are far from bein% melodious, the lamas maintain that they psychically produce in the de(otee an attitude of deep (eneration and faith, because they are the counterparts of the natural sounds $hich one;s o$n body is heard producin% $hen the fin%ers are put in the ears to shut out external sounds. &toppin% the ears thus, there are heard a thuddin% sound, like that of a bi%

drum bein% beatenI a clashin% sound, as of cymbalsI a sou%hin% sound, as of a $ind mo(in% throu%h a forest 8 as $hen a conch8shell is boneI a rin%in% as of bellsI a sharp tappin% sound, as $hen a timbrel is usedI a moanin% sound, like that of a clarionetI a bass moanin% sound, as if made $ith a bi% trumpetI and a shriller sound, as of a thi%h8bone trumpet.: :+ot only is this interestin% as a theory of Tibetan sacred music, but it %i(es the clue to the esoteric interpretation of the symbolical natural sounds of Truth Areferred to in the second para%raph follo$in%, and else$here in our textD, $hich are said to be, or to proceed from, the intellectual faculties $ithin the human mentality.: 8 AE(ans8?ent", p. 425DH These noises, like the (isions, are direct sensations unencumbered by mental concepts. a$, molecular, dancin% units of ener%y. The minds s$eeps in and out of this e(olutionary stream, creatin% cosmolo%ical re(elations. Do"ens of mythical and Dar$inian insi%hts flash into a$areness. The person is allo$ed to %lance back do$n the flo$ of time and to percei(e ho$ the life ener%y continually manifests itself in forms, transient, al$asy chan%in%, reformin%. !icroscopic forms mer%e $ith primal creati(e myths. The mirror of consciousness is held up to the life stream. As lon% as the person floats $ith the current, he is exposed to a billion8year lesson in cosmolo%y. But the dra% of the mind is al$ays present. The tendency to impose arbitrary, isolatin% order on the or%anic process. &ometimes the (oya%er feels he should report back his (ision. 'e con(erts the life flo$ into a cosmic ink8blot test 8 attempts to label each form. :+o$ * see a peacock;s tail. +o$ !uslim kni%hts in colored armor. ,h, no$ a $aterfall of >e$els. +o$, @hinese music. +o$, %em8like serpents, etc.: Jerbali"ations of this sort dull the li%ht, stop the flo$ and should not be encoura%ed. Another trap is that of imposin% a sexual interpretation. The dancin%, playful flo$ of life is, in the most re(erant sense, sexual. .orms mer%in%, spinnin% to%ether, reproducin%. Eros in its countless manifestations. The Tibetans refer to the female Bodhisatt(as Pushpema, personification of blossoms, and Lasema, the :Belle:, depicted holdin% a mirror in a co<uettish attitude. -eep the pure, spontaneous a$areness of the !irror8like ?isdom. Lau%h >oyously at the tricks of the life process, fore(er deckin% out forms in seducti(e, enticin% patterns to keep the dance %oin%. *f the (oya%er interprets the (isions of Eros in terms of his personal sexual %ame model, and attempts to think or plan 8 :$hat should * do= $hat role should * play=: 8 he is likely to slip do$n into the Thrid Bardo. &exual plots dominate his a$areness, the flo$ fades, the mirror tarnishes, and he is rudely reborn as a confused, thinkin% bein%. &till another impasse is the imposition of physical symptom %ames upon the biolo%ical flo$. The ne$ somatic sensations may be interpreted as symptoms. *f it is ne$, it must be bad. Any or%an of the body may be selected as the focus of the :illness.: People $hose primary expectation $hen takin% a psychedelic substance is medical, are particularly likely to fall into

this trap. !edical doctors are, in fact, extremely prone and can ima%ine colorful diseases and fatal attacks. *n the case of the most $idely8used psychedelics AL&D, psilocybin, etc.D, it is safe to say that such bodily effects are (irtually ne(er the direct effect of the dru%. The dru% acts only on the brain and acti(ates central neural patterns. All physical symptoms are created by the mind. Bodily sickness is a si%n that the e%o is fi%htin% to maintain or re%ain its hold o(er an outpourin% of feelin%, o(er a dissolution of emotional boundaries. *f the person complains of physical symptoms such as nausea or pain, the %uide should read him the OOPOOQQ *+&T )@T*,+& ., P'0&*@AL &0!PT,!&. The ne%ati(e, $rathful counterpart to this (ision occurs if the (oya%er reacts $ith fear to the po$erful flo$ of life forms. &uch a reaction is attributable to the cumulated result of %ame playin% AkarmaD dominated by an%er or stupidity. A ni%htmarish hell8$orld may ensue. The (isual forms appear like a confusin% chaos of cheap, u%ly dime8store ob>ects, brassy, (ul%ar and useless. The person may become terrified at the prospect of bein% en%ulfed by them. The a$esome sounds may be heard as hideous, clashin%, oppressi(e, %ratin% noises. The person $ill attempt to escape from these perceptions into restless external acti(ity Atalkin%, mo(in% around, etc.D or into conceptual, analytic, mental acti(ity. The experience is the same, the intellectual interpretation is different. *nstead of re(elation, there is confusionI instead of calm >oy, there is fear. The %uide, reco%ni"in% the (oya%er to be in such a state, can help him %et free, by readin% the OOPOOQQ *nstructions for Jision 2. Jision 9F The .ire8.lo$ of *nternal )nity AEyes closed, external stimuli i%nored, emotional aspectsD The .irst Bardo instructions should keep you face8to8face $ith the (oid8ecstasy. 0et there are classes of men $ho, ha(in% carried o(er karmic conflict about feelin%8inhibition, pro(e unable to hold the pure experience beyond all feelin%s, and slip into emotionally toned (isions. The undifferentiated ener%y of the .irst Bardo is $o(en into (isionary %ames in the form of intense feelin%s. Ex<uisite, intense, pulsatin% sensations of unity and lo(e $ill be feltI the ne%ati(e counterpart is feelin%s of attachment, %reed, isolation and bodily concerns. *t comes about this $ayF the pure flo$ of ener%y loses its $hite (oid <uality and becomes sensed as intense feelin%s. An emotional %ame is imposed. *ncredible ne$ physical sensations pulse throu%h the body. The %lo$ of life is felt floodin% alon% (eins. ,ne mer%es into a uniti(e ocean of or%astic, fluid electricity, GThe Peaceful Deity of the Bardo Thodol personifyin% this (ision is the Buddha Amitabbha, the all8discriminatin% $isdom and feelin%, boundless li%ht, representin% life eternal. Lama Eo(inda $rites that :The deep red li%ht of discriminatin% inner (ision shines forth from his heart . . . fire corresponds to him and thus, accordin% to the ancient traditional symbolism, the eye and the function of seein%.: AEo(inda, op. cit., p. 42M.D ?ith the Bha%a(an Amitabbha comes the Bodhisatt(a @henra"ee,

embodiment of mercy or compassion, the %reat pitier e(er on the lookout to disco(er distress and to succour the troubled. 'e is >oined by the Bodhisatt(a :Elorious Eentle8(oiced ,ne,: and the femal incarnates :son%: and :li%ht.:H the endless flo$ of shared8life, of lo(e. Jisions related to the circulatory system are common. The sub>ect tumbles do$n throu%h his o$n arterial net$ork. The motor of the heart re(erberates as one $ith the pulsin% of all life. The heart then breaks, and red fire bleeds out to mer%e $ith all li(in% bein%s. All li(in% or%anisms are throbbin% to%ether. ,ne is >oyfully a$are of the t$o8billion8year8old electric sexual danceI one is at last di(ested of robot clothes and limbs and undulates in the endless chain of li(in% forms. Dominatin% this ecstatic state is the feelin% of intense lo(e. 0ou are a >oyful part of all life. The memory of former delusions of self8hood and differentiation in(okes exultant lau%hter. All the harsh, dry, brittle an%ularity of %ame life is melted. 0ou drift off 8 soft, rounded, moist, $arm. !er%ed $ith all life. 0ou may feel yourself floatin% out and do$n into a $arm sea. 0our indi(iduality and autonomy of mo(ement are moistly disappearin%. 0our control is surrendered to the total or%anism. Blissful passi(ity. Ecstatic, or%iastic, undulatin% unity. All $orries and concerns $ash a$ay. All is %ained as e(erythin% is %i(en up. There is or%anic re(elation. E(ery cell in your body is sin%in% its son% of freedom 8 the entire biolo%ical uni(erse is in harmony, liberated from the censorship and control of you and your restricted ambitions. But $aitN 0ou, 0ou, are disappearin% into the unity. 0ou are bein% s$allo$ed up by the ecstatic undulation. 0our e%o, that one tiny remainin% strand of self, screams &T,PN 0ou are terrified by the pull of the %lorious, da""lin%, transparent, radiant red li%ht. 0ou $rench yourself out of the life8flo$, dra$n by your intense attachment to your old desires. There is a terrible rendin% as your roots tear out of the life matrix 8 a rippin% of your fibres and (eins a$ay from the %reater body to $hich you $ere attached. And $hen you ha(e cut yourself off from the fire8flo$ of life the throbbin% stops, the ecstasy ceases, your limbs harden and stiffen into an%ular forms, your plastic doll body has re%ained its orientation. There you sit, isolated from the stream of life, impotent master of your desires and appetites, miserable. ?hile you are floatin% do$n the e(olutionary ri(er, there comes a sense of limitless self8less po$er. The deli%ht of flo$in% cosmic belon%in%ness. The astoundin% disco(ery that consciousness can tune in to an infinite number of or%anic le(els. There are billions of cellular processes in your body, each $ith its uni(erse of experience 8 an endless (ariety of ecstasies. The simple >oys and pains and burdens of your e%o represent one set of experiences 8 a repetitious, dusty set. As you slip into the fire8flo$ of biolo%ical ener%y, series after series of experiential sets flash by. 0ou are no lon%er encapsulated in the structure of e%o and tribe. But throu%h panic and a desire to latch on to the familiar, you shut off the flo$, open your eyesI then the flo$in%ness is lost. The potentiality to mo(e from one le(el of consciousness to another is %one. 0our fear and desire to control ha(e dri(en you to settle for one static site of

consciousness. To use the Eastern or %enetic metaphor, you ha(e fro"en the dance of ener%y and committed yourself to one incarnation, and you ha(e done it out of fear. ?hen this happens, there are se(eral steps $hich can take you back to the biolo%ical flo$ Aand from there to the .irst BardoD. .irst, close your eyes. Lie on you stomach and let you body sink throu%h the floor, mer%e $ith the surroundin%s. .eel the hard, s<uare ed%es of your body soften and start to mo(e in the bloodstream. Let the rhythm of breathin% become tide flo$. Bodily contact is probably the most effecti(e method of softenin% hardened surfaces. +o mo(ement. +o body %ames. @lose physical contact $ith another in(ariably brin%s about the unity of fire8flo$. 0our blood be%ins to flo$ into the other;s body. 'is breathin% pours into your lun%s. 0ou both drift do$n the capillary ri(er. Another form of life process ima%es is the flo$ of auditory sensations. The endless series of abstract sounds Adescribed in the precedin% (isionD bounce throu%h a$areness. The emotional reaction to these can be neutral or can in(ol(e intense feelin%s of unity, or of annoyed fear. The positi(e reaction occurs $hen the sub>ect mer%es $ith the sound flo$. The thuddin% drum of the heart is sensed as the basic anthem of humanity. The $hooshin% sou%h of the breath as the rushin% ri(er of all life. ,(er$helmin% feelin%s of lo(e, %ratitude and oneness funnel into the moment of sound, into each note of the biolo%ical concerto. But, as al$ays, the (oya%er may intrude his personality $ith its $ants and opinions. 'e may not :like: the noise. 'is >ud%mental e%o may be aesthetically offended by the sounds of life. The heart thud is, after all, monotonousI the natural music of the inner ear, $ith its clicks and hums and $histles, lacks the romantic symmetries of Beetho(en. The terrible separation of :me: from my body occurs. 'orrible. ,ut of my control. Turn it off. The trained %uide can usually sense $hen e%o8attachment threatens to pull the person out of the uniti(e flo$. At this time he can %uide the (oya%er by readin% the OOPOOQQ *nstructions for Jision 9. Jision 7F The ?a(e8Jibration &tructure of External .orms AEyes open or rapt in(ol(ement $ith external stimuliI intellectual aspectsD The pure, content8free li%ht of the .irst Bardo probably in(ol(es basic electrical $a(e ener%y. This is nameless, indescribable, because it is far beyond any concepts $hich $e no$ possess. &ome future atomic physicist may be able to classify this ener%y. Perhaps it $ill al$ays be ineffable for a ner(ous system such as that of homo sapiens. @an an or%anic system :comprehend: the (astly more efficient inor%anic= At any e(ent, most persons, e(en the most illuminated, find it impossible to maintain experiential contact $ith this (oid8li%ht and slip back to imposin% mental structures, hallucinatory and re(elatory, upon the flo$.

Thus $e are brou%ht to another fre<uent (ision $hich in(ol(es intense, rapt, uniti(e a$areness of external stimuli. *f the eyes are open, this super8reality effect can be (isual. The penetratin% impact of other stimuli can also set off re(elatory ima%ery. *t comes about this $ay. The sub>ect;s a$areness is suddenly in(aded by an outside stimulus. 'is attention is captured, but his old conceptual mind is not functionin%. But other sensiti(ities are en%a%ed. 'e experiences direct sensation. The ra$ :is8ness.: 'e sees, not ob>ects, but patterns of li%ht $a(es. 'e hears, not :music: or :meanin%ful: sound, but acoustic $a(es. 'e is struck $ith the sudden re(elation that all sensation and perception are based on $a(e (ibrations. That the $orld around him $hich heretofore had an illusory solidity, is nothin% more than a play of physical $a(es. That he is in(ol(ed in a cosmic tele(ision sho$ $hich has no more substantiality than the ima%es on his TJ picture tube. GThe Peaceful Deity of the Thodol personifyin% this (ision is Akshobhya. Accordin% to Lama Eo(inda, :*n the li%ht of the !irror8like ?isdom . . . thin%s are freed from their :thin%ness,: their isolation, $ithout bein% depri(ed of their formI they are di(ested of their materiality, $ithout bein% dissol(ed, because the creati(e principle of the mind, $hich is at the bottom of all form and materiality, is reco%ni"ed as the acti(e side of the uni(ersal &tore @onsciousness Aalaya8(i>nanaD, on the surface of $hich forms arise and pass a$ay, like the $a(es on the surface of the ocean. . . .: AEo(inda, op. cit., p. 446.D The atomic structure of matter is, of course, kno$n to us intellectually, but ne(er experienced by the adult except in states of intense altered consciousness. Learnin% from a physics textbook about the $a(e structure of matter is one thin%. Experiencin% it 8 bein% in it 8 $ith the old, familiar, %ross, hallucinatory comfort of :solid: thin%s %one and una(ailable, is <uite another matter. *f these super8real (isions in(ol(e $a(e phenomena, then the external $orld takes on a radiance and a re(elation that is sta%%erin%ly clear. The experienced insi%ht that the $orld of phenomena exists in the form of $a(es, electronic ima%es, can produce a sense of illuminated po$er. E(erythin% is experienced as consciousness. These exultant radiations should be reco%ni"ed as productions of your o$n internal processes. 0ou should not attempt to control or conceptuali"e. This can come later. There is the dan%er of hallucinatory free"in%. The sub>ect rushes back Asometimes literallyD to the three8dimensional reality, con(inced of the fixed :truth: of one experienced re(elation. !any mis%uided mystics and many persons called insane ha(e fallen into this ambuscade. This is like makin% a still photo%raph of a tele(ision pattern and shoutin% that one has finally sei"ed the truth. All is ecstatic electric !aya, the t$o8billion8year dance of $a(es. +o one part of it is more real than another. E(erythin% at all moments is shimmerin% $ith all the meanin%. &o far $e ha(e considered the positi(e radiance of clarityI but there are fearful ne%ati(e aspects of the fourth (ision. ?hen the sub>ect senses that his :$orld: is fra%mentin% into $a(es, he may become terrified. :'e,: :me,: :*: are dissol(in%N The $orld around me is supposed to sit, static and dead, <uietly a$aitin% my manipulation. But these passi(e thin%s

ha(e chan%ed into a shimmerin% dance of li(in% ener%yN The !aya nature of phenomena creates panic. ?here is the solid base= E(ery thin%, e(ery concept, e(ery form upon $hich one rests one;s mind collapses into electrical (ibrations lackin% solidity. The face of the %uide or of one;s belo(ed friend becomes a dancin% mosaic of impulses on one;s cortex. :!y consciousness: has created e(erythin% of $hich * am conscious. * ha(e kinescoped my $orld, my lo(ed ones, myself. All are >ust shimmerin% ener%y patterns. *nstead of clarity and exultant po$er, there is confusion. The sub>ect sta%%ers around, %raspin% at electron8patterns, stri(in% to free"e them back into the familiar robot forms. All solidity is %one. All phenomena are paper ima%es pasted on the %lass screen of consciousness. .or the unprepared, or for the person $hose karmic residue stresses control, the disco(ery of the $a(e8nature of all structure, the !aya re(elation, is a disastrous $eb of uncertainty. ?e ha(e discussed only the (isual aspects of the fourth (ision. Auditory phenomena are of e<ual importance. 'ere the solid, labelled nature of auditory patterns is lost, and the mechanical impact of sound hittin% the eardrum is re%istered. *n some cases, sound becomes con(erted into pure sensation, and synesthesia Amixture of sense modalitiesD occurs. &ounds are experienced as colors. External sensations hittin% the cortex are recorded as molecular e(ents, ineffable. The most dramatic auditory (isions occur $ith music. 1ust as any ob>ect radiates a pattern of electrons and can become the essense of all ener%y, so can any note of music be sensed as naked ener%y tremblin% in space, timeless. The mo(ement of notes, like the shuttlin% of oscillo%raph beams. Each capturin% all ener%y, the electric core of the uni(erse. +othin% existin% except the needle8clear resonance on the tympanic membrane. )nfor%ettable re(elations about the nature of reality occur at these moments. But the hellish interpretation is also possible. As the learned structure of sound collapses, the direct impact of $a(es can be sensed as noise. .or one $ho is compelled to institute order, his order, on the $orld around him, it is at least annoyin% and often disturbin% to ha(e the ra$ tattoo of sound resonatin% in consciousness. +oiseN ?hat an irre(erent concept. *s not e(erythin% noiseI all sensation the di(ine pattern of $a(e ener%y, meanin%less only to those $ho insist on imposin% their o$n meanin%= Preparation is the key to a serene passa%e throu%h this (isionary territory. The sub>ect $ho has studied this manual $ill be able, $hen face to face $ith the phenomenon, to reco%ni"e and flo$ $ith it. The sensiti(e %uide $ill be ready to pick up, on any cue, that the sub>ect is $anderin% in the fourth (ision. *f the (oya%er;s eyes are open Aindicatin% (isual reactionsD, he can read the OOP OOQQ *nstructions for Jision 7.

*f the %uide senses that the (oya%er is experiencin% the fra%mentation of external sound into $a(e (ibrations, he can amend the instructions appropriately Achan%in% the (isuaol references to auditoryD. Jision BF The Jibratory ?a(es of External )nity AEyes open, or rapt in(ol(ement $ith external stimuliI emotional aspectsD As the learned perceptions disappear and the structure of the external $orld disinte%rates into direct $a(e phenomena, the aim is to amintain a pure, conten8free a$areness A.irst BardoD. Despite the preparations, one is likely to be led back$ards by one;s o$n mental inclinations into t$o hallucinatory or re(elatory interpretations of reality. ,ne reaction leads to the intellectual clarity or fri%htened confusion of the fourth (ision A>ust describedD. Another interpretation is the emotional reaction to the fra%mentation of differentiated forms. ,ne can be en%ulfed in ecstatic unity, or one can slip into isolated e%otism. The Bardol Thodol calls the former the :?isdom of E<uality: and the latter the :<ua%mire of $orldly existence accruin% from (iolent e%otism.: GThe Peaceful Deity of the fifth (ision comes in the form of the Bha%a(an atnasambha(a, born of a >e$el. 'e is embraced by the Di(ine !other, &he of the Buddha Eyes, and accompanied by the Bodhisatt(as, $omb of the sky, All8%ood, and those holdin% incense and rosary. :,n the elementary plane atnasambha(a corresponds to the earth, $hich carries and nourishes all bein%s $ith the e<uanimity and patience of a mother, in $hose eyes all bein%s, borne by her, are e<ual.: AEo(inda, op. cit., p. 446.DH *n the state of radiant unity, one senses that there is only one net$ork of ener%y in the uni(erse and that all thin%s and all sentient bein%s are momentary manifestations of the sin%le pattern. ?hen e%otistic interpretations are imposed on the fifth (ision, the :plastic doll: phenomena are experienced. Differentiated forms are seen as inor%anic, dull, mass8produced, shabby, plastic, and all persons Aincludin% selfD are seen as lifeless manne<uins isolated from the (ibrant dance of ener%y, $hich has been lost. The experiential data of this (ision are similar to that of the fourth (ision. All artifactual learned structure collapses back to ener%y (ibrations. The a$areness is dominated not by re(elatory clarity but by shimmerin% unity. The sub>ect is entranced by the silent, $hirlin% play of forces. Ex<uisite forms dance by him, all surroundin% ob>ects radiate ener%y, brilliant emanations. 'is o$n body is seen as a play of forces. *f he looks in a mirror, he sees a shinin% mosaic of particles. The sense of his o$n $a(e structure becomes stron%er. A feelin% of meltin%, floatin% off. The body is no lon%er a separate unit but a cluster of (ibrations sendin% and recei(in% ener%y 8 a phase of the dance of ener%y $hich has been %oin% on for millennia. A sense of profound one8ness, a feelin% of the unity of all ener%y. &uperficial differences of role, cast, status, sex, species, form, po$er, si"e, beauty, e(en the distinctions bet$een inor%anic and li(in% ener%y, disappear before the ecstatic union of all in one. All %estures, $ords, acts and e(ents are e<ui(alent in (alue 8 all are manifestations of the one consciousness $hich per(ades e(erythin%. :0ou,: :*: and :he: are %one, :my: thou%hts are :ours,: :your: feelin%s are :mine.: @ommunication is unnecessary, since complete communion exists. A

person can sense another;s feelin% and mood directly, as if they $ere his o$n. By a %lance, $hole lifetimes and $ords can be transmitted. *f all are at peace, the (ibrations are :in phase.: *f there is discord, :out of phase: (ibrations $ill be set up $hich $ill be felt like discordant music. Bodies melt into $a(es. ,b>ects in the en(ironment 8 li%hts, tree, plants, flo$ers 8 seem to open and $elcome youF they are part of you. 0ou are both simply different pulses of the same (ibrations. A pure feelin% of ecstatic harmony $ith all bein%s is the keynote of this (ision. But as before, terrors can occur. )nity re<uires ecstatic self8sacrifice. Loss of e%o brin%s fri%ht to the unprepared. The fra%mentation of form into $a(es can brin% the most terrible fear kno$n to manF the ultimate epistemolo%ical re(elation. The fact of the matter is that all apparent forms of matter and body are momentary clusters of ener%y. ?e are little more than flickers on a multidimensional tele(ision screen. This reali"ation directly experienced can be deli%htful. 0ou suddenly $ake up from the delusion of separate form and hook up to the cosmic dance. @onsciousness slides alon% the $a(e matrices, silently at the speed of li%ht. The terror comes $ith the disco(ery of transience. +othin% is fixed, no form solid. E(erythin% you can experience is :nothin% but: electrical $a(es. 0ou feel ultimately tricked. A (ictim of the %reat tele(ision producer. Distrust. The people around you are lifeless tele(ision robots. The $orld around you is a facade, a sta%e set. 0ou are a helpless marionette, a plastic doll in a plastic $orld. *f others attempt to help, they are seen as $ooden, $axen, feelin%less, cold, %rotes<ue, maniacal, space8fiction monsters. 0ou are unable to feel. :* am dead. * $ill ne(er li(e and feel a%ain.: *n $ild panic you may attempt to force feelin% back 8 by action, by shoutin%. 0ou $ill then enter the Third Bardo sta%e and be reborn in an unpleasant $ay. The best method to escape from fifth (ision terrors is to remember this manual, relax, and s$in% $ith the $a(e dance. ,r to communicate to the %uide that you are in a plastic doll phase, and he $ill %uide you back. Another solution is to mo(e to the internal biolo%ical flo$. .ollo$ the instructions %i(en in the third (isionF close your eyes, lie prone, seek bodily contact, float do$n into your bodily stream. *n so doin%, you are recapitulatin% the e(olutionary se<uence. .or billions of years, inor%anic ener%y danced the cosmic round before the biolo%ical rhythm be%an. Don;t rush it. *f the %uide senses that the person is experiencin% plastic doll (isions or is afraid of the uncontrollability of his o$n feelin%, he should read to him the OOPOOQQ *nstructions for Jision B. Jision 3F :The etinal @ircus:

Each of the &econd Bardo (isions thus far described $as one aspect of the :experiencin% of reality.: The inner fire or outer $a(es, apprehended intellectually or emotionally 8 each (ision $ith its correspondent traps. Each of the :Peaceful Deities: appears $ith its attendant :?rathful Deities.: To maintain any of these (isions for any len%th of time re<uires a certain de%ree of concentration or :one8pointedness: of mind, as $ell as the ability to reco%ni"e them and not to be afraid. Thus, for most persons, the experience may pass throu%h one or more of these phases $ithout the (oya%er bein% able to hold them or stay $ith them. 'e may open and close his eyes, he may become alternately absorbed in internal sensations and external forms. The experience may be chaotic, beautiful, thrillin%, incomprehensible, ma%ical, e(er8chan%in%. G*n the Bardo Thodol, on the sixth day appear the radiant li%hts of the combined .i(e ?isdoms of the Dhyani8Buddhas, the protecti(e deities A%atekeepers of the mandalaD and the Buddhas of the &ix ealms of %ame8existence. Accordin% to Lama Eo(indaF :The *nner ?ay of Ja>ra8&att(a, consists in the combination of the rays of the ?isdoms of the four Dhyani8Buddhas and their absorption $ithin one;s o$n heart 8 in other $ords, in the reco%nition that all these radiances are the emanations of one;s o$n mind in a state of perfect tran<uility and serenity, a state in $hich the mind re(eals its true uni(ersal nature.: AEo(inda, op., cit., p. 232.DH 'e $ill tra(el freely throu%h many $orlds or experience 8 from direct contact $ith life8process forms and ima%es, he may pass to (isions of human %ame8forms. 'e may see and understand $ith unima%ined clarity and brilliance (arious social and self8%ames that he and others play. 'is o$n stru%%les in karmic A%ameD existence $ill appear pitiful and lau%hable. Ecstatic freedom of consciousness is the keynote of this (ision. Exploration of unima%ined realms. Theatrical ad(entures. Plays $ithin plays $ithin plays. &ymbols chan%e into thin%s symboli"ed and (ice (ersa. ?ords become thin%s, thou%hts are music, music is smelled, sounds are touched, complete interchan%eability of the senses. All thin%s are possible. All feelin%s are possible. A person may :try on: (arious moods like so many pieces of clothin%. &ub>ects and ob>ects $hirl, transform, chan%e into each other, mer%e, fuse, disperse a%ain. External ob>ects dance and sin%. The mind plays upon them as upon a musical instrument. They assume any form, si%nificance or <uality upon command. They are admired, adored, analy"ed, examined, chan%ed, made beautiful or u%ly, lar%e or small, important or tri(ial, useful, dan%erous, ma%ical or incomprehensible. They may be reacted to $ith $onder, ama"ement, humor, (eneration, lo(e, dis%ust, fascination, horror, deli%ht, fear, ecstasy. Like a computer $ith unlimited access to any pro%rams, the mind roams freely. Personal and racial memories bubble up to the surface of consciousness, inter8play $ith fantasies, $ishes, dreams and external ob>ects. A present e(ent becomes char%ed $ith profound emotional si%nificance, a cosmic phenomenon becomes identical $ith some personal <uirk. !etaphysical problems are >u%%led and bounced around. Pure :primary process,: spontaneous outopourin% of association, opposites mer%in%, ima%es fusin%, condensin%, shiftin%, collapsin%, expandin%, mer%in%, connectin%.

This kaleidoscopic (ision of %ame8reality may be fri%htenin% and confusin% to an ill8prepared sub>ect. *nstead of ex<uisite clarity of many8le(elled perception, he $ill experience a confused chaos of uncontrollable, meanin%less forms. *nstead of deli%ht at the playful acrobatics of the free intellect, there $ill be anxious clin%in% to an elusi(e order. !orbid and scatolo%ical hallucinations may occur, e(okin% dis%ust and shame. As before, this ne%ati(e (ision occurs only if the person attempts to control or rationali"e the ma%ic panorama. elax and accept $hate(er comes. emember that all (isions are created by your mind, the happy and the unhappy, the beautiful and the u%ly, the deli%htful and the horrifyin%. 0our consciousness is creator, performer and spectator of the :retinal circus.: *f the %uide senses that the (oya%er is in or seems to be in the :retinal circus: (ision, he may read to him the appropriate instructions OOPOOQQ *+&T )@T*,+& ., J*&*,+ 3F :T'E ET*+AL @* @)&:. Jision CF :The !a%ic Theatre: *f the (oya%er $as unable to maintain the passi(e serenity necessary for the contemplation of the pre(ious (isions Athe peaceful deitiesD, he mo(es no$ into a more dramatic and acti(e phase. The play of forms and thin%s becomes the play of heroic fi%ures, superhuman spirits and demi%ods. G*n the Tibetan 'andbook, this is described as the (ision of the fi(e :-no$led%e8'oldin% Deities,: arran%ed in a mandala form, each embraced by Dakinis, in an ecstatic dance. The -no$led%e8holdin% Deities symboli"e :the hi%hest le(el of indi(idual or humanly concei(able kno$led%e, as attained in the consciousness of %reat 0o%is, inspired thinkers or similar heroes of the spirit. They represent the last step before the :breakin%8 throu%h: to$ards the uni(ersal consciousness 8 or the first on the return from there to the plane of human kno$led%e.: AEo(inda, op. cit., p. 2M2.D The Dakinis are female embodiments of kno$led%e, representin% the inspirational impluses of consciousness leadin% to break8throu%h. The other four -no$led%e8'olders, besides the central Lord of Dance, areF the -no$led%e8 holder abidin% in the earth, the -no$led%e8holder $ho has po$er o(er the duration of life, the -no$led%e8holder of the Ereat &ymbol, and the -no$led%e8holder of &pontaneous eali"ation.H 0ou may see radiatin% fi%ures in human forms. The :Lotus Lord of Dance:F the supreme ima%e of a demi8%od $ho percei(es the effects of all actions. The prince of mo(ement, dancin% in an ecstatic embrace $ith his female counterpart. 'eroes, heroines, celestial $arriors, male and female demi8%ods, an%els, fairies 8 the exact form of these fi%ures $ill depend on the person;s back%round and tradition. Archetypal fi%ures in the forms of characters from Ereek, E%yptian, +ordic, @eltic, A"tec, Persian, *ndian, @hinese mytholo%y. The shapes differ, the source is the sameF they are the concrete embodiments of aspects of the person;s o$n psyche. Archetypal forces belo$ (erbal a$areness and expressible only in symbolic form. The fi%ures are often extremely colorful and accompanied by a (ariety of a$e8 inspirin% sounds. *f the (oya%er is prepared and in a relaxed, detached frame of mind, he is exposed to a fascinatin% and da""lin% display of dramatic creati(ity. The @osmic Theatre. The Di(ine @omedy. *f his eyes are open, he may (isuali"e the other (oya%ers as representin% these fi%ures. The face of a friend may turn into that of a youn% boy, a baby, the child8%odI

into a heroic stature, a $ise old manI a $oman, animal, %oddess, sea8mother, youn% %irl, nymph, elf, %oblin, leprechaun. *ma%es of the %reat painters arise as the familiar representations of these spirits. The ima%es are inexhaustible and manifold. An illuminatin% (oya%e into the areas $here the personal consciousness mer%es $ith the supr8indi(idual. The dan%er is that the (oya%er becomes fri%htened by or unduly attracted to these po$erful fi%ures. The forces represented by them may be more intense than he $as prepared for. *nability or un$illin%ness to reco%ni"e them as products of one;s mind, leads to escape into animalistic pursuits. The person may become in(ol(ed in the pursuit of po$er, lust, $ealth and descend into Third Bardo rebirth stru%%les. *f the %uide senses that the (oya%er is cau%ht in this trap, the appropriate instructions may be used OOPOOQQ *+T )@T*,+& ., J*&*,+ CF :T'E !AE*@ T'EAT E:. T'E ? AT'.)L J*&*,+& A&econd Bardo +i%htmaresD &e(en &econd Bardo (isions ha(e been described. At each one of them, the (oya%er could reco%ni"e $hat he sa$ and be liberated. !ultitudes $ill be liberated by that reco%nitionI and althou%h multitudes obtain liberation in that manner, the number of sentient bein%s bein% %reat, e(il karma po$erful, obscurations dense, propensities of too lon% standin%, the ?heel of *%norance and *llusion becomes neither exhausted nor accelerated. Despite the confrontations, there is a (ast preponderance of those $ho $ander do$n$ards unliberated. Thus, in the Tibetan Thodo, after the se(en peaceful deities, there come se(en (isions of $rathful deities, fifty8ei%ht in number, male and female, :flame8enhaloed, $rathful, blood8 drinkin%.: These 'erukas as they are called, $ill not be described in detail, especially since ?esterners are liable to experience the $rathful deities in different forms. *nstead of many8 headed fierce mytholo%ical demons, they are more likely to be en%ulfed and %round by impersonal machinery, manipulated by scientific, torturin% control8de(ices and other space8 fiction horrors. G&ome %eneral remarks about the Tibetan interpretation of these (isions. The ?rathful Deities are re%arded as :only the former Peaceful Deities in chan%ed aspect.: Lama Eo(inda $ritesF :The peaceful forms of Dhyani8Buddhas represent the hi%hest ideal of Buddhahood in its completed, final, static condition of ultimate attainment or perfection, seen retrospecti(ely as it $ere, as a state of complete rest and harmony. The 'erukas, on the other hand, $hich are described as :blood8drinkin%,: an%ry or :terrifyin%: deities 8 are merely the dynamic aspect of enli%htenment, the process of becomin% a Buddha, of attainin% illumination, as symboli"ed by the Buddha;s stru%%le $ith the 'osts of !ara. . . . The ecstatic fi%ures, heroic and terrifyin%, express the act of breakin% throu%h to$ards the unthinkable, the intellectually :)nattainable.: They represent the leap o(er the chasm, $hich ya$ns bet$een an intellectual surface consciousness and the intuiti(e supra8personal depth8consciousness.: AEo(inda, op. cit., pp. 465, 2M2.DH The Tibetans re%ard the ni%htmare (isions as primarily intellectual products. They assi%n them to the Brain chakra, $hereas the peaceful deities are assi%ned to the 'eart chakra and the

-no$led%e8'oldin% deities to the intermediate Throat chakra. They are the reactions of the mind to the process of consciousness8expansion. They represent the attempts of the intellect to maintain its threatened boundaries. They symboli"e the stru%%le of breakin% throu%h to e%o8 loss understandin% and a$areness. Because of the terror and a$e they produce, reco%nition is difficult. 0et in a $ay it is also easier in that, since these ne%ati(e hallucinations command all attention, the mind is alert and therefore throu%h tryin% to escape from fear and terror, people %et in(ol(ed in psychotic states and suffer. But $ith the aid of this manual and the presence of a %uide, the (oya%er $ill reco%ni"e these hell (isions as soon as he sees them, and $elcome them like old friends. A%ain, $hen psycholo%ists, philosophers, and psychiatrists, $ho do not kno$ these teachin%s, experience e%o8loss 8 ho$e(er assiduously they may ha(e de(oted themsel(es to academic study and ho$e(er cle(er they may ha(e been in expoundin% intellectual theories 8 none of the hi%her phenomena $ill appear. This is because they are unable to reco%ni"e the (isions occurrin% in these psychedelic experiences. &uddenly seein% somethin% they had ne(er seen before and possessin% no intellectual concepts, they (ie$ it as inimicalI and, anta%onistic feelin%s arisin%, they pass into miserable states. Thus, if one has not had practical experience $ith these teachin%s, the radiances and li%hts $ill not appear. Those $ho belie(e in these doctrines e(en thou%h they may seem to be unrefined, irre%ular in performance of duties, inele%ant in habits, and perhaps e(en unable to practice the doctrine successfully 8 let no one doubt them or be disrespectful to$ards them, but pay re(erence to their mystic faith. That alone $ill enable them to attain liberation. Ele%ance and efficiency of de(otional practice are not necessary 8 >ust ac<uaintance $ith and trust in these teachin%s. ?ell8prepared persons need not experience &econd Bardo hell (isions at all. i%ht from the be%innin% they can pass into paradisiacal states led by heroes, heroines, an%els and super8 spirits. :They $ill mer%e into rainbo$ radianceI there $ill be sun8sho$ers, s$eet scent of incense in the air, music in the skies, radiances.: This manual is indispensable to those students $ho are unprepared. Those proficient in meditation $ill reco%ni"e the @lear Li%ht at the moment of e%o8loss and $ill enter the Blissful Joid ADharma8-ayaD. They $ill also reco%ni"e the positi(e and ne%ati(e (isions of the &econd Bardo and obtain illumination A&ambho%ha8-ayaDI and bein% reborn on a hi%her le(el $ill become inspired saints or teachers A+irmana8-ayaD. The study and pursuit of enli%htenment can al$ays be taken up a%ain at the point $here it $as broken by the last e%o8 loss, thus ensurin% continuity of karma. by the use of this manual, enli%htenment can be obtained $ithout meditation, throu%h hearin% alone. *t can liberate e(en (ery hea(y e%o8%ame players. The distinction bet$een those $ho kno$ it and those $ho do not becomes (ery clear. Enli%htenment follo$s instantly. Those $ho ha(e been reached by it cannot ha(e prolon%ed ne%ati(e experiences.

The teachin% concernin% the hell8(isions is the same as beforeIreco%ni"e them to be your o$n thou%ht8forms, relax, float do$nstream. The OOPOOQQ *+&T )@T*,+& ., T'E ? AT'.)L J*&*,+& may be read. *f, after this, reco%nition is still impossible and liberation is not obtained, then the (oya%er $ill descend into the Third Bardo, the Period of e8Entry. @,+@L)&*,+ ,. &E@,+D BA D, 'o$e(er much experience one may ha(e had, there is al$ays the possibility of delusions occurrin% in these psychedelic states. Those $ith practice in meditation reco%ni"e the truth as soon as the experience be%ins. eadin% this manual beforehand is important. 'a(in% some de%ree of self8kno$led%e is helpful at the moment of e%o8death. !editation on the (arious positi(e and ne%ati(e archetypal forms is (ery important for &econd Bardo phases. Therefore, read this manual, keep it, remember it, bear it in mind, read it re%ularlyI let the $ords and meanin%s be (ery clearI they should not be for%otten, e(en under extreme duress. *t is called :The Ereat Liberation by 'earin%: because e(en those $ith selfish deeds on their conscience can be liberated if they hear it. *f heard only once, it can be efficacious because e(en thou%h not understood, it $ill be remembered durin% the psychedelic state, since the mind is more lucid then. *t should be proclaimed to all li(in% personsI it should be read o(er the pillo$s of ill personsI it should be read to dyin% personsI it should be broadcast. Those $ho meet this doctrine are fortunate. *t is not easy to encounter. E(en $hen read, it is difficult to comprehend. Liberation $ill be $on simply throu%h not disbelie(in% it upon hearin% it. 'ere ends the &econd Bardo the Period of 'allucinations T'* D BA D,F T'E PE *,D ,. E8E+T 0 A&idpa BardoD *ntroduction *f, in the second Bardo, the (oya%er is incapable of holdin% on to the kno$led%e that the peaceful and $rathful (isions $ere pro>ections of his o$n mind, but became attracted to or fri%htened by one or more of them, he $ill enter the Third Bardo. *n this period he stru%%les to re%ain routine reality and his e%oI the Tibetans call it the Bardo of :seekin% rebirth.: *t is the period in $hich the consciousness makes the transition from transcendent reality to the reality of ordinary $akin% life. The teachin%s of this manual are of the utmost importance if one $ishes to make a peaceful and enli%htened re8entry and a(oid a (iolent or unpleasant one.

*n the ori%inal Bardo Thodol the aim of the teachin%s is :liberation,: i.e., release from the cycle of birth and death. *nterpreted esoterically, this means that the aim is to remain at the sta%e of perfect illumination and not to return to social %ame reality. ,nly persons of extremely ad(anced spiritual de(elopment are able to accomplish this, by exercisin% the Transference Principle at the moment of e%o8death. .or a(era%e persons $ho undertake a psychedelic (oya%e, the return to %ame reality is ine(itable. &uch persons can and should use this part of the manual for the follo$in% purposesF A4D to free themsel(es from Third Bardo trapsI A2D to prolon% the session, thus assurin% a maximum de%ree of illuminationI A9D to select a fa(orable re8entry, i.e., to return to a $iser and more peaceful post8session personality. Althou%h no definite time estimates can be %i(en, the Tibetans estimate that about BMS of the entire psychedelic experience is spent in the Third Bardo by most normal people. At times, as indicated in the *ntroduction, someone may mo(e strai%ht to the re8entry period if he is unprepared for or fri%htened by the e%o8loss experiences of the first t$o Bardos. The types of re8entry made can profoundly color the person;s subse<uent attitudes and feelin%s about himself and the $orld, for $eeks or e(en months after$ards. A session $hich has been predominantly ne%ati(e and fearful can still be turned to %reat ad(anta%e and much can be learned from it, pro(ided the re8entry is positi(e and hi%hly conscious. @on(ersely, a happy and re(elatory experience can be made (alueless by a fearful or ne%ati(e re8entry. The key instructions of the Third Bardo areF A4D do nothin%, stay calm, passi(e and relaxed, no matter $hat happensI and A2D reco%ni"e $here you are. *f you do not reco%ni"e you $ill be dri(en by fear to make a premature and unfa(orable re8entry. ,nly by reco%ni"in% can you maintain that state of calm, passi(e concentration necessary for a fa(orable re8entry. That is $hy so many reco%nition8points are %i(en. *f you fail on one, it is al$ays possible, up to the (ery end, to succeed on another. 'ence these teachin%s should be read carefully and remembered $ell. *n the follo$in% sections some of the characteristic Third Bardo experiences are described. *n Part *J instructions are %i(en appropriate to each section. At this sta%e in a psychedelic session the (oya%er is usually capable of tellin% the %uide (erbally $hat he is experiencin%, so that the appropriate sections can be read. A $ise %uide can often sense the precise nature of the e%o;s stru%%le $ithout $ords. The (oya%er $ill usually not experience all of these states, but only one or some of themI or sometimes the return to reality can take completely ne$ and unusual turns. *n such a case the %eneral instructions for the Third Bardo should be emphasi"ed OOPOOQQ T'* D BA D,F P EL*!*+A 0 *+&T )@T*,+&. *. Eeneral Description of the Third Bardo

+ormally, the person descends, step by step, into lo$er Amore constrictedD states of consciousness. Each step do$n$ards may be preceded by a s$oonin% into unconsciousness. ,ccasionally the descent may be sudden, and the person $ill find himself >olted back to a (ision of reality $hich by contrast $ith the precedin% phases seems dull, static, hard, an%ular, u%ly and puppet8like. &uch chan%es can induce fear and horror and he may stru%%le desperately to re%ain familiar reality. 'e may %et trapped into irrational or e(en bestial perspecti(es $hich then dominate his entire consciousness. These narro$ primiti(e elements stem from aspects of his personal history $hich are usually repressed. The more enli%htened consciousness of the first t$o Bardos and the ci(ili"ed elements of ordinary $akin% life are shel(ed in fa(or of po$erful, obsessi(e primiti(e impulses, $hich in fact are merely faded and incoherent instinctual parts of the (oya%er;s total personality. The su%%estibility of Bardo consciousness makes them seem all8po$erful and o(er$helmin%. ,n the other hand, the (oya%er may also feel that he possesses supernormal po$ers of perception and mo(ement, that he can perform miracles, extraordinary feats of bodily control etc. The Tibetan book definitely attributes paranormal faculties to the consciousness of the Bardo (oya%er and explains it as due to the fact that the Bardo8consciousness encompasses future elements as $ell as past. 'ence clair(oyance, telepathy, E&P, etc. are said to be possible. ,b>ecti(e e(idence does not indicate $hether this sense of increased percepti(eness is real or illusory. ?e therefore lea(e this as an open <uestion, to be decided by empirical e(idence. This then is the first reco%nition point of the Third Bardo. The feelin% of supernormal perception and performance. Assumin% that it is (alid, the manual $arns the (oya%er not to be fascinated by his hei%htened po$ers, and not to exercise them. *n yo%ic practice, the most ad(anced of the lamas teach the disciple not to stri(e after psychic po$ers of this nature for their o$n sakeI for until the disciple is morally fit to use them $isely, they become a serious impediment to his hi%her spiritual de(elopment. +ot until the selfish, %ame8in(ol(ed nature of man is completely mastered is he safe in usin% them. A second si%n of Third Bardo existence are experiences of panic, torture and persecution. They are distin%uished from the $rathful (isions fo the &econd Bardo in that they definitely seem to in(ol(e the person;s o$n :skin8encapsulated e%o.: !ind8controllin% manipulati(e fi%ures and demons of hideous aspects may be hallucinated. The form that these torturin% demons take $ill depend on the person;s cultural back%round. ?here Tibetans sa$ demons and beasts of prey, a ?esterner may see impersonal machinery %rindin%, or depersonali"in% and controllin% de(ices of different futuristic (arieties. Jisions of $orld destruction, dyin% in space8fiction modes, and hallucinations of bein% en%ulfed by destructi(e po$ers $ill like$ise comeI and sounds of the mind8controllin% apparatus, of the :combine;s fo% machinery,: of the %ears $hich mo(e the scenery of the puppet sho$, of an%ry o(erflo$in% seas, and of the roarin% fire and of fierce $inds sprin%in% up, and of mockin% lau%hter. ?hen these sounds and (isions come, the first impulse $ill be to flee from them in panic and terror, not carin% $here one %oes, so lon% as one %oes out. *n psychedelic dru% experiences,

the person may at this time plead or demand to be brou%ht :out of it: throu%h antidotes and tran<uilli"ers. The person may see himself as about to fall do$n deep, terrifyin% precipices. These symboli"e the so8called e(il passions $hich, like narcotic dru%s, ensla(e and bind mankind to existence in %ame8net$orks Asan%saraDF an%er, lust, stupidity, pride or e%oism, >ealousy, and control8po$er. &uch experiences, >ust as the pre(ious one of enhanced po$er, should be re%arded as reco%ni"in% features of the Third Bardo. ,ne should neither flee the pain nor pursue the pleasure. eco%nition is all that is necessary 8 and reco%nition depends upon preparation. A third si%n is a kind of restless, unhappy $anderin% $hich may be purely mental or may in(ol(e actual physical mo(ement. The person feels as if dri(en by $inds A$inds of karmaD or shunted around mechanically. There may be brief respites at certain places or scenes in the :ordinary: human $orld. Like a person tra(ellin% alone at ni%ht alon% a hi%h$ay, ha(in% his attention arrested by prominent landmarks, %reat isolated trees, houses, brid%eheads, temples, hot8do% stands, etc., the person in the re8entry period has similar experiences. 'e may demand to return to familiar haunts in the human $orld. But any such external placation is temporary and soon the restless $anderin% $ill recommence. There may come a desperate desire to phone or other$ise contact your family, your doctor, your friends and appeal to them to pull you out of the state. This desire should be resisted. The %uide and the fello$ (oya%ers can be of best assistance. ,ne should not try to in(ol(e others in one;s hallucinatory $orld. The attempt $ill fail any$ay since outsiders are usually unable to understand $hat is happenin%. A%ain, merely to reco%ni"e these desires as Third Bardo manifestations is already the first step to$ard liberation. A fourth, rather common experience is the follo$in%F the person may feel stupid and full of incoherent thou%hts, $hereas e(eryone else seems to be perfectly kno$in% and $ise. This leads to feelin%s of %uilt and inade<uacy and in extreme from to the 1ud%ment Jision, to be described belo$. This feelin% of stupidity is merely the natural result of the limited perspecti(e under $hich the consciousness is operatin% in this Bardo. @alm, relaxed acceptance and trust $ill enable the (oya%er to $in liberation at this point Another experience, the fifth reco%ni"in% feature, $hich is especially impressi(e $hen it occurs suddenly, is the feelin% of bein% dead, cut off from surroundin% life, and full of misery. The person may $ith a >olt a$ake from some trance8like s$oon and experience himself and the others as lifeless robots, performin% $ooden meanin%less %estures. 'e may feel that he $ill ne(er come back and $ill lament his miserable state. A%ain, such fantasies are to be reco%ni"ed as the attempts of the e%o to re%ain control. *n the true state of e%o8death, as it occurs in the .irst or &econd Bardos, such complaints are ne(er uttered. &ixth, one may ha(e the feelin% of bein% oppressed or crushed or s<uee"ed into cracks and cre(ices amidst rocks and boulders. ,r the person may feel that a kind of metallic net or ca%e may encompass him. This symboli"es the attempt prematurely to enter an e%o8robot $hich is

unfittin% or une<uipped to deal $ith the expanded consciousness. Therefore one should relax the panicky desire to re%ain an e%o. A &e(enth aspect is a kind of %rey t$ili%ht8like li%ht suffusin% e(erythin%, $hich is in marked contrast to the brilliantly radiatin% li%hts and colors of the earlier sta%es of the (oya%e. ,b>ects, instead of shinin%, %lo$in% and (ibratin%, are no$ dully colored, shabby and an%ular. The passa%es OOPOOQQ T'* D BA D,F P EL*!*+A 0 *+&T )@T*,+& contain %eneral instructions for the Third Bardo state and its reco%ni"able features. Any or all of the passa%es may be read $hen the %uide senses that the (oya%er is be%innin% to return to the e%o. **. e8entry Jisions

characteristic impediments of human existence are inertia, smu% i%norance, physical or psycholo%ical handicaps or (arious sorts. Accordin% to the Bardo Thodol, the le(el one is detined for is determined by one;s karma. Durin% the period of the Third Bardo premonitory si%ns and (isions of the different le(els appear, that for $hich one is headin% appearin% most clearly. .or example, the (oya%er may feel full of %odlike po$er AasurasD, or he may feel himself stirred by primiti(e or bestial impulses, or he may experience that all8per(asi(e frustration of the unhappy neurotics, or shudder at the tortures of a self8created hell. The chances of makin% a fa(orable re8entry are increased if the process is allo$ed to take its o$n natural course, $ithout effort or stru%%le. ,ne should a(oid pursuin% or fleein% any of the (isions, but meditate calmly on the kno$led%e that all le(els exist in the Buddha also. ,ne can reco%ni"e and examine the si%ns as they appear and learn a %reat deal about oneself in a (ery short time. Althou%h it is un$ise to stru%%le a%ainst or flee the (isions that come in this period, the OOPOOQQ *+&T )@T*,+& ., E8E+T 0 J*&*,+& are desi%ned to help the (oya%er re%ain .irst Bardo transcendence. *n this $ay, if the person finds himself about to return to a personality or e%o $hich he finds inappropriate to his ne$ kno$led%e about himself, he can, by follo$in% the instructions, pre(ent this and make a fresh re8entry. ***. The All8Determinin% *nfluence of Thou%ht Liberation may be obtained, by such confrontation, e(en thou%h pre(iously it $as not. *f, ho$e(er, liberation is not obtained e(en after these confrontations, further earnest and continued application is essential. &hould you feel attachment to material possessions, to old %ames and acti(ities, or if you %et any because other people are still in(ol(ed in pursuits that you ha(e renounced, this $ill affect the psycholo%ical balance in such a $ay that e(en if destined to return at a hi%her le(el, you $ill actually re8enter on a lo$er le(el in the $orld of unsatisfied spirits AneurosisD. ,n the other hand, e(en if you do feel attached to $orldly %ames that you ha(e renounced, you $ill not be able to play them, and they $ill be of no use to you. Therefore abandon $eakness and attachment to themI cast them a$ay $hollyI renounce them from your heart. +o matter $ho may be en>oyin% your possessions, or takin% your role, ha(e no feelin%s of miserliness or >ealousy, but be prepared to renounce them $illin%ly. Think that you are offerin% them to your internal freedom and to your expaned consciousness. Abide in the feelin% of non8attachment, de(oid of $eakness and cra(in%. A%ain, $hen the acti(ities of the other members of the session are $ron%, careless, inattenti(e or distractin%, $hen the a%reement or contract is broken, and $hen purity of intention is lost by any participant, and fri(olity and laxness take o(er Aall of $hich can clearly be seen by the Bardo (oya%erD you may feel lack of faith and be%in to doubt your beliefs. 0ou $ill be able to percei(e any anxiety or fear, any selfish actions, e%o8centric conduct and manipulati(e

*n the precedin% section the symptoms of re8entry $ere described, the si%ns that the (oya%er is tryihn% to re%ain his e%o. *n this section are described (isions of the types of re8entry one can make. The Tibetan manual concei(es of the (oya%er as returnin% e(entually to one of six $orlds of %ame existence Asan%saraD. That is, the re8entry to the e%o can take place on one of six le(els, or as one of six personality types. T$o of these are hi%her than the normal human, three are lo$er. The hi%hest, most illuminated, le(el is that of the de(as, $ho are $hat ?esterners $ould call saints, sa%es or di(ine teachers. They are the most enli%htened people $alkin% the earth. Eautama Buddha, Lao Tse, @hrist. The second le(el is that of the asuras, $ho may be called titans or heroes, people $ith a more than human de%ree of po$er and (ision. The third le(el is that of most normal human bein%s, stru%%lin% throu%h %ame8net$orks, occasionally breakin% free. The fourth le(el is that of primiti(e and animalistic incarnations. *n this cate%ory $e ha(e the do% and the cock, symbolic of hyper8sexuality concomitant $ith >ealousyI the pi%, symboli"in% lustful stupidity and uncleanlinessI the industrious, hoardin% antI the insect or $orm si%nifyin% an earthy or %ro(ellin% dispositionI the snake, flashin% in an%erI the ape, full of rampa%in% primiti(e po$erI the snarlin% :$olf of the steppesI: the bird, soarin% freely. !any more could be enumerated. *n all cultures of the $orld people ha(e adopted identities in the ima%e of animals. *n childhood and in dreams it is a process familiar to all. The fifth le(el is that of neurotics, frustrated lifeless spirits fore(er pursuin% unsatisfied desiresI the sixth and lo$est le(el is hell or psychosis. Less than one percent of e%o8 transcendent experiences end in sainthood or psychosis. !ost persons return to the normal human le(el. Accordin% to The Tibetan Book of the Dead, each of the six %ame $orlds or le(els of existence is associated $ith a characteristic sort of thraldom, from $hich non8%ame experiences %i(e temporary freedomF A4D existence as a de(a, or saint, althou%h more desirable than the others, is concomitant $ith an e(er8recurrin% round of pleasure, free %ame ecstasyI A2D existence as an asura, or titan, is concomitant $ith incessant heroic $arfareI A9D helplessness and sla(ery are characteristic of animal existenceI A7D torments of unsatisfied needs and $ants are characteristic of the existence of pretas, or unhappy spiritsI ABD the

beha(ior. 0ou may thinkF :AlasN they are playin% me false, they ha(e cheated and decei(ed.: *f you think thus, you $ill become extremely depressed, and throu%h %reat resentment you $ill ac<uire disbelief and loss of faith, instead of affection and humble trust. &ince this affects the psycholo%ical balance, re8entry $ill certainly be made on an unpleasant le(el. &uch thinkin% $ill not only be of no use, but it $ill do %reat harm. 'o$e(er improper the beha(ior of other, think thusF :?hat= 'o$ can the $ords of a Buddha be inappropriate= *t is like the reflection of blemishes on my o$n face $hich * see in a mirrorI my o$n thou%htsmust be impure. As for these others, they are noble in body, holy in speech, and the Buddha is $ithin themF their actions are lessons for me.: Thus thinkin%, put your trust in your companions and exercise sincere lo(e to$ards them. Then $hate(er they do $ill be to your benefit. The exercise of that lo(e is (ery importantI do not for%et thisN A%ain, e(en if you $ere destined to return to a lo$er le(el and are already %oin% into that existence, yet throu%h the %ood deeds of friends, relati(es, participants, learned teachers $ho de(ote themsel(es $holeheartedly to the correct performance of beneficent rituals, the deli%ht from your feelin% %reatly cheered at seein% them $ill, by its o$n (irtue, so affect the psycholo%ical balance that e(en thou%h headin% do$n$ards, you may yet rise to a hi%her and happier le(el. Therefore you should not create selfish thou%hts, but exercise pure affection and humble faith to$ards all, impartially. This is hi%hly important. 'ence be extremely careful. The OOPOOQQ *+&T )@T*,+& ., T'E ALL8DETE !*+E *+.L)E+@E ,. T',)E'T are useful in any phase of the Third Bardo, but particularly if the (oya%er is reactin% $ith suspicion or resentment to other members of the %roup, or to his o$n friends and relati(es. *J. 1ud%ment Jisions The >ud%ment (ision may comeF the Third Bardo blame %ame. :0our %ood %enius $ill count up your %ood deeds $ith $hite pebbles, the e(il %enius the e(il deeds $ith black pebbles.: A >ud%ment scene is a central part of many reli%ious systems, and the (ision can assume (arious forms. ?esterners are most likely to see it in the $ell8kno$n @hristian (ersion. The Tibetans %i(e a psycholo%ical interpretation to thisas to all the other (isions. The 1ud%e, or Lord of Death, symboli"es conscience itself in its stern aspect of impartiality and lo(e of ri%hteousness. The :!irror of -arma: Athe @hristian 1ud%ment BookD, consulted by the 1ud%e, is memory. Different parts of the e%o $ill come for$ard, some offerin% lame excuses to meet accusations, others ascribin% baser moti(es to (arious deeds, countin% apparently neutral deeds amon% the black onesI still others offerin% >ustifications or re<uests for pardon. The mirror of memory reflects clearlyI lyin% and subterfu%e $ill be of no a(ail. Be not fri%htened, tell no lies, face truch fearlessly.

+o you may ima%ine yourself surrounded by fi%ures $ho $ish to torment, torture or ridicule you Athe :Executi(e .uries of the obot Lord of Death:D. These merciless fi%ures may be internal or they may in(ol(e the people around you, seen as pitiless, mockin%, superior. emember that fear and %uilt and persecutin%, mockin% fi%ures are your o$n hallucinations. 0our o$n %uilt machine. 0our personality is a collection of thou%ht8patterns and (oid. *t cannot be harmed or in>ured. :&$ords cannot pierce it, fire cannot burn it.: .ree yourself from your o$n hallucinations. *n reality there is no such thin% as the Lord of Death, or a >ustice8 dispensin% %od or demon or spirit. Act so as to reco%ni"e this. eco%ni"e that you are in the Third Bardo. !editate upon your ideal symbol. *f you do not kno$ ho$ to meditate, then merely analy"e $ith %reat care the real nature of that $hich is fri%htenin% youF : eality: is nothin% but a (oidness ADharma8-ayaD. That (oidness is not of the (oidness of nothin%ness, but a (oidness at the true nature of $hich you feel a$ed, and before $hich your consciousness shines more clearly and lucidly. GThat is the state of mind kno$n as :&ambho%a8-aya.: *n that state, you experience, $ith unbearable intensity, Joidness and Bri%htness inseparable 8 the Joidness bri%ht by nature and the Bri%htness inseparable from the Joidness 8 a state of the primordial or unmodified consciousness, $hich is the Adi8-aya. And the po$er of this, shinin% unobstructedly, $ill radiate e(ery$hereI it is the +irmana8-aya. These refer to the fundamental ?isdom Teachin%s of the Bardo Thodol. *n all Tibetan systems of yo%a, reali"ation of the Joidness is the one %reat aim. To reali"e it is to attain the unconditioned Dharma8-aya, or :Di(ine Body of Truth,: the primordial state of uncreatedness, of the supra8mundane All8@onsciousness. The Dharma8-aya is the hi%hest of the three bodies of the Buddha and of all Buddhas and bein%s $ho ha(e perfect enli%htenment. The other t$o bodies are the &ambho%a8-aya or :Di(ine Body of Perfect Endo$ment: and the +irmana8-aya or :Di(ine Body of *ncarnation.: Adi8-aya is synonymous $ith Dharma8 -aya. The Dharma8-aya is primordial, formless Essential ?isdomI it is true experience freed from all error or inherent or accidental obscuration. *t includes both +ir(ana and &an%sara, $hich are polar states of consciousness, but in the realm of pure consciousness identical. The &ambho%a8-aya embodies, as in the fi(e Dhyani Buddhas, eflected or !odified ?isdomI and the +irmana8-aya embodies, as in the 'uman Buddhas, Practical or *ncarnate ?idom. All enli%htened bein%s $ho are reborn in this or any other $orld $ith full consciousness, as $orkers for the betterment of their fello$ creatures, are said to be +irmana8-aya incarnates. Lama -a"i Da$a8&amdup, the translator of the Bardo Thodol, held that the Adi8Buddha, and all deities associated $ith the Dharma8-aya, are not to be re%arded as personal deities, but as personifications of primordial and uni(ersal forces, la$s or spiritual influences. :*n the boundless panorama of the existin% and (isible uni(erse, $hate(er shapes appear, $hate(er sounds (ibrate, $hate(er radiances illuminate, or $hate(er consciousnesses co%ni"e, all are the play of manifestation in the Tri8-aya, the Three8fold Principle of the @ause of All @auses, the Primordial Trinity. *mpenetratin% all, is the All8Per(adin% Essence of &pirit, $hich is !ind. *t is uncreated, impersonal, self8existin%, immaterial and indestructible.: The Tri8-aya is the esoteric trinity and corresponds to the exoteric trinity of Buddha, the &criptures and the Priesthood Aor your o$n di(inity, this manual and your companionsD.

*f the (oya%er is stru%%lin% $ith %uilt and penance hallucinations, the OOPOOQQ *+&T )@T*,+& ., 1)DE!E+T J*&*,+& may be read. J. &exual Jisions &exual (isions are extremely fre<uent durin% the Third Bardo. 0ou may see or ima%ine males and females copulatin%. GAccordin% to 1un%. A:Psycholo%ical @ommentary: to The Tibetan Book of the Dead, E(ans8?ent" edition, p. xiiiD, :.reud;s theory is the first attempt made in the ?est to in(esti%ate, as if from belo$, from the animal sphere of instinct the psychic territory that corresponds in Tantric Lamaism to the &idpa Bardo.: The (ision described here, in $hich the person sees mother and father in sexual intercourse, corresponds to the :primal scene: in psychoanalysis. At this le(el, then, $e be%in to see a remarkable con(er%ence of Eastern and ?estern psycholo%y. +ote also the exact correspondence to the psychoanalytic theory of the ,edipus @omplex.H This (ision may be internal or it may in(ol(e the people around you. 0ou may hallucinate multi8person or%ies and experience both desire and shame, attraction and dis%ust. 0ou may $onder $hat sexual performance is expected of you and ha(e doubts about your ability to perform at this time. ?hen these (isons occur, remember to $ithhod yourself from action or attachment. 'a(e faith and float %ently $ith the stream. Trust in the unity of life and in your companions. *f you attempt to enter into your old e%o because you are attracted or repulsed, if you try to >oin or excape from the or%y you are hallucinatin%, you $ill re8enter on an animal or neurotic le(el. *f you become conscious of :malness,: hatred of the father to%ether $ith >ealousy and attraction to$ards the mother $ill be experiencedI if you become conscious of :femaleness,: hatred of the mother to%ether $ith attraction and fondness for the father is experienced. *t is perhaps needless to say that this kind of self8centered sexuality has little in common $ith the sexuality of transpersonal experiences. Physical union can be one expression or manifestation of cosmic union. Jisions of sexual union may sometimes be follo$ed by (isions of conception 8 you may actually (isuali"e the sperm unitin% $ith the o(um 8 , of intra8uterine life and birth throu%h the $omb. &ome people claim to ha(e re8li(ed their o$n physical birth in psychedelic sessions and occasionally confirmin% e(idence for such claims has been put for$ard. ?hether this is so or not may be left as a <uestion to be decided by empirical e(idence. &ometimes the birth (isions $ill be clearly symbolic 8 e.%., emer%ence from a cocoon, breakin% out of a shell, etc. ?hether the birth (ision is constructed from memory or fantasy, the psychedelic (oya%er should try to reco%ni"e the si%ns indicatin% the type of personality that is bein% reborn. The OOPOOQQ *+&T )@T*,+& ., &E/)AL J*&*,+& may be read to the (oya%er $ho is stru%%lin% $ith sexual hallucinations.

J*. !ethods for Pre(entin% the e8Entry Althou%h many confrontations and reco%nition points ha(e been %i(en, the person may be ill8 prepared and still be $anderin% back to %ame reality. *t is of ad(anta%e to postpone the return for as lon% as possible, thus maximi"in% the de%ree of enli%htenment in the subse<uent personality. .or this reason four meditati(e methods are %i(en for prolon%in% the e%o8loss state. They are A4D meditation on the Buddha or %uideI A2D concentration on %ood %amesI A9D meditation on illusionI and A7D meditation on the (oid. &ee the OOPOOQQ .,) !ET',D& ,. P EJE+T*+E E8E+T 0. Each one attempts to lead the (oya%er back to the .irst Bardo central stream of ener%y from $hich he has been separated by %ame in(ol(ements. ,ne may ask ho$ these meditati(e methods, $hich seem difficult for the ordinary person, can be effecti(e. The ans$er %i(en in the Tibetan Bardo Thodol is that due to the increased su%%estibility and openness of the mind in the psychedelic state these methods can be used by anyone, re%ardless of intellectual capacity, or proficiency in meditation. J**. !ethods of @hoosin% the Post8&ession Personality @hoosin% the post8session e%o is an extremely profound art and should not be undertaken carelessly or hastily. ,ne should not return fleein% from hallucinated tormentors. &uch re8 entry $ill tend to brin% the person to one of the three lo$er le(els. ,ne should first banish the fear by (isuali"in% one;s protecti(e fi%ure or the BuddhaI then choose calmly and impartially. The limited forekno$led%e a(ailable to the (oya%er should be used to make a $ise choice. *n the Tibetan tradition each of the le(els of %ame8existence is associated $ith a particular color and also certain %eo%raphical symbols. These may be different for t$entieth8century ?esterners. Each person has to learn to decode his o$n internal road map. The Tibetan indicators may be used as a startin% point. The purpose is clearF one should follo$ the si%ns of the three hi%her types and shun those of the three lo$er. ,ne should follo$ li%ht and pleasant (isions and shun dark and dreary ones. The $orld of saints Ade(asD is said to shine $ith a $hite li%ht and to be preceded by (isions of deli%htful temples and >e$elled mansions. The $orld of heroes AasurasD has a %reen li%ht and is si%nalled by ma%ical forests and fire ima%es. The ordinary human $orld has a yello$ li%ht. Animal existence is foreshado$ed by a blue li%ht and ima%es of ca(es and deep holes in the earth. The $orld of neurotics or unsatisfied spirits has a red li%ht and (isions of desolate plains and forest $astes. The hell $orld emits a smoke8colored li%ht and is preceded by sounds of $ailin%, (isions of %loomy lands, black and $hite houses and black roads alon% $hich you ha(e to tra(el. )se your foresi%ht to choose a %ood post8session robot. Do not be attracted to your old e%o. ?hether you choose to pursue po$er, or status, or $isdom, or learnin%, or ser(itude, or $hate(er, choose impartially, $ithout bein% attracted or repelled. Enter into %ame existence $ith %ood %race, (oluntarily and freely. Jisuali"e it as a celestial mansion, i.e., as an opportunity to exercise %ame8ecstasy. 'a(e faith in the protection of the deities and choose.

The mood of complete impartiality is important since you may be in error. A %ame that appears %ood may later turn out to be bad. @omplete impartiality, freedom from $ant or fear, ensure that a maximally $ise choice is made. As you return you see spread out before you the $orld, your former life, a planet full of fascinatin% ob>ects and e(ents. Each aspect of the return trip can be a deli%htful disco(ery. &oon you $ill be descendin% to take your place in $orldly e(ents. The key to this return (oya%e is simply thisF take it easy, slo$ly, naturally. En>oy e(ery second. Don;t rush. Don;t be attached to your old %ames. eco%ni"e that you are in the re8entry period. Do not return $ith any emotional pressure. E(erythin% you see and touch can %lo$ $ith radiance. Each moment can be a >oyous disco(ery. 'ere end the Third Bardo, The Period of e8Entry EE+E AL @,+@L)&*,+ ?ell8prepared students $ith ad(anced spiritual understandin% can use the :Transference: principle at the moment of e%o8death and need not tra(erse subse<uent Bardo states. They $ill rise to a state of illumination and remain there throu%hout the entire period. ,thers, $ho are a little less experienced in spiritual discipline, $ill reco%ni"e the @lear Li%ht in the second sta%e of the .irst Bardo and $ill then $in liberation. ,thers, at a still less ad(anced le(el, may be liberated $hile experiencin% one of the positi(e or ne%ati(e (isions of the &econd Bardo. &ince there are se(eral turnin% points, liberation can be obtained at one or the other throu%h reco%nition at moments of confrontation. Those of (ery $eak karmic connection, i.e., those $ho ha(e been in(ol(ed in hea(y e%o8dominated %ame8playin%, $ill ha(e to $ander do$n$ards to the Third Bardo. A%ain, many points for liberation ha(e been charted. The $eakest persons $ill fall under the influence of %uilt and terror. .or $eaker persons there are (arious %raded teachin%s for pre(entin% the return to routine8reality, or at least for choosin% it $isely. Throu%h applyin% the methods of (isuali"ation described, they should be able to experience the benefits of the session. E(en those persons $hose familiar routines are primiti(e and e%ocentric can be pre(ented from enterin% into misery. ,nce they ha(e experienced, for ho$e(er short a period, the %reat beauty and po$er of free a$areness, they may, in the next period, meet $ith a %uide or friend $ho $ill initiate them further into the $ay. The $ay in $hich this teachin% is effecti(e, e(en for a (oya%er already in the &idpa Bardo, is as follo$sF each person has some positi(e and some ne%ati(e %ame8residues AkarmaD. The continuity of consciousness has been broken by an e%o8death for $hich the person $as not prepared. The teachin%s are like a trou%h in a broken $ater drain, temporarily restorin% the continuity $ith positi(e karma. As stated before, the extreme su%%estibility or detached <uality of consciousness in this state ensures the efficacy of listenin% to the doctrine. The teachin% embedded in this !anual may be compared to a catapult $hich can direct the person to$ards the %oal of liberation. ,r like the mo(in% of a bi% $ooden beam, $hich is so hea(y

that a hundred men cannot carry it, but by bein% floated on $ater it can be easily mo(ed. ,r it is like controllin% a horse;s bit and course by the use of a bridle. Therefore, these teachin%s should be (i(idly impressed on the (oya%er, a%ain and a%ain. This !anual may also be used more %enerally. *t should be recited as often as possible and committed to memory as far as possible. ?hen e%o8death or final death comes, reco%ni"e the symptoms, recite the !anual to yourself, and reflect upon the meanin%. *f you cannot do it yourself, ask a friend to read it to you. There is no doubt as to its liberati(e po$er. *t liberates by bein% seen or heard, $ithout need of ritual or complex meditation. This Profound Teachin% liberates those of %reat e(il karma throu%h the &ecret Path$ay. ,ne should not for%et its meanin% and the $ords, e(en thou%h pursued by se(en mastiffs. By this &elect Teachin%, one obtains Buddhahood at the moment of e%o8loss. ?ere the Buddhas of past, present and future to seek, they could not find any doctrine transcendin% this. 'ere ends the Bardo Thodol, kno$n as The Tibetan Book of the Dead ***. &,!E TE@'+*@AL @,!!E+T& AB,)T P&0@'EDEL*@ &E&&*,+& 4. )se of This !anual The most important use of this manual is for preparatory readin%. 'a(in% read the Tibetan !anual, one can immediately reco%ni"e symptoms and experiences $hich mi%ht other$ise be terrifyin%, only because of lack of understandin% as to $hat $as happenin%. eco%nition is the key $ord. &econdly, this %uidebook may be used to a(oid paranoid traps or to re%ain the .irst Bardo transcendence if it has been lost. *f the experience starts $ith li%ht, peace, mystic unity, understandin%, and if it continues alon% this path, then there is no need to remember this manual of ha(e this manual re8read to you. Like a road map, $e consult it only $hen lost, or $hen $e $ish to chan%e course. )sually, ho$e(er, the e%o clin%s to its old %ames. There may be momentary discomfort or confusion. *f this happens, the others present should not be sympathetic or sho$ alarm. They should be prepared to stay calm and restrain their :helpin% %ames.: *n particular, the :doctor: role should be a(oided. *f at any time you find yourself stru%%lin% to %et back to routine reality, you can Aby pre8 arran%ementD ha(e a more experienced person, a fello$8(oya%er, or a trusted obser(er read parts of this manual to you.

Passa%es suitable for readin% durin% the session are %i(en in Part *J belo$. Each ma>or descripti(e section of the Tibetan Book has an appropriate instruction text. ,ne may $ant to pre8record selected passa%es and simply flick on the recorder $hen desired. The aim of these instruction texts is al$ays to lead the (oya%er back to the ori%inal .irst Bardo transcendence and to help maintain that as lon% as possible. A third use $ould be to construct a :pro%ram: for a session usin% passa%es from the text. The aim $ould be to lead the (oya%er to one of the (isions deliberately, or throu%h a se<uence of (isions. The %uide or friend could read the rele(ant passa%es, sho$ slides or pictures or symbolic fi%ures of processes, play carefully selected music, etc. ,ne can en(ision a hi%h art of pro%rammin% psychedelic sessions, in $hich symbolic manipulations and presentations $ould lead the (oya%er throu%h ecstatic (isionary Bead Eames. 2. Plannin% a &ession *n plannin% a session, the first <uestion to be decided is :$hat is the %oal=: @lassic 'induism su%%est four possibilitiesF

ecstatically fused $ith internal life processes Ali%hts, ener%y8$a(es, bodily e(ents, biolo%ical forms, etc.D. ,f course, either the extro(erted or the intro(erted state may be ne%ati(e rather than positi(e, dependin% on the attitude of the (oya%er. Also it may be primarily conceptual or primarily emotional. The ei%ht types of experience thus deri(ed Afour positi(e and four ne%ati(eD ha(e been described more fully in Jisions 2 to B of the &econd Bardo. .or the extro(erted mystic experience one $ould brin% to the session ob>ects or symbols to %uide the a$areness in the desired direction. @andles, pictures,books, incense, music or recorded passa%es. An intro(erted mystic experience re<uires the elimination of all stimulationI no li%ht, no sound, no smell, no mo(ement. The mode of communication $ith the other participants should also be a%reed on beforehand. 0ou may a%ree on certain si%nals, silently indicatin% companionship. 0ou may arran%e for physical contact 8 claspin% hands, embracin%. These means of communication should be pre8 arran%ed to a(oid %ame8misinterpretations that may de(elop durin% the hei%htened sensiti(ity of e%o8transcendence. 9. Dru%s and Dosa%es

A4D .or increased personal po$er, intellectual understandin%, sharpened insi%ht into self and culture, impro(ement of life situation, accelerated learnin%, professional %ro$th. A2D .or duty, help of others, pro(idin% care, rehabilitation, rebirth for fello$ men. A9D .or fun, sensuous en>oyment, aesthetic pleasure, interpersonal closeness, pure experience. A7D .or transcendence, liberation from e%o and space8time limitsI attainment of mystical union. This manual aims primarily at the latter %oal 8 that of liberation8enli%htenment. This emphasis does not preclude attainment of the other %oals 8 in fact, it %uarantees their attainment because illumination re<uires that the person be able to step out beyond %ame problems of personality, role, and professional status. The initiate can decide beforehand to de(ote the psychedelic experience to any of the four %oals. The manual $ill be of assistance in any e(ent. *f there are se(eral people ha(in% a session to%ether they should either a%ree collaborati(ely on a %oal, or at least be a$are of each other;s %oals. *f the session is to be :pro%rammed: then the participants should either a%ree on or desi%n a pro%ram collaborati(ely, or they should a%ree to let one member of the %roup do the pro%rammin%. )nexpected or undesired manipulations by one of the participants can easily :trap the other (oya%ers into paranoid Third Bardo delusions. The (oya%er, especially in an indi(idual session, may also $ish to ha(e either an extro(erted or an intro(erted experience. *n the extro(erted transcendent experience, the self is ecstatically fused $ith external ob>ects Ae.%. flo$ers, or other peopleD. *n the intro(erted state, the self is

A $ide (ariety of chemicals and plants ha(e psychedelic A:mind manifestin%:D effects. The most $idely used substances are listed here to%ether $ith dosa%es ade<uate for a normal adult of a(era%e si"e. The dosa%e to be taken depends, of course, on the %oal of the session. T$o fi%ures are therefore %i(en. The first column indicates a dosa%e $hich should be sufficient for an inexperienced person to enter the transcendental $orlds described in this manual. The second column %i(es a smaller dosa%e fi%ure, $hich may be used by more experienced persons or by participants in a %roup session. L&D82B Alyser%ic acid diethylamideD 2MM8BMM micro%rams 4MM82MM micro%rams !escaline 3MM85MM m% 9MM8BMM m% Psilocybin M7M8M3M m% M2M8M9M m% The time of onset, $hen the dru%s are taken orally on an empty stomach, is approximately 2M8 9M minutes for L&D and psilocybin, and one to t$o hours for mescaline. The duration of the session is usually ei%ht to ten hours for L&D and mescaline, and fi(e to six hours for psilocybin. D!T AdimethyltryptamineD, $hen in>ected intramuscularly in dosa%es of BM83M m%, %i(es an experience approximately e<ui(alent to BMM micro%rams of L&D, but $hich lasts only 9M minutes. &ome person ha(e found it useful to take other dru%s before the session. A (ery anxious person, for example, may take 9M to 7M m% of Librium about on hour earlier, to calm and relax himself. !ethedrine has also been used to induced a pleasant, euphoric mood prior to the session. &ometimes, $ith excessi(ely ner(ous persons, it is ad(isable to sta%%er the dru% administrationF for example, 2MM micro%rams of L&D may be taken initially, and a :booster: of another 2MM micro%rams may be taken after the person has become familiar $ith some of

the effects of the psychedelic state. +ausea may sometimes occur. )sually this is a mental symptom, indicatin% fear, and should be re%arded as such. &ometimes, ho$e(er, particularly $ith the use of mornin%8%lory seeds and peyote, the nausea can ha(e a physiolo%ical cause. Anti8nauseant dru%s such as !are"ine, Bonamine, Dramamine or Ti%an, may be taken beforehand to pre(ent this. *f a person becomes trapped in a repetiti(e %ame8routine durin% a session, it is sometimes possible to :break the set: by administerin% BM m% of D!T, or e(en 2B m% of Dexedrine or !ethedrine. &uch additional dosa%es, of course, should only be %i(en $ith the person;s o$n kno$led%e and consent. &hould external emer%encies call for it, Thora"ine A4MM82MM m%, i.m.D or other phenothia"ine8 type tran<uili"ers $ill terminate the effects of psychedelic dru%s. Antidotes should not be used simply because the (oya%er or the %uide is fri%htened. *nstead, the appropriate sections of the Third Bardo should be read. G.urther, more detailed su%%estions concernin% dosa%e may be found in a paper by Eary !. .isherF :&ome @omments @oncernin% Dosa%e Le(els of Psychedelic @ompounds for Psychotherapeutic Experiences.: Psychedelic e(ie$, *, no.2, pp. 2M58245, 4639.H 7. Preparation Psychedelic chemicals are not dru%s in the usual sense of the $ord. There is no specific reaction, no expected se<uence of e(ents, somatic or psycholo%ical. The specific reaction has little to do $ith the chemical and is chiefly a function of set and settin%I preparation and en(ironment. The better the preparation, the more ecstatic and re(elatory the session. *n initial sessions and $ith unprepared persons, settin% 8 particularly the actions of others 8 is most important. ?ith persons $ho ha(e prepared thou%htfully and seriously, the settin% is less important. There are t$o aspects of setF lon%8ran%e and immediate. Lon%8ran%e set refers to the personal history, the endurin% personality. The kind of person you are 8 your fears, desires, conflicts, %uilts, secret passions 8 determines ho$ you interpret and mana%e any situation you enter, includin% a psychedelic session. Perhaps more important are the reflex mechanisms used $hen dealin% $ith anxiety 8 the defenses, the protecti(e maneu(ers typically employed. .lexibility, basic trust, reli%ious faith, human openness, coura%e, interpersonal $armth, creati(ity, are characteristics $hich allo$ for fun and easy learnin%. i%idity, desire to control, distrust, cynicism, narro$ness, co$ardice, coldness, are characteristics $hich make any ne$ situation threatenin%. !ost important is insi%ht. +o matter ho$ many cracks in the record, the person $ho has some understandin% of his o$n recordin% machinery, $ho can reco%ni"e $hen he is not functionin% as he $ould $ish, is better able to adapt to any challen%e 8 e(en the sudden collapse of his e%o.

The most careful preparation $ould include some discussion of the personality characteristics and some plannin% $ith the %uide as to ho$ to handle expected emotional reactions $hen they occur. *mmediate set refers to the expectations about the session itself. &ession preparation is of critical importance in determinin% ho$ the experience unfolds. People tend naturally to impose their personal and social %ame perspecti(es on any ne$ situation. @areful thou%ht should precede the session to pre(ent narro$ sets bein% imposed. !edical expectations. &ome ill8prepared sub>ects unconsciously impose a medical model on the experience. They look for symptoms, interpret each ne$ sensation in terms of sicknessRhealth, place the %uide in a doctor8role, and, if anxiety de(elops, demand chemical rebirth 8 i.e., tran<uili"ers. ,ccasionally one hears of casual, ill8planned, non8%uided sessions $hich end in the sub>ect demandin% to be hospitali"ed, etc. *t is e(en more problem8pro(okin% if the %uide employs a medical model, $atches for symptoms, and keeps hospitali"ation in mind to fall back on, as protection for himself. ebellion a%ainst con(ention may be the moti(e of some people $ho take the dru%. The idea of doin% somethin% :far out: or (a%uely nau%hty is a nai(e set $hich can color the experience. *ntellectual expectations are appropriate $hen sub>ects ha(e had much psychedelic experience. *ndeed, L&D offers (ast possibilities for accelerated learnin% and scientific8 scholarly research. But for initial sessions, intellectual reactions can become traps. The Tibetan !anual ne(er tires of $arnin% about the dan%ers of rationali"ation. :Turn you mind off: is the best ad(ice for no(itiates. @ontrol of your consciousness is like fli%ht instruction. After you ha(e learned ho$ to mo(e your consciousness around 8 into e%o8loss and back, at $ill 8 then intellectual exercises can be incorporated into the psychedelic experience. The last sta%e of the session is the best time to examine concepts. The ob>ecti(e of this particular manual is to free you from you (erbal mind for as lon% as possible. eli%ious expectations in(ite the same ad(ice as intellectual set. A%ain, the sub>ect in early sessions is best ad(ised to float $ith the stream, stay :up: as lon% as possible, and postpone theolo%ical interpretations until the end of the session, or to later sessions. ecreational and aesthetic expectations are natural. The psychedelic experience, $ithout <uestion, pro(ides ecstatic moments $hich d$arf any personal or cultural %ame. Pure sensation can capture a$areness. *nterpersonal intimacy reaches 'imalayan hei%hts. Aesthetic deli%hts 8 musical, artistic, botanical, natural 8 are raised to the millionth po$er. But all these reactions can be Third Bardo e%o %amesF :* am ha(in% this ecstasy. 'o$ lucky * amN: &uch reactions can become tender traps, pre(entin% the sub>ect from reachin% pure e%o8loss A.irst BardoD or the %lories of &econd Bardo creati(ity. Planned expectations. This manual prepares the person for a mystical experience accordin% to the Tibetan model. The &a%es of the &no$y an%es ha(e de(eloped a most sophisticated and precise understandin% of human psycholo%y, and the student $ho studies this manual $ill

become oriented for a (oya%e $hich is much richer in scope and meanin% than any ?estern psycholo%ical theory. ?e remain a$are, ho$e(er, that the Bardo Thodol model of consciousness is a human artifact, a &econd Bardo hallucination, ho$e(er %rand its scope. &ome practical recommendations. The sub>ect should set aside at least three days for his experienceI a day before, the session day, and a follo$8up day. This schedulin% %uarantees a reduction in external pressure and a more sober commitment to the (oya%e. Talkin% to others $ho ha(e taken the (oya%e is excellent preparation, althou%h the &econd Bardo hallucinatory <uality of all descriptions should be reco%ni"ed. ,bser(in% a session is another (aluable preliminary. The opportunity to see others durin% and after a session shapes expectations. eadin% books about mystical experience is a standard orientation procedure. eadin% the accounts of others; experiences is another possibility AAldous 'uxley, Alan ?atts, and Eordon ?asson ha(e $ritten po$erful accountsD. !editation is probably the best preparation for a psychedelic session. Those $ho ha(e spent time in the solitary attempt to mana%e the mind, to eliminate thou%ht and to reach hi%her sta%es of concentration, are the best candidates for a psychedelic session. ?hen the e%o8loss state occurs, they are ready. They reco%ni"e the process as an end ea%erly a$aited, rather than a stran%e e(ent ill8understood. B. The &ettin% The first and most important thin% to remember, in the preparation for a psychedelic session, is to pro(ide a settin% $hich is remo(ed from one;s usual social and interpersonal %ames and $hich is as free as possible from unforeseen distractions and intrusions. The (oya%er should make sure that he $ill not be disturbed by (isitors or telephone calls, since these $ill often >ar him into hallucinatory acti(ity. Trust in the surroundin%s and pri(acy are necessary. A period of time Ausually at least three daysD should be set aside in $hich the experience $ill run its natural course and there $ill be sufficient time for reflections and meditation. *t is important to keep schedules open for three days and to make these arran%ements beforehand. A too8hasty return to %ame8in(ol(ements $ill blur the clarity of the (ision and reduce the potential for learnin%. *f the experience $as $ith a %roup, it is (ery useful to stay to%ether after the session in order to share and exchan%e experiences. There are differences bet$een ni%ht sessions and day sessions. !any people report that they are more comfortable in the e(enin% and conse<uently that their experiences are deeper and richer. The person should choose the time of day that seems ri%ht accordin% to his o$n temperament at first. Later, he may $ish to experience the difference bet$een ni%ht and day sessions.

&imilarly, there are differences bet$een sessions out8of8doors and indoors. +atural settin%s such as %ardens, beaches, forests, and open country ha(e specific influences $hich one may or may not $ish to incur. The essential thin% is to feel as comfortable as possible in the surroundin%s, $hether in one;s li(in% room or under the ni%ht sky. A familiarity $ith the surroundin%s may help one to feel confident in hallucinatory periods. *f the session is held indoors, one must consider the arran%ement of the room and the specific ob>ects one may $ish to see and hear durin% the experience. !usic, li%htin%, the a(ailability of food and drink, should be considered beforehand. !ost people report no desire for food durin% the hei%ht of the experience, and then, later on, prefer to ha(e simple, ancient foods like bread, cheese, $ine, and fresh fruit. 'un%er is usually not the issue. The senses are $ide open, and the taste and smell of a fresh oran%e are unfor%ettable. *n %roup sessions, the arran%ement of the room is <uite important. People usually $ill not feel like $alkin% or mo(in% (ery much for a lon% period, and either beds or mattresses should be pro(ided. The arran%ement of the beds or mattresses can (ary. ,ne su%%estion is to place the heads of the beds to%ether to form a star pattern. Perhaps one may $ant to place a fe$ beds to%ether and keep one or t$o some distance apart for anyone $ho $ishes to remain aside for some time. ,ften, the a(ailability of an extra room is desirable for someone $ho $ishes to be in seclusion for a period. *f it is desired to listen to music or to reflect on paintin%s or reli%ious ob>ects, one should arran%e these so that e(eryone in the %roup feels comfortable $ith $hat they are hearin% or seein%. *n a %roup session, all decisions about %oals, settin%, etc. should be made $ith collaboration and openness. 3. The Psychedelic Euide .or initial sessions, the attitude and beha(ior of the %uide are critical factors. 'e possesses enormous po$er to shape the experience. ?ith the co%niti(e mind suspended, the sub>ect is in a hei%htened state of su%%estibility. The %uide can mo(e consciousness $ith the sli%htest %esture or reaction. The key issue here is the %uide;s ability to turn off his o$n e%o and social %ames 8 in particular, to muffle his o$n po$er needs and his fears. To be there relaxed, solid, acceptin%, secure. The Tao $isdom of creati(e <uietism. To sense all and do nothin% except to let the sub>ect kno$ your $ise presence. A psychedelic session lasts up to t$el(e hours and produces moments of intense, intense, *+TE+&E reacti(ity. The %uide must ne(er be bored, talkati(e, intellectuali"in%. 'e must remain calm durin% the lon% periods of s$irlin% mindlessness. 'e is the %round control in the airport to$er. Al$ays there to recei(e messa%es and <ueries from hi%h8flyin% aircraft. Al$ays ready to help na(i%ate their course, to help them reach their

destination. An airport8to$er8operator $ho imposes his o$n personality, his o$n %ames upon the pilot is unheard of. The pilots ha(e their o$n fli%ht plan, their o$n %oals, and %round control is there, e(er $aitin% to be of ser(ice. The pilot is reassured to kno$ that an expert $ho has %uided thousands of fli%hts is do$n there, a(ailable for help. But suppose the flier has reason to suspect that %round control is harborin% his o$n moti(es and mi%ht be manipulatin% the plane to$ard selfish %oals. The bond of security and confidence $ould crumble. *t %oes $ithout sayin%, then, that the %uide should ha(e had considerable experience in psychedelic sessions himself and in %uidin% others. To administer psychedelics $ithout personal experience is unethical and dan%erous. The %reatest problem faced by human bein%s in %eneral, and the psychedelic %uide in particular, is fear. .ear of the unkno$n. .ear of losin% control. .ear of trustin% the %enetic process and your companions. .rom our o$n research studies and our in(esti%ations into sessions run by others 8 serious professionals or ad(enturous bohemians 8 $e ha(e been led to the conclusion that almost e(ery ne%ati(e L&D reaction has been caused by fear on the part of the %uide $hich has au%mented the transient fear of the sub>ect. ?hen the %uide acts to protect himself, he communicates his concern to the sub>ect. The %uide must remain passi(ely sensiti(e and intuiti(ely relaxed for se(eral hours. This is a difficult assi%nment for most ?esterners. .or this reason, $e ha(e sou%ht $ays to assist the %uide in maintainin% a state of alert <uietism in $hich he is poised $ith ready flexibility. The most certain $ay to achie(e this state is for the %uide to take a lo$ dose of the psychedelic $ith the sub>ect. outine procedure is to ha(e one trained person participate in the experience and one staff member present in %round control $ithout psychedelic aid. The kno$led%e that one experienced %uide is :up: and keepin% the sub>ect company, is of inestimable (alueI intimacy and communicationI cosmic companionshipI the security of ha(in% a trained pilot flyin% at your $in% tipI the scuba di(er;s security in the presence of an expert comrade in the deep. *t is not recommended that %uides take lar%e doses durin% sessions for ne$ sub>ects. The less experienced he is, the more likely $ill the sub>ect impose &econd and Third Bardo hallucinations. These intense %ames affect the experienced %uide, $ho is likely to be in a state of mindless (oid. The %uide is then pulled into the hallucinatory field of the sub>ect, and may ha(e difficulty orientin% himself. Durin% the .irst Bardo there are no familiar fixed landmarks, no place to put your foot, no solid concept upon $hich to base your thinkin%. All is flux. Decisi(e &econd Bardo action on the part of the sub>ect can structure the %uide;s flo$ if he has taken a hea(y dose. The role of the psychedelic %uide is perhaps the most excitin% and inspirin% role in society. 'e is literally a liberator, one $ho pro(ides illumination, one $ho frees men from their life8lon% internal bonda%e. To be present at the moment of a$akenin%, to share the ecstatic re(elation

$hen the (oya%er disco(ers the $onder and a$e of the di(ine life8process, is for many the most %ratifyin% part to play in the e(olutionary drama. The role of the psychedelic %uide has a built8in protection a%ainst professionalism and didactic oneupmanship. The psychedelic liberation is so po$erful that it far outstrips earthly %ame ambitions. A$e and %ratitude 8 rather than pride 8 are the re$ards of this ne$ profession. C. @omposition of the Eroup The most effecti(e use of this manual $ill be for the experience of one person $ith a %uide. 'o$e(er, the manual $ill be useful in a %roup also. ?hen used in a %roup session, the follo$in% su%%estions $ill be most helpful in plannin%. The important thin% to remember in or%ani"in% a %roup session is to ha(e kno$led%e of and trust in the fello$ (oya%ers. Trust in oneself and in one;s companions is essential. *f preparin% for an experience $ith stran%ers, it is (ery important to share as much time and space as possible $ith them prior to the session. The participants should set collaborati(e %oals and explore mutually their expectations and feelin%s and past experiences. The si"e of the %roup should depend to some extent on ho$ much experience the participants ha(e had. *nitially, small %roups are preferable to lar%er ones. *n any case, %roup experiences exceedin% six or se(en people are demonstrably less profound and %enerate more paranoid hallucinations. *f plannin% for a %roup session of fi(e or six people, it is preferable to ha(e at least t$o %uides present. ,ne $ill take the psychedelic substance and the other, $ho does not, ser(es as a practical %uide to take care of such concerns as chan%in% the recordin%s, pro(idin% food, etc., and if necessary or desired, readin% selections from the manual. *f it is possible, one of the %uides should be an experienced $oman $ho can pro(ide an atmosphere of spiritual nurturin% and comfort. *t is sometimes ad(isable that the initial session of married couples be separate in order that the exploration of their marria%e %ame not dominate the session. ?ith some experience in consciousness8expansion, the marria%e %ame like others may be explored for any purpose 8increased intimacy, clearer communication, exploration of the foundations of the sexual, matin% relationship, etc. *J. *+&T )@T*,+& ., )&E D) *+E A P&0@'EDEL*@ &E&&*,+ .* &T BA D, *+&T )@T*,+& , Aname of (oya%erD The time has come for you to seek ne$ le(els of reality. 0our e%o and the AnameD %ame are about to cease. 0our are about to be set face to face $ith the @lear Li%ht 0our are about to experience it in its reality. *n the e%o8free state, $herein all thin%s are like

the (oid and cloudless sky, And the naked spotless intellect is like a transparent (acuumI At this moment, kno$ yourself and abide in that state. , Aname of (oya%erD, That $hich is called e%o8death is comin% to you. ememberF This is no$ the hour of death and rebirthI Take ad(anta%e of this temporary death to obtain the perfect state 8Enli%htenment. @oncentrate on the unity of all li(in% bein%s. 'old onto the @lear Li%ht. )se it to attain understandin% and lo(e. *f you cannot maintain the bliss of illumination and if you are slippin% back into contact $ith the external $orld, ememberF The hallucinations $hich you may no$ experience, The (isions and insi%hts, ?ill teach you much about yourself and the $orld. The (eil of routine perception $ill be torn from you eyes. emember the unity of all li(in% thin%s. emember the bliss of the @lear Li%ht. Let it %uide you throu%h the (isions of this experience. Let it %uide you throu%h your ne$ life to come. *f you feel confusedI call upon the memory of your friends and the po$er of the person $hom you most admire. , AnameD, Try to reach and keep the experience of the @lear Li%ht. ememberF The li%ht is the life ener%y. The endless flame of life. An e(er8chan%in% sur%in% turmoil of color may en%ulf your (ision. This is the ceaseless transformation of ener%y. The life process. Do not fear it. &urrender to it. 1oin it. *t is part of you. 0ou are part of it. emember alsoF Beyond the restless flo$in% electricity of life is the ultimate reality 8The Joid. 0our o$n a$areness, not formed into anythin% possessin% form or color, is naturally (oid. The .inal eality. The All Eood. The All Peaceful. The Li%ht. The adiance. The mo(ement is the fire of life from $hich $e all come. 1oin it. *t is part of you. Beyond the li%ht of life is the peaceful silence of the (oid. The <uiet bliss beyond all transformations. The Buddha smile. The Joid is not nothin%ness. The Joid is be%innin% and end itself. )nobstructedI shinin%, thrillin%, blissful. Diamond consciousness. The All8Eood Buddha. 0our o$n consciousness, not formed into anythin%, +o thou%ht, no (ision, no color, is (oid. The intellect shinin% and blissful and silent 8This is the state of perfect enli%htenment. 0our o$n consciousness, shinin%, (oid and inseparable from the %reat body of radiance, has no birth, nor death. *t is the immutable li%ht $hich the Tibetans call Buddha Amitabha, The a$areness of the formless be%innin%. -no$in% this is enou%h. eco%ni"e the (oidness of your o$n consciousness to be Buddhahood. -eep this reco%nition and you $ill maintain the state of the di(ine mind of the Buddha. &E@,+D BA D, P EL*!*+A 0 *+&T )@T*,+& ememberF *n this session you experience three Bardos, Three states of e%o8loss. .irst there is the @lear Li%ht of eality. +ext there are fantastically (aried %ame hallucinations. Later you $ill reach the sta%e of e8Entry ,f re%ainin% an e%o. , friend, 0ou may experience e%o8transcendence, Departure from your old self. But you are not the only one. *t comes to all at some time. 0ou are fortunate to ha(e this %ratuitously %i(en rebirth experience. Do not clin% in fondness and $eakness to your old self. E(en thou%h you clin% to your mind, you ha(e lost the po$er to keep it. 0ou can %ain nothin% by stru%%lin% in this hallucinatory $orld. Be not ttached. Be not $eak. ?hate(er fear or terror may come to

you .or%et not these $ords. Take their meanin% into your heart. Eo for$ard. 'erein lies the (ital secret of reco%nition. , friend, rememberF ?hen body and mind separate, you experience a %limpse of the pure truth 8&ubtle, sparklin%, bri%ht, Da""lin%, %lorious, and radiantly a$esome, *n appearance like a mira%e mo(in% across a landscape in sprin%time. ,ne continuous stream of (ibrations. Be not daunted thereby, +or terrified, nor a$ed. That is the radiance of your o$n true nature. eco%ni"e it. Q.rom the midst of that radiance @omes the natural sound of reality, e(erberatin% like a thousand thunders simultaneously soundin%. That is the natural sound of your o$n life process. Be not daunted thereby, +or terrified, nor a$ed. *t is sufficient for you to kno$ that these apparitions are your o$n thou%ht8forms. *f you do not reco%ni"e your o$n thou%ht forms, *f you for%et your preparation, The li%hts $ill daunt you, The sounds $ill a$e you, The rays $ill terrify you, The people around you $ill confuse you. emember the key to the teachin%s. , friend, These realms are not come from some$here outside your self, They come from $ithin and shine upon you. The re(elations too are not come from some$here elseI They exist from eternity $ithin the faculties of your o$n intellect. -no$ them to be of that nature. The key to enli%htenment and serenity durin% this period of ten thousand (isions is simply thisF elax. !er%e yourself $ith them. Blissfully accept the $onders of your o$n creati(ity. Become neither attached nor afraid, +either be attracted nor repulsed. Abo(e all, do nothin% about the (isions. They exist only $ithin you. *+&T )@T*,+& ., J*&*,+ 4F T'E &,) @E AEyes closed, external stimuli i%noredD , nobly8born, listen carefullyF The adiant Ener%y of the &eed Q.rom $hich come all li(in% forms, &hoots forth and strikes a%ainst you ?ith a li%ht so brilliant that you $ill scarcely be able to look at it. Do not be fri%htened. This is the &ource Ener%y $hich has been radiatin% for billions of years, E(er manifestin% itself in different forms. Accept it. Do not try to intellectuali"e it. Do not play %ames $ith it. !er%e $ith it. Let it flo$ throu%h you. Lose yourself in it. .use in the 'alo of ainbo$ Li%ht *nto the core of the ener%y dance. ,btain Buddhahood in the @entral ealm of the Densely Packed. *+&T )@T*,+& ., P'0&*@AL &0!PT,!& , friend, listen carefully. The bodily symptoms you are ha(in% are not dru%8effects. They indicate that you are stru%%lin% a%ainst the a$areness of feelin%s $hich surpass your normal experience. 0ou cannot control these uni(ersal ener%y8$a(es. Let the feelin%s melt all o(er you. Become part of them. &ink into them and throu%h them. Allo$ yourself to pulsate $ith the (ibrations surroundin% you. elax. Do not stru%%le. 0our symptoms $ill disappear as soon as all trace of e%o8centered stri(in% disappears. Accept them as the messa%e of the body.

?elcome them. En>oy them. *+&T )@T*,+& ., J*&*,+ 2F T'E *+TE +AL .L,? ,. A @'ET0PAL P ,@E&&E& AEyes closed, external stimuli i%noredI intellectual aspectsD , nobly born, listen carefullyF The life flo$ is $hirlin% throu%h you. An endless parade of pure forms and sounds, Da""lin%ly brilliant, E(er8chan%in%. Do not try to control it. .lo$ $ith it. Experience the ancient cosmic myths of creation and manifestation. Do not try to understandI There is plenty of time for that later. !er%e $ith it. Let it flo$ throu%h you. There is no need to act or think. 0ou are bein% tau%ht the %reat lessons of e(olution, creation, reproduction. *f you try to stop it, you may fall into hell8$orlds and endure unbearable misery %enerated by your o$n mind. A(oid %ame interpretations. A(oid thinkin%, talkin% and doin%. -eep faith in the life flo$. Trust your companions on this $atery >ourney. !er%e in ainbo$ Li%ht, *nto the 'eart of The i(er of @reated .orms. ,btain Buddhahood in the ealm called Pre8Eminently 'appy. *+&T )@T*,+& ., J*&*,+ 9F T'E .* E8.L,? ,. *+TE +AL )+*T0 AEyes closed, external stimuli i%nored, emotional aspectsD , nobly born, listen carefullyF 0ou are flo$in% out$ard into the fluid unity of life. The ecstasy of or%anic fire %lo$s in e(ery cell. The hard, dry, brittle husks of your e%o are $ashin% out, ?ashin% out to the endless sea of creation. .lo$ $ith it. .eel the pulse of the sun;s heart. Let the red Buddha Amitabha s$eep you alon%. Do not fear the ecstasy. Do not resist the flo$. emember, all the exultant po$er comes from $ithin. elease your attachment. eco%ni"e the $isdom of your o$n blood. Trust the tide8force pullin% you into unity $ith all li(in% forms. Let your heart burst in lo(e for all life. Let your $arm blood %ush out into the ocean of all life. Do not be attached to the ecstatic po$erI *t comes from you. Let it flo$. Do not try to hold on to your old bodily fears. Let your body mer%e $ith the $arm flux. Let your roots sink into the $arm life body. !er%e into the 'eart8Elo$ of the Buddha Amitabha. .loat in the ainbo$ &ea. Attain Buddhahood in the ealm named Exultant Lo(e. *+&T )@T*,+& ., J*&*,+ 7F T'E ?AJE8J*B AT*,+ &T )@T) E ,. E/TE +AL ., !& AEyes open, rapt in(ol(ement $ith the external (isual stimuli, intellectual aspectsD , nobly born, listen carefullyF At this point you can become a$are of the $a(e structure of the $orld around you. E(erythin% you see dissol(es into ener%y (ibrations. Look closely and you $ill tune in on the electric dance of ener%y. There are no lon%er thin%s and persons but only the direct flo$ of particles. @onsciousness $ill no$ lea(e your body and flo$ into the stream of $a(e rhythm. There is no need for talk or action. Let your brain become a recei(in% set for

the radiance. All interpretations are the products of your o$n mind. Dispel them. 'a(e no fear. Exult in the natural po$er of your o$n brain, The $isdom of your o$n electricity. Abide in the state of <uietude. As the three8dimensional $orld fra%ments, you may feel panicI 0ou may be%et a fondness for the hea(y dull $orld of ob>ects you are lea(in%. At this time, fear not the transparent, radiant, da""lin% $a(e ener%y. Allo$ your intellect to rest. .ear not the hook8 rays of the li%ht of life, The basic structure of matter, The basic form of $a(e communication. ?atch <uietly and recei(e the messa%e. 0ou $ill no$ experience directly the re(elation of primal forms. *+&T )@T*,+& ., J*&*,+ BF T'E J*B AT, 0 ?AJE& ,. E/TE +AL )+*T0 AEyes openI rapt in(ol(ement $ith external stimuli such as li%hts, or mo(ementsI emotional aspectsD , nobly born, listen carefullyF 0ou are experiencin% the unity of all li(in% forms. *f people seem to you rubbery and lifeless, like plastic puppets, Be not afraid. This is only the attempt of the e%o to maintain its separate identity. Allo$ yourself to feel the unity of all. !er%e $ith the $orld around you. Be not afraid. En>oy the dance of the puppets. They are created by your o$n mind. Allo$ yourself to relax and feel the ecstatic ener%y8(ibrations pulsin% throu%h you. En>oy the feelin% of complete one8ness $ith all life and all matter. The %lo$in% radiance is a reflection of your o$n consciousness. *t is one aspect of your di(ine nature. Do not be attached to your old human self. Do not be alarmed at the ne$ and stran%e feelin%s you are ha(in%. *f you are attracted to your old self, 0ou $ill be reborn shortly for another round of %ame8existence. Exercise humble trust and remain fearless. 0ou $ill mer%e into the heart of the Blessed atnasambha(a, *n a 'alo of ainbo$ Li%ht, And attain liberation in the ealm Endo$ed $ith Elory. *+&T )@T*,+& ., J*&*,+ 3F :T'E ET*+AL @* @)&: , nobly born, listen $ellF 0ou are no$ $itnessin% the ma%ical dance of forms. Ecstatic kaleidoscopic patterns explode around you. All possible shapes come to life before you eyes. The retinal circus. The ceaseless play of elements 8Earth, $ater, air, fire, *n e(er8chan%in% forms and manifestations, Da""les you $ith its complexity and (ariety. elax and en>oy the rushin% stream. Do not become attached to any (ision or re(elation. Let e(erythin% flo$ throu%h you. *f unpleasant experiences come, Let them flit by $ith the rest. Do not stru%%le a%ainst them. *t all comes from $ithin you. This is the %reat lesson in the creati(ity and po$er of the brain, freed from its learned structures. Let the cascade of ima%es and associations take you $here it $ill. !editate calmly on the kno$led%e that all these (isions are emanations of your o$n consciousness. This $ay you can obtain self8kno$led%e and be liberated. *+&T )@T*,+& ., J*&*,+ CF :T'E !AE*@ T'EAT E: , nobly born, listen $ellF 0ou are no$ in the ma%ic theatre of heroes and demons. !ythical superhuman fi%ures. Demons, %oddesses, celestial $arriors, %iants, An%els, Bodhisatt(as,

d$arfs, crusaders, El(es, de(ils, saints, and sorcerers, *nfernal spirits, %oblins, kni%hts and emperors. The Lotus Lord of Dance. The ?ise ,ld !an. The Di(ine @hild. The Trickster, The &hapeshifter. The tamer of monsters. The mother of %ods, the $itch. The moon kin%. The $anderer. The $hole di(ine theatre of fi%ures representin% the hi%hest reaches of human kno$led%e. Do not be afraid of them. They are $ithin you. 0our o$n creati(e intellect is the master ma%ician of them all. eco%ni"e the fi%ures as aspects of your self. The $hole fantastic comedy takes place $ithin you. Do not become attached to the fi%ures. emember the teachin%s. 0ou may still attain liberation. *+&T )@T*,+& ., T'E ? AT'.)L J*&*,+& , nobly born, listen carefullyF 0ou $ere unable to maintain the perfect @lear Li%ht of the .irst Bardo. ,r the serene peaceful (isions of the &econd. 0ou are no$ enterin% &econd Bardo ni%htmares. eco%ni"e them. They are your o$n thou%ht8forms made (isible and audible. They are products of your o$n mind $ith its back to the $all. They indicate that you are close to liberation. Do not fear them. +o harm can come to you from these hallucinations. They are your o$n thou%hts in fri%htenin% aspect. They are old friends. ?elcome them. !er%e $ith them. 1oin them. Lose yourself in them. They are yours. ?hate(er you see, no matter ho$ stran%e and terrifyin%, emember abo(e all that it comes from $ithin you. 'old onto that kno$led%e. As soon as you reco%ni"e that, you $ill obtain liberation. *f you do not reco%ni"e them, Torture and punishment $ill ensue. But these too are but the radiances of your o$n intellect. They are immaterial. Joidness cannot in>ure (oidness. +one of the peaceful or $rathful (isions, Blood8drinkin% demons, machines, monsters, or de(ils, Exist in reality ,nly $ithin your skull. This $ill dissipate your fear. emember it $ell. T'* D BA D,F P EL*!*+A 0 *+&T )@T*,+& , AnameD, listen $ellF 0ou are no$ enterin% the Third Bardo. Before, $hile experiencin% the peaceful and $rathful (isions of the &econd Bardo, 0ou could not reco%ni"e them. Throu%h fear you became unconscious. +o$, as you reco(er, 0our consciousness rises up, Like a trout leapin% forth out of $ater, &tri(in% for its ori%inal form. 0our former e%o has started to operate a%ain. Do not stru%%le to fi%ure thin%s out. *f throu%h $eakness you are attracted to action and thinkin%, 0ou $ill ha(e to $ander amidst the $orld of %ame existence, And suffer pain. elax your restless mind. , AnameD, you ha(e been unable to reco%ni"e the archetypal forms of the &econd Bardo. 0ou ha(e come do$n this far. +o$, if you $ish to see the truth, 0our mind must rest $ithout distraction. There is nothin% to do, +othin% to think. .loat back to the unobscured, primordial, bri%ht, (oid state of your intellect. *n this $ay you $ill obtain liberation. *f you are unable to relax your mind, !editate on Aname of protecti(e fi%ureD !editate on your friends AnameD Think of them $ith profound lo(e and trust, As o(ershado$in% the cro$n of your head. This is of %reat importance. Be not distracted.

, AnameD, 0ou may no$ feel the po$er to perform miraculous feats, To percei(e and communicate $ith extrasensory po$er, To chan%e shape, si"e and number, To tra(erse space and time instantly. These feelin%s come to you naturally, +ot throu%h any merit on your part. Do not desire them. Do not attempt to exercise them. eco%ni"e them as si%ns that you are in the Third Bardo, *n the period of re8entry into the normal $orld. , AnameD, *f you ha(e not understood the abo(e, At this moment, As a result of your o$n mental set, .ri%htenin% (isions may come. Eusts of $ind and icy blasts, 'ummin% and clickin% of the controllin% machinery, !ockin% lau%hter. 0ou may ima%ine terror producin% remarksF :Euilty,: :stupid,: inade<uate,: :nasty.: &uch ima%ined taunts and paranoid ni%htmares Are the residues of selfish, e%o8dominated %ame8playin%. .ear them not. They are your o$n mental products. emember that you are in the Third Bardo. 0ou are stru%%lin% to re8enter the denser atmosphere of routine %ame existence. Let this re8entry be smooth and slo$. Do not attempt to use force of $ill8po$er. , AnameD, As you are dri(en here and there by the e(er8mo(in% $inds of karma, 0our mind, ha(in% no restin% place or focus, *s like a feather tossed about by the $ind, ,r like a rider on the horse or breath, @easelessly and in(oluntarily you $ill $ander about, @allin% in despair for your old e%o. 0our mind races alon% until you are exhausted and miserable. Do not hold on to thou%hts. Allo$ the mind to rest in its unmodified state. !editate on the oneness of all ener%y. Thus you $ill be free of sorro$, terror, and confusion. , AnameD 0ou may feel confused and be$ildered. 0ou may be $onderin% about your sanity. 0ou may look at your fello$ (oya%ers and friends, And sense that they cannot understand you. 0ou may thinkI :* am deadN ?hat shall * do=,: And feel %reat misery, 1ust like a fish cast out of $ater on red8hot embers. 0ou may $onder $hether you $ill e(er return. .amiliar places, relati(es, people kno$n to you appear as in a dream, ,r throu%h a %lass darkly. *f you are ha(in% such experiences, Thinkin% $ill be of no a(ail. Do not stru%%le to explain. This is the natural result of your o$n mental pro%ram. &uch feelin%s indicate that you are in the Third Bardo. Trust your %uide, Trust your companions, Trust the @ompassionate Buddha, !editate calmly and $ithout distraction. , AnameD, 0ou may no$ feel as if you are bein% oppressed and s<uee"ed, Like bet$een rocks and boulders, ,r like inside a ca%e or prison. ememberF These are si%ns that you are tryin% to force a return to your e%o. There may be a dull, %ray li%ht &uffusin% all ob>ects $ith a murky %lo$. These are all si%ns of the Third Bardo. Do not stru%%le to return. The re8entry $ill happen by itself. eco%ni"e $here you are. eco%nition $ill lead to liberation. *+&T )@T*,+& ., E8E+T 0 J*&*,+&

, AnameD, 0ou ha(e still not understood $hat is happenin% &o far you ha(e been searchin% for your past personality. )nable to find it, you may be%in to feel that you $ill ne(er be the same a%ain, That you $ill come back a chan%ed person. &addened by this you $ill feel self8pity,

0ou $ill attempt to find your e%o, to re%ain control. &o thinkin%, you $ill $ander here and there, @easelessly and distractedly. Different ima%es of your future self $ill be seen by youI The one you are headed for $ill be seen most clearly. The special art of these teachin%s is particularly important at this moment. ?hate(er ima%e you see, !editate upon it as comin% from the Buddha 8That le(el of existence also exists in the Buddha. This is an exceedin%ly profound art. *t $ill free you from your present confusion. !editate upon Aname of protecti(e idealD for as lon% as possible. Jisuali"e him as a form produced by a ma%ician, Then let his ima%e melt a$ay, &tartin% $ith the extremities, Till nothin% remains (isible. Put yourself in a state of @learness and JoidnessI Abide in that state for a $hile. Then meditate a%ain on your protecti(e ideal. Then a%ain on the @lear Li%ht. Do this alternately. After$ards, allo$ your o$n mind also to melt a$ay %radually. ?here(er the air per(ades, consciousness per(ades. ?here(er consciousness per(ades, serene ecstasy per(ades. Abide tran<uilly in the uncreated state of serenity. *n that state, paranoid rebirth $ill be pre(ented. Perfect enli%htenment $ill be %ained. *+&T )@T*,+& ., T'E ALL8DETE !*+*+E *+.L)E+@E ,. T',)E'T , AnameD, you may no$ experience momentary >oy, .ollo$ed by momentary sorro$, ,f %reat intensity, Like the stretchin% and relaxin% of a catapult. 0ou $ill %o throu%h sharp mood s$in%s, All determined by karma. Be not in the least attached to the >oys nor displeased by the sorro$s. The actions of your friends or companions may e(oke an%er or shame in you. *f you %et an%ry or depressed, 0ou $ill immediately ha(e an experience of hell. +o matter $hat people are doin%, !ake sure that no an%ry thou%ht can arise. !editate upon lo(e for them. E(en at this late sta%e of the session 0ou are only one second a$ay from a life8chan%in% >oyous disco(ery. emember that each of your companions is Buddha $ithin. 0ou mind in its present state ha(in% no focus or inte%ratin% force, Bein% li%ht and continuously mo(in%, ?hate(er thou%ht occurs to you, Positi(e or ne%ati(e, ?ill $ield %reat po$er. 0ou are extremely su%%estible Therefore think not of selfish thin%s. ecall your preparation for the session. &ho$ pure affection and humble faith. Throu%h hearin% these $ords, ecollection $ill come. ecollection $ill be follo$ed by reco%nition and liberation. *+&T )@T*,+& ., 1)DE!E+T J*&*,+& , AnameD, if you are experiencin% a (ision of >ud%ment and %uilt, Listen carefullyF That you are sufferin% like this *s the result of your o$n mental set. 0our karma. +o one is doin% anythin% to you. There is nothin% to do. 0our o$n mind is creatin% the problem. Accordin%ly float into meditation. emember your former beliefs. emember the teachin%s of this manual. emember the friendly presence of you companions. *f you do not kno$ ho$ to meditate @oncentrate on any sin%le ob>ect or sensation. 'old this Ahand the $anderer an ob>ectD, @oncentrate on the reality of this, eco%ni"e the illusory nature of existence and phenomena. This moment is of %reat importance. *f you are distracted no$ it $ill take you a lon% time to %et out of the <ua%mire of misery. )p till no$ the Bardo experiences ha(e come to you and you ha(e not reco%ni"ed them. 0ou ha(e been distracted. ,n this account you ha(e

experienced fear and terror. E(en thou%h unsuccessful thus far 0ou may reco%ni"e and obtain liberation here. 0our session can still become ecstatic and re(elatory. *f you do not kno$ ho$ to meditate, remember Aperson;s idealD. emember your companions emember this manual. Think of all these fears and terrifyin% apparitions as bein% your o$n ideal, ,r as the compassionate one. They are di(ine tests. emember your %uide. epeat the names o(er and o(er. E(en thou%h you fall, 0ou $ill not be hurt. *+&T )@T*,+& ., &E/)AL J*&*,+& , AnameD, At this time you may see (isions of matin% couples. 0ou are con(inced that an or%y is about to take place. Desire and anticipation sei"e you, 0ou $onder $hat sexual performance is expected of you. ?hen these (isions occur, emember to $ithhold yourself from action or attachment. 'umbly exercise your faith. .loat $ith the stream. Trust the process $ith %reat fer(ency. !editation and trust in the unity of life are the keys. *f you attempt to enter into your old personality because you are attracted or repulsed, *f you try to >oin the or%y you are hallucinatin%, 0ou $ill be reborn on an animal le(el. 0ou $ill experience possessi(e desire and >ealousy, 0ou $ill suffer stupidity and misery. *f you $ish to a(oid these miseries Listen and reco%ni"e. e>ect the feelin%s of attraction or repulsion. emember the do$n$ard pull opposin% enli%htenment is stron% in you. !editate upon unity $ith your fello$ (oya%ers. Abandon >ealousy, Be neither attracted nor repulsed by your sexual hallucinations. *f you are you $ill $ander in misery a lon% time. epeat these $ords to yourself. And meditate on them. .,) !ET',D& ,. P EJE+T*+E E8E+T 0 .irst !ethodF !editation on the Buddha , AnameD, tran<uilly meditate upon your protecti(e fi%ure AnameD. 'e is like the reflectin% of the moon in $ater. 'e is apparent yet non8existent. Like illusion produced by ma%ic. *f you ha(e no special protecti(e fi%ure, !editate upon the Buddha or upon me. ?ith this in mind meditate tran<uilly. Then causin% the (isuali"ed form of your protecti(e ideal To melt a$ay from the extremities, !editate, $ithout any thou%ht8formin%, upon the Joid @lear Li%ht. This is a (ery profound art. By (irtue of it rebirth is postponed. A more illuminated future is assured. &econd !ethodF !editation on Eood Eames A+ameD, 0ou are no$ $anderin% in the Third Bardo. As a si%n of this, look into a mirror and you $ill not see your usual self Asho$ the $anderer a mirrorD. At this time you must form a sin%le, firm resol(e in your mind. This is (ery important. *t is like directin% the course of a horse by the use of the reins. ?hate(er you desire $ill come to pass. Think not of e(il actions $hich mi%ht turn the course of your mind. emember your spiritual relationship $ith me, ,r $ith anyone from $hom you ha(e recei(ed teachin%. Perse(ere $ith %ood %ames. This is essential. Be not distracted. 'ere lies the boundary line bet$een %oin% up or do$n. *f you %i(e

$ay to indecision for e(en a second, 0ou $ill ha(e to suffer misery for a lon%, lon% time, Trapped in your old habits and %ames. This is the moment. 'old fast to one sin%le purpose. emember %ood %ames. esol(e to act accordin% to your hi%hest insi%ht. This is a time $hen earnestness and pure lo(e are necessary. Abandon >ealousy. !editate upon lau%hter and trust. Bear this $ell at heart. Third !ethodF !editation on *llusion *f still %oin% do$n and not liberated, !editate as follo$sF The sexual acti(ities, the manipulation machinery, the mockin% lau%hter, dashin% sounds and terrifyin% apparitions, *ndeed all phenomena Are in their nature, illusions. 'o$e(er they may appear, in truth they are unreal and fake. They are like dreams and apparitions, +on8permanent, non8fixed. ?hat ad(anta%e is there in bein% attached to them, ,r bein% afraid of them= All these are hallucinations of the mind. The mind itself does not exist, Therefore $hy should they= ,nly throu%h takin% these illusions for real $ill you $ander around in this confused existence. All these are like dreams, Like echoes, Like cities of clouds, Like mira%es, Like mirrored forms, Like phantasma%oria, The moon seen in $ater. +ot real e(en for a moment. By holdin% one8 pointedly to that train of thou%ht. The belief that they are real is dissipated, And liberation is attained. .ourth !ethodF !editation on the Joid :All substances are part of my o$n consciousness. This consciousness is (acuous, unborn, and unceasin%.: Thus meditatin%, Allo$ the mind to rest in the uncreated state. Like the pourin% of $ater into $ater, The mind should be allo$ed its o$n easy mental posture *n its natural, unmodified condition, clear and (ibrant. By maintainin% this relaxed, uncreated state of mind ebirth into routine %ame8reality is sure to be pre(ented. !editate on this until you are certainly free. *+&T )@T*,+& ., @',,&*+E T'E P,&T8&E&&*,+ PE &,+AL*T0 A+ameD, ListenF *t is almost time to return. !ake the selection of your future personality accordin% to the best teachin%. Listen $ellF The si%ns and characteristics of the le(el of existence to come ?ill appear to you in premonitory (isions. eco%ni"e them. ?hen you find that you ha(e to return to reality, Try to follo$ the pleasant deli%htful (isions. A(oid the dark unpleasant ones. *f you return in panic, a fearful state $ill follo$, *f you stri(e to escape dark, %loomy scenes, an unhappy state $ill follo$, *f you return in radiance, a happy state $ill follo$. 0our mental state no$ $ill affect your subse<uent le(el of bein%. ?hate(er you choose, @hoose impartially, ?ithout attraction or repulsion. Enter into %ame8existence $ith %ood %race. Joluntarily and freely. emain calm. emember the teachin%s.