The Bardo’s

This is something that has been gaining in my awareness for sometime now but only recently has any clarity arrived around this interesting topic.

Briefly ‘Bardo’ is a Buddhist term used to define, in Buddhist terms, ‘A Realm or Becoming’. A realm of becoming can best be understood as a state of being, the result of previous levels of understanding (or lack thereof!) Similar, though more complex than the concept of Heaven and Hell, the Bardo’s are many states in between these two extremes.

Imagine having unfinished business here on planet Earth, whether you are conscious of that business or it remains buried in your subconscious. This ‘unfinished business’ can be referred to, for the time being, as charge. Like the charge held in a battery, the battery is able to illuminate the lamp until the charge is exhausted. So it is with us on our journey, once charge has been exhausted we move into a different state.

While charge still exists then, at the moment of death, when there is no longer a discriminating mind to determine our actions, the charge takes over and we find ourselves in a state of being, a ‘realm’ that is the result of the main charge (unfinished business) that we held at the moment of death. At least we would find ourselves if there was still a discriminating mind to observe and provide feedback.

As there is no longer this ‘mind’ after death there is no way we can be objective about the reality in which we awaken. We remain, as far as I understand, in this realm until the charge is exhausted, when according to Buddhist teachings, we are re born into another body to continue the journey, still needing to work out the charge. Again, according to Buddhist beliefs, any charge can only be worked out while in a physical body. The trick here is that when we are born we tend to forget all about this charge and quickly get assimilated into this new body, getting drawn into the drama of a world that we are born into.

The goal of every Buddhist is to awaken to this understanding and consciously work through charge, until, like the battery, no charge remains, thus taking a significant step along the road leading to the enlightened state of the Buddha.

This may or may not be a part of your conscious journey but ‘if’ the Bardo’s exist – regardless of your current beliefs – then it is something to consider.

Your past dictates your future.

Now there’s a thought.

And here is where it gets really interesting. Many years ago I heard that some Buddhists claimed that this reality, this physical world that we live in is also a Bardo. When I first heard that I thought it was an interesting idea but had no real understanding of what it really meant.

As I have travelled along this path, of ‘Clearing’ or following the teachings of the Buddha, my perceptions have gone through many changes, several ‘reality’ shifts later and I can begin to understand more about this reality being a Bardo.

The thing, as I understand it, about Bardo’s is that the dominant charge we still had when the body died is ‘reborn’ into a reality that reflects the charge. So there are many possible Bardo’s, all individual to the degree each person’s charge is unique. Of course that is not the case, many collective ‘beliefs’ are held so some Bardo’s are occupied by many people (?) Or souls.

Collective beliefs are easy to understand when we look at this world that we live in and see how these collectives manifest, either as country specific, race related, religion based, political points of view or judgements based upon long held belief patterns, the list goes on. If the charge held around any of these issues is strong enough it can easily be seen that such charge will dictate where ‘You’ will go next on your never ending (?) journey. Individual charges are less obvious but equally as powerful, unfulfilled desire, old anger, resentment and many more can all contribute to where ‘you’ end up next. Ultimately there is no ‘you’ to end up anywhere, it is just the association with the body, thoughts and feelings and consequent charge that maintains the illusion of separation and determines where the soul will next appear.

If indeed this reality is indeed a Bardo, then it follows that each of us are exactly where we are supposed to be. Some are in hell, some in heaven, many in between. Some in poverty, some in abundance, some in happiness, some in sadness. There is room for all manifestations of charge in this world, everyone playing out the charge that brought them here.

Now, another ‘if’. IF the reality which you currently experience has sucked you down the rabbit hole well and truly, offering no glimpse that it is in fact just a rabbit hole, then you would be lost in that reality, blindly working through charge, either adding to the charge or collapsing it as you are able.

IF the reality in which you currently exist offers a way out, not by adding charge, not by taking the experience personally, not judging, to the best of your ability, that which shows up along the path, not blaming the others. i.e simply developing the practice of ‘Acceptance’ then as you follow this path, developing your practice along the way you are slowly changing your relationship to the experience.

This must affect your tomorrow, for following the concept that your past creates your future, by consciously changing your present the future must also change.

So, it seems to me as though this Bardo, for those of us who can see it, provides an opportunity to free ourselves from a self created / perpetuated prison.

Who knows that the next Bardo will have in store for us?

Guess we will just have to wait and see, meanwhile Accept as you can, without blame or judgment, without taking that which presents too seriously.