Part 3 – Further Commentary on Awareness

In the third part of the series on the esoteric rendering of the Bardo Thödol (the ‘Tibetan Book of the Dead’) Bodo Balsys continues with the analysis of Mind. Here he clarifies the orthodox presentation of the Six Realms that have become obsolete Buddhist practices for the well-seasoned Bodhisattvas who are the aspirants for enlightenment. The symbolism of the Buddhist stūpa and its correlation to the Three Worlds, the kāmadhātu, rūpadhātu and arūpadhātu are explained.

Bodo also comments on the essence of the Zen Buddhist methodology and the development of the practice of receiving impressions from the higher domains of enlightenment, the technical term being pratyakṣa (direct perception). This denotes the way of building the bridge from saṃsāra to nirvāṇa which allows the process of karmic cleansing to unfold in the daily life of the practitioner. All this process refers to the Yogācāra-Mādhyamika philosophy.