‘the Root Verses of the Six;2akdosg

O now, when the Birthplace Bardo upon me is dawning! Abandoning idleness—there being no idleness in [a devotee’s] life— Entering into the Reality undistractedly, listening, reflecting, and meditating, Carrying on to the Path [knowledge of the true nature of] appearances and of mind, may the 77z-K aya be realized: Once that the human form hath been attained,

[2] O now, when the Dream Sardo upon me is dawning! Abandoning the inordinate corpse-like sleeping of the sleep of stupidity, May the consciousness undistractedly be kept in its natural state ;

Vairochana is depicted as being white in colour instead of blue. (Cf. the Bardo Thédol, the First to the Fifth Day.)

PRAYER FOR RIGHT-KNOWLEDGE 203

in the Clear Light of Miraculous Transformation:

Acting not like the brutes in: slothfulness,

[3]

O now, when the Dhyana Bardo upon me is dawning!

Abandoning the whole mass of distractions and illusions,

Samadhi,

May firmness both in the visualizing and in the perfected

At this time, when meditating one-pointedly, with [all other] actions put aside,

May I not fall under the power of misleading, stupefying passions.

[4]

O now, when the Bardo of the Moment of Death upon me is dawning!

Abandoning attraction and craving, and weakness for all [worldly things],

May I be undistracted in the space of the bright [enlightening] teachings,?

of the Unborn:

The hour hath come to part with this body composed of flesh and blood ;

May I know the body to be impermanent and illusory.

[5]

O now, when the Bardo of the Reality upon me is dawning, Abandoning all awe, fear, and terror of all [phenomena],

May I recognize whatever appeareth as being mine own thought-forms,

May I know them to be apparitions in the Intermediate State;

[It hath been said], ‘There arriveth a time when the chief turning-point is reached ;

Fear not the bands of the Peaceful and Wrathful, Who are thine own thought-forms’,

[6]

dawning !

One-pointedly holding fast to a single wish,

repeated efforts ;?

May the womb-door be closed and the revulsion recollected :

The hour hath come when energy and pure love are needed ;

Father-Mother.

[7]

death, Devoting thyself to the useless doings of this life, Improvident art thou in dissipating thy great opportunity ; Mistaken, indeed, will thy purpose be now if thou returnest empty-handed [from this life]: Since the Holy Dharma is known to be thy true need,

now?’