2026.08.01

What Is the Bardo? Deathbed Practice and the Six-Syllable Mantra — Teachings of Urgyen Topden Rinpoche

What is the bardo, the intermediate state? At death, how do we avoid being swept away by karma? Drawing faithfully on Urgyen Topden Rinpoche's "Heart-to-Heart Talks," this article gathers the master's tantric teaching on death, the bardo, the exit of consciousness, and the six-syllable mantra, quoting the master's own words at key points.

What Is the Bardo? Death Is Like a Dream; Karma Becomes Illusion

The master teaches: "Death is what we really must learn; living needs no learning" — the Dharma is not needed only after death, but to prepare for death while alive. The master says the process of dying is exactly like dreaming: in the bardo state, all one's karma appears as vivid illusions. If we cannot even control our ordinary dreams — "chased in a dream, we are simply chased" — then after death we can only be driven, in terror, into the six realms of saṃsāra.

Do Not Be Led Away by Familiar Illusions

The master recalls Guru Padmasambhava's warning: "If loved ones come to receive you, you absolutely must not go with them." Relatives appearing in familiar forms are in fact illusions conjured by your own attachment; follow them out of longing, and you are led into the family's cycle of rebirth. Facing the unknown, "settle your mind, do not be led away by familiar illusions" — recite the buddhas' names and mantras, and await the powerful light of the buddhas and bodhisattvas that comes to guide you.

Where the Soul Departs Decides Your Destination

The master reveals the truth of the exit of consciousness: "Leaving through the soles of the feet, all go to the hells; through the knees, the animal realm; through the belly, the hungry-ghost realm; the heart, the human realm; the throat, the asura realm; the brow, the god realm; leaving through the crown of the head — that alone is the path of the buddhas." This is why the folk custom of burning "foot money" is extremely dangerous — the soul, seeing the faint light at the feet, departs there and falls. The master urges: "Never burn foot money; light a lamp above the crown of the head." To practise phowa is to train, in ordinary times, in gathering consciousness at the crown, forming the habit of the soul rising upward.

The Six-Syllable Mantra: Sealing the Six Realms, Leaving Only the Buddha Path

The master teaches: reciting "Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ" seals the entrances to the six realms of saṃsāra, leaving open only the direction of the lotus pure land. The human body has seven windows through which the soul may leave, like seven lotuses; reciting the mantra "closes the lotuses one by one, until only the one at the crown remains open," leaving you only the buddha path. Even the god realm must be sealed, for "the god realm is only fleeting pleasure; when the time is up, one still falls."

The Crucial Seventh Syllable, "Shé"

The master teaches that at the very end one must add a syllable, "shé": "The seventh syllable is 'shé' — it means 'my home.'" "Shé" is the seed syllable of Avalokiteśvara and Amitābha, representing the pure world of light; to voice it is to declare, "I refuse to go into the six realms; I am going to Avalokiteśvara," a precise act of navigation.

The Practice of the Last Breath: It Can Also Rescue Loved Ones

The master teaches: "As the breath is about to stop, recite: Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ shé, and consciousness flies out through the crown," with "the sound directed upward." This is also the simplest way to help loved ones: the master says that after someone stops breathing there remain about eight hours in which "consciousness is still alive and can hear everything." Softly by the ear you may remind them: "Recite with me, Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ shé, and think of the crown of your head," guiding the consciousness to depart through the crown.

What Truly Comes to Guide You Is Light — Do Not Be Afraid

The master teaches: "The buddhas exist as light, not as physical bodies"; what truly comes to receive you at death "is a very powerful light," not the buddha-images we usually see. Before you, lights of different intensity appear: a brilliant, dazzling white light; a faint white light; a dull grey-white light. The master's counsel: "When the first light appears, very bright and dazzling, do not fear — settle, recite the mantra, and rush out toward the light, out through the crown." Most people, afraid of the glare, choose the gentle faint light or the dim one, and so fall back into saṃsāra.

Everyday Training: Let the Mind Dwell in Light

The master teaches that the mind is like a database of memory — "whatever you put into your mind" is what surfaces at death; so in ordinary times we must "place the Dharma, the bodhisattvas, mantras and the luminous within." The master also teaches reciting Guru Rinpoche's mantra before sleep, "Oṃ āh hūṃ vajra guru padma siddhi hūṃ," resting in the light of the five buddha families — "the greatest happiness is to sleep within the light" — forming a habit so that at death there is naturally no fear. As for the composure at the great passage of death: "however you practise in ordinary times is how you will go at the end."

What is the bardo?

The master teaches that the process of dying is exactly like dreaming; in the bardo state, all karma appears as vivid illusions. If we cannot control even our dreams, at death we are blindly driven by karma into the six realms — so practice means training, in ordinary times, in transforming the mind and resting in light.

What should one recite at death?

The master teaches that as the breath is about to stop, recite "Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ shé," with the sound directed upward and awareness at the crown. The first six syllables seal the entrances to the six realms; the seventh, "shé," declares one's destination as the pure world of Avalokiteśvara.

Can I chant to help a deceased relative?

Yes. The master teaches that after someone stops breathing there remain about eight hours in which consciousness is still alive and can hear; softly by the ear you may remind them, "Recite with me, Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ shé, and think of the crown of your head," guiding the consciousness out through the crown.

What should one do on seeing light at death?

The master teaches that lights of different intensity appear; settle, recite the mantra, and bravely go toward the brightest, most dazzling light, out through the crown — that is the pure light of the buddhas coming to guide you; do not, out of fear, choose the gentle faint light or the dim one.