The teachings on the natural bardo of this life are concerned with how to (1) make our life meaningful and (2) transform its circumstances into the path of awakening.

This life lasts for only so long—then the unborn mind, not recognizing itself, must continue its journey.

Whatever mental stability and insights we develop in this life will unfailingly guide and support us through the bardos of death.

Likewise, those habitual negative tendencies that we have not overcome will condition our experiences at that time and become reliable supports for the continuation of our suffering.

From the Buddhist point of view, whenever any being takes birth, what is taking birth is the mind—our individual consciousness.

The relationship of our mind to our body is that of a traveller to a temporary abode. We are like a guest who stops for a while in an apartment or a hotel.

Our stay is indefinite, but we can reside there only for as long as our lease allows. We do not know the length of our lease because we signed it in our past life.

Sooner or later, as soon as our contract is up, we will either leave voluntarily or else the merciless landlords will kick us out. …

Leaving does not necessarily mean that we will be going to a bad place. It might be that we will be moving from a hotel to a palace – or to the street. It is totally up to us – to our own actions and effort.

The first of the six bardos is the natural bardo of this life; it is also known variously as the bardo between birth and death, the natural interval, or the bardo of birth and dwelling.

When we cross the threshold into this bardo, it means that we have ceased our existence in the last bardo, the bardo of becoming.

The natural bardo of this life starts at birth, when we leave our mother’s womb and enter this life. It continues until the time we meet the condition that will cause our death—that is, the condition that becomes the fundamental cause for leaving this body.

This bardo encompasses all of the appearances that we go through from birth, through childhood and adulthood, until we face a terminal condition.

Source: Based on Ponlop, Dzogchen. Mind Beyond Death. Shambhala Publications. Kindle Edition.

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