In the bardo of this life, we may be very earnest in our contemplation of mind’s ultimate nature, and try with great effort to gain some experience of it through meditation.

At the time of death, however, this very experience arises effortlessly. When we finally reach the point of the dissolution of all dualistic appearances, we experience a moment of complete awareness, a moment of vivid clarity.

It is like a shift in the weather, when the sky clears up; the dense covering of clouds is gone, and suddenly we see the vast sky.

At this moment, mind arrives directly at its own ground. It is just like coming home. We are usually so distracted by the appearances of the outside world that we never notice mind itself. Now all that remains is mind. We may feel trapped, in a sense, as there is nothing to carry us away into perceptions of past and future.

However, if we can relax and appreciate the peace and freedom of the present moment, it is a great experience.

There is a teaching in the Mahayana tradition: if you can change a situation, then why worry? If you cannot change a situation, then why worry? Just relax.

When mind returns home to its original state, our experience is completely natural.

In contrast, in our ordinary life, we often feel somewhat constrained and artificial in our behavior. When we go out to a social event, we choose our clothes carefully. We do not simply wear whatever we please. When we arrive at the home of our host or hostess and remove our shoes at the door, we do not simply throw them anywhere. We take them off and carefully put them in a certain place. When we sit in that person’s house, we do not sit in too casual a way; we sit carefully and properly.

However, when we return home, we feel more at ease. We throw our shoes and clothes wherever we please. We sit down and relax.

When dualistic appearances dissolve, it is just like that. The mind simply relaxes and lets go of everything.

In the same way, when we come to observe mind’s ultimate state, its empty-luminous nature, it is like relaxing in our own home—it is quite a pleasant experience.

Therefore, dying is not necessarily only a time of physical suffering and mental agony. We also meet with many powerful moments of clarity.

Consequently, if we have had some amount of practice in this life, then this will be a good time. It will be a time to celebrate, instead of a time of suffering.

On the other hand, for those who have had no practice, it will be time to pack up the party.

Therefore, yogis and yoginis are not afraid of death. For them, death is a time to recognize the guru’s pointing-out instructions on ordinary mind, or naked awareness. The experience of death is the same as the moment in which you received pointing-out instructions from the guru. The same!

When you are sitting in the presence of the guru receiving those instructions, it is a very enlightening, uplifting and joyous moment. The death experience is identical to that moment. On the basis of that moment, we can be liberated.

If we are not able to be liberated at the time of death, then it is necessary to have the instructions on the after-death bardos. But, if we do achieve liberation, then those bardos do not arise.

The painful bardo of dying begins at the time when we are struck with some unfavorable condition that causes the dissolution of the appearances of this life, whether it is an accident, a terminal illness, or any natural cause such as old age that results in the exhaustion of our body.

It ends with the cessation of our inner respiration, just before the dawning of the bardo of dharmata, which follows it.

For realized beings, such as Padmasambhava, the painful bardo of dying does not exist; consequently, the two subsequent bardos also do not exist.

However, when you are not a realized person—even though you may feel that you know enough, or just enough, to get by and escape those experiences—you must go through the interval called the painful bardo of dying.

It is said to be painful because, at the time of the dissolution of the elements when we begin to lose contact with the appearances of this life, we experience some degree of physical and psychological pain and suffering.

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

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