Bardo Thodol — Liberation in the Transitional State
The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol) is the Vajrayana guide to consciousness navigation between death and rebirth — teaching that the moment of death offers the greatest opportunity for liberation.
The Bardo Thodol (Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State), traditionally attributed to Padmasambhava and discovered by Karma Lingpa in the 14th century, is read aloud to the dying and dead to guide them through the three bardos: Chikhai Bardo (the moment of death — the clear light of the Dharmata appears, offering direct liberation), Chonyid Bardo (the appearances of peaceful and wrathful deities — all projections of the mind), and Sidpa Bardo (the realm of karmic visions preceding rebirth). The teaching is that all the visions appearing in the bardo are one's own consciousness — recognizing them as such is liberation; being frightened by them is continued bondage. The text is one of the world's most sophisticated accounts of consciousness states at and after death.
O nobly born, recognize what now appears: the clear light of the Dharmata, your own true nature. Do not be distracted.
Pim van Lommel's prospective study of 344 cardiac arrest patients (published in The Lancet, 2001) documented that 18% reported near-death experiences with remarkable consistency — including the experience of a clear, luminous awareness and a life review — consistent with the Bardo Thodol's description of consciousness at the moment of death.
Bardo Thodol