The Intermediate States and Divine Visions from Tibetan Book of the Dead

that would allow man to escape from samsara is so strong that the individual is repelled by focusing on it. We can see an example of this mechanism better in the description of the visions that arise on the third day when the Yellow Light of the Wisdom of Equality appears to the individual and simultaneously reflected before him is placed the yellow-bluish light of the WORLD OF HUMANS. Son of noble family, listen without being distracted! On the third day the purity of the earth element will appear in the form of yellow light. At that moment from the yellow southern Buddhist field called the Glorious (Srimat) the transcendent lord Ratnasambhava will appear before you. His body is yellow, he holds a jewel in his right hand, he is seated on a throne supported by horses and is embraced by his supreme consort. The Yellow Light of Primordial Wisdom which is the natural purity of the aggregate of sensations, will emerge from the heart of the Origin of Gems couple and shines before you, yellow and penetrating, clear and blinding, adorned with sparkling drops, unbearable to your sight the yellow light of the WISDOM OF EQUALITY and penetrates into the center of your heart. Beside it, which is the light of Wisdom, the sad yellow-bluish light of the human world will strike your heart. Then, because of the power of craving, you will develop fear towards the dazzling yellow light and escape from it. And you will feel attracted to the sad yellow-bluish light of the human world. [...] This is the way opened by your continuous propensity to blind craving that has come to welcome you. If you act attracted by it, you will be reborn in the human world and will have to suffer birth, aging, disease and death; and you will not have the possibility to escape from the marsh of earthly existence. This is an obstacle that obstructs the Path of Liberation. Therefore, do not look at it, and abandon your craving, abandon your propensities; do not let yourself be attracted by it; do not be weak. Have faith in the bright and dazzling light. Concentrate your ardent thought on Buddha Ratnasambhava, and pray with me: "While I am wandering in the cycle of life driven by violent craving, May the lord the Origin of Gems guide me on the path of the clear light of the Wisdom of Equality! Along the way may his consort, the Divine Mother, support me, save me from the dangerous difficulties of the intermediate state and lead me to perfect enlightenment." Praying thus, with deep humility and faith, you will merge in a rainbow into the heart of Buddha Ratnasambhava, the Divine Father-Mother, and obtain the state of Buddha in the Sambhoga-Kaya, in the Southern Kingdom of the Golden Buddha. THE WRATHFUL DEITIES After 7 days the same Five Wisdoms appear to the individual in a completely different form, that is in the form of wrathful deities. The following deities thus follow each other: • BUDDHA HERUKA: wrathful form of Vajrasattva • VAJRA HERUKA: wrathful form of Vajrasattva • RATNA HERUKA: wrathful form of RatnaSambhava • PADMA HERUKA: wrathful form of Amitabha • KARMA HERUKA: terrifying aspect of Amoghasiddhi Here everything appears in the form of terrifying symbols whose origin, instead of coming from the heart, is the brain of the individual. The figures are described as monstrous and terrifying, 18 times the height of the deceased's body and generators of uncontainable terror. Oh, noble being, the Great Glorious Buddha-Heruka, emerges from your own brain and shines vividly on you; he is dark brown in color; with three heads, six hands and four feet firmly planted; the right face is white, the left, red, the central one dark brown; the body emits radiant flames; the nine eyes are wide open in a terrifying gaze; the eyebrows trembling like lightning, the teeth protruding, gleaming and overlapping; he emits violent cries and penetrating hisses; the hair is of a yellow-reddish color, straight and radiant; the heads are adorned with dried skulls; with the sun and the moon; he has black serpents and a garland of freshly severed human heads around his body; the first right hand holds a wheel, the middle one, a sword and the last one an axe; the first left hand, a bell, the middle one, a skull cap and the last one a plowshare; [...] Do not fear this. Do not be frightened. Recognize this as the incarnation of your own intellect. Since it is your tutelary deity, do not let yourself be seized by terror. The deceased in this situation must transform the deities into their peaceful form and then transfer as in the previous case with consciousness to the corresponding paradisiacal state. Subsequently carnivorous deities appear, with animal heads, falcon heads, scorpion heads, crocodile heads, tiger heads that hold in their hands skull caps full of blood. The typical attire of wrathful deities in fact consists of • crown of skulls: to represent victory over the 5 poisons (craving, hatred, ignorance, pride, envy) • severed heads: to symbolize victory over thoughts; • skull cap with blood: to tap into transcendent gnosis; • necklace of serpents: having subdued telluric forces; • many hands containing objects: indicating numerous powers; • garudas or eagles that support them: to symbolize foresight and the power to overcome difficulties. THE INTERMEDIATE STATE OF EXISTENCE The descent of consciousness continues and after the peaceful and wrathful deities another intermediate state begins, the one that precedes physical rebirth. In this phase a judgment of the deceased takes place operated by Yama, Lord of Death. In the mind, as in a mirror, the good and evil acts performed by the deceased arise that assault and frighten him. Son of noble family driven by the tireless wind of karma your mind is without support, defenseless, rides the wind like a feather. You will say to those who mourn you "I am here do not weep", but they will neither be able to see you nor hear you therefore you will think "I am dead" and feel great pain. Do not suffer thus, do not let yourself be overwhelmed. This type of bardo will last for one or more weeks. Son of noble family at this point the great cyclone of karma, terrifying, intolerable, with its furious vortices will...