Bardo Teachings Part 7
Bardo beings eat odors as their food and are tormented by fear.
Due to the power of the karmic winds,
they cannot remain still for a single moment.
Due to strong karmic winds,
their bodies are continually moved about.
They have a very sorrowful appearance.
At that time, their mind is extremely clear,
but they immediately forget.
They are not sure whether they are dead or alive,
but it seems to them in their confusion that they have not died.
If they see their own previous body,
they will think, "That is my body,"
and will try to enter the it from the nose or mouth,
whereupon they experience immeasurable suffering
due to smelling the rot of the body, etc.
When their body is cremated,
if it does not burn up quickly, they are unhappy.
If it quickly burns up and disappears, they are happy.
They feel sorrow for their relatives
and are only able to meet them for just a short time like a dream.
They become attached to the relatives who worry for them when they die,
and they feel anger towards those who do not.
They return again and again to their home, bed, and wherever they stayed in their previous life.
They feel possessive whenever others use their previous belongings.
When their relatives are eating and not giving anything to them,
saying their name, or talking about their death, etc.
they will feel unhappy and as though nothing is reliable, and immediately move on.
The Six Indefinite Aspects of the Bardo Experience
Bardo beings have no definite abode: Wherever they go—
whether on a mountaintop, the seashore, etc.—there is nowhere they can remain.
They have no definite support: Whatever they depend on for support—
whether a stupa, a bridge, etc.—there is nothing they can definitely rely on.
They have no definite food: Sometimes they get delicious food and sometimes not
—there is nothing they can definitely eat.
They have no definite companions: Sometimes enemies, sometimes relatives, etc.—
it is difficult to say who they will associate with.
They have no definite feelings: Sometimes happy, sometimes oppressed by sorrow, etc.—their feelings are unreliable.
They have no definite conduct: Like a feather carried on the wind,
there is no certainty in what they will do.
Due to these six indefinite experiences, they are weary with sorrow.
Whatever appearances they see are generally frightening,
and they are continually hungry and thirsty, and feel exhausted.
Like a bird's feather carried away by the wind, they will wander in all directions.
Since they have no subtle channels, they lose control of their winds,
and thus have no control over their mind either.
Since they have no white or red subtle bodicitta drops,
the external sun, moon, and stars do not appear.
The lights of the five winds of the bardo appear,
which is neither like the dark of night nor like the light of day,
but their path is shown by a dawn-like light.
Due the reflections of their habitual tendencies of wind and mind,
they are chased by many immensely fearful beings like rākṣasas, yama, and wild animals.
They will experience relentless strong hail, thunder, rain, wind, and blizzards,
and they will seek refuge due to their fear upon being in the midst of all this.
The bardo mind is clear and their feelings are strong.
They don't know where to go, they have nowhere to stay,
and they don't even have a body to support them.