The Bardo Package

One of the foremost scholars and meditation masters in the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism today, the Venerable Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche is the abbot of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, the North American seat of His Holiness the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa. Through the auspices of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche’s tireless and compassionate efforts to benefit sentient beings, together with Dönden Chöjin Association, the Bardo Package has been created in order to help individuals prepare for the inevitable time of death.

The Tibetan word bardo literally means “intermediate state” or “interval.” According to Tibetan tradition, after death and before one’s subsequent rebirth, the consciousness which is no longer connected with a physical body experiences a variety of phenomena. These phenomena appear frightening for the bardo consciousness, because one is not familiar with the appearances of brilliant lights, intense sounds, terrifying visions, and peaceful and wrathful deities, all of which are none other than the manifestation of the mind’s very nature itself. By failing to recognize this, however, most sentient beings will take rebirth in one of the six realms of cyclic existence after traversing the bardo. From the point of death onward through the dangerous bardo experience, nothing will be of any benefit whatsoever apart from the preparations that have been made in life, in particular those pertaining to death, dying and the bardo.

The Bardo Package is an extremely rare collection of sacred items that have been produced with great care under the direct supervision and blessing of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. The importance of accuracy in the traditional rituals for the dying has been taken very seriously here, while at the same time being simplified enough to render the essential procedures easily accessible to anyone. This has been done with the understanding that one’s preparation for death is an event of the highest importance and can have considerable influence on the quality of what will happen after death. This must be given proper consideration as it can make a great difference in one's future, and could in fact propel one towards higher rebirth and liberation.

The bardo is something to be contemplated thoroughly, now, while we have the time and opportunity to do so in daily life, as impermanence ensures that life is fragile and fleeting, and the time of death uncertain. The Bardo Package will bring benefit when the moment of death requires immediate action, and will thus enable you to step forward and take control of the death situation without fear or confusion. If we can apply what we have learned in this life regarding dying, death and the bardo, and also have the Bardo Package at our disposal, it will give us a greater opportunity for higher rebirth and liberation. This collection is one of the most important items that one can have in this life and also as a support on one's journey to the next life. The Bardo Package should be treated with great care and respect. If you have a shrine room, you should keep the Bardo Package on the shrine, or place it on a shelf or table above or near your bed. Ideally, it should be placed directly above your head where you sleep.

If you would like more information about the bardo, KTD Publications has released Bardo: Interval of Possibility, a detailed teaching by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche.

For more information on the Bardo Package, please email: bardopackage@yahoo.com