The Tibetan Book of the Dead · Reading 24 of 170
The Bardo of the Experiencing of Reality
Introductory Instructions Concerning the Experiencing of Reality During the Third Stage of the Bardo, Called the Chönyid Bardo, when the Karmic Apparitions Appear
Reading 5 of 5
The body which thou hast now is called the thought-body of propensities. Since thou hast not a material body of flesh and blood, whatever may come — sounds, lights, or rays — are, all three, unable to harm thee: thou art incapable of dying. It is quite sufficient for thee to know that these apparitions are thine own thought-forms. Recognize this to be the Bardo.
O nobly-born, if thou dost not now recognize thine own thought-forms, whatever of meditation or of devotions thou mayst have performed while in the human world — if thou hast not met with this present teaching — the lights will daunt thee, the sounds will awe thee, and the rays will terrify thee. Shouldst thou not know this all-important key to the teachings — not being able to recognize the sounds, lights, and rays — thou wilt have to wander in the Sangsāra.