From: an3933@anon.penet.fi
Subject: ~ The Psychedelic Experience ~ [3/4]
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Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 11:48:34 GMT



                                              THIRD BARDO:

                                     THE PERIOD OF RE-ENTRY
                                              (Sidpa Bardo)

                                               Introduction

If, in the second Bardo, the voyager is incapable of holding on to the 
knowledge that the peaceful and wrathful visions were projections of his 
own mind, but became attracted to or frightened by one or more of them, he 
will enter the Third Bardo. In this period he struggles to regain routine 
reality and his ego; the Tibetans call it the Bardo of "seeking rebirth." It is 
the period in which the consciousness makes the transition from 
transcendent reality to the reality of ordinary waking life. The teachings of 
this manual are of the utmost importance if one wishes to make a peaceful 
and enlightened re-entry and avoid a violent or unpleasant one.

In the original Bardo Thodol the aim of the teachings is "liberation," i.e., 
release from the cycle of birth and death. Interpreted esoterically, this 
means that the aim is to remain at the stage of perfect illumination and not 
to return to social game reality.

Only persons of extremely advanced spiritual development are able to 
accomplish this, by exercising the Transference Principle at the moment of 
ego-death. For average persons who undertake a psychedelic voyage, the 
return to game reality is inevitable. Such persons can and should use this 
part of the manual for the following purposes:

(1) to free themselves from Third Bardo traps;
(2) to prolong the session, thus assuring a maximum degree of illumination;
(3) to select a favorable re-entry, i.e., to return to a wiser and more 
peaceful                  
post-session personality.

Although no definite time estimates can be given, the Tibetans estimate 
that about 50% of the entire psychedelic experience is spent in the Third 
Bardo by most normal people. At times, as indicated in the Introduction, 
someone may move straight to the re-entry period if he is unprepared for or 
frightened by the ego-loss experiences of the first two Bardos.

The types of re-entry made can profoundly color the person's subsequent 
attitudes and feelings about himself and the world, for weeks or even 
months afterwards. A session which has been predominantly negative and 
fearful can still be turned to great advantage and much can be learned from 
it, provided the re-entry is positive and highly conscious. Conversely, a 
happy and revelatory experience can be made valueless by a fearful or 
negative re-entry.

The key instructions of the Third Bardo are: (1) do nothing, stay calm, 
passive and relaxed, no matter what happens; and (2) recognize where you 
are. If you do not recognize you will be driven by fear to make a premature 
and unfavorable re-entry. Only by recognizing can you maintain that state of 
calm, passive concentration necessary for a favorable re-entry. That is why 
so many recognition-points are given. If you fail on one, it is always 
possible, up to the very end, to succeed on another. Hence these teachings 
should be read carefully and remembered well.

In the following sections some of the characteristic Third Bardo 
experiences are described. In Part IV instructions are given appropriate to 
each section. At this stage in a psychedelic session the voyager is usually 
capable of telling the guide verbally what he is experiencing, so that the 
appropriate sections can be read. A wise guide can often sense the precise 
nature of the ego's struggle without words. The voyager will usually not 
experience all of these states, but only one or some of them; or sometimes 
the return to reality can take completely new and unusual turns. In such a 
case the general instructions for the Third Bardo should be emphasized 
==|==>> THIRD BARDO: PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTIONS.


                          I.  General Description of the Third Bardo 

Normally, the person descends, step by step, into lower (more constricted) 
states of consciousness. Each step downwards may be preceded by a 
swooning into unconsciousness. Occasionally the descent may be sudden, and 
the person will find himself jolted back to a vision of reality which by 
contrast with the preceding phases seems dull, static, hard, angular, ugly 
and puppet-like. Such changes can induce fear and horror and he may struggle 
desperately to regain familiar reality. He may get trapped into irrational or 
even bestial perspectives which then dominate his entire consciousness. 
These narrow primitive elements stem from aspects of his personal history 
which are usually repressed. The more enlightened consciousness of the 
first two Bardos and the civilized elements of ordinary waking life are 
shelved in favor of powerful, obsessive primitive impulses, which in fact 
are merely faded and incoherent instinctual parts of the voyager's total 
personality. The suggestibility of Bardo consciousness makes them seem 
all-powerful and overwhelming.

On the other hand, the voyager may also feel that he possesses supernormal 
powers of perception and movement, that he can perform miracles, 
extraordinary feats of bodily control etc. The Tibetan book definitely 
attributes paranormal faculties to the consciousness of the Bardo voyager 
and explains it as due to the fact that the Bardo-consciousness encompasses 
future elements as well as past. Hence clairvoyance, telepathy, ESP, etc. are 
said to be possible. Objective evidence does not indicate whether this sense 
of increased perceptiveness is real or illusory. We therefore leave this as an 
open question, to be decided by empirical evidence.

This then is the first recognition point of the Third Bardo. The feeling of 
supernormal perception and performance. Assuming that it is valid, the 
manual warns the voyager not to be fascinated by his heightened powers, 
and not to exercise them. In yogic practice, the most advanced of the lamas 
teach the disciple not to strive after psychic powers of this nature for their 
own sake; for until the disciple is morally fit to use them wisely, they 
become a serious impediment to his higher spiritual development. Not until 
the selfish, game-involved nature of man is completely mastered is he safe 
in using them.

A second sign of Third Bardo existence are experiences of panic, torture and 
persecution. They are distinguished from the wrathful visions fo the Second 
Bardo in that they definitely seem to involve the person's own "skin-
encapsulated ego." Mind-controlling manipulative figures and demons of 
hideous aspects may be hallucinated. The form that these torturing demons 
take will depend on the person's cultural background. Where Tibetans saw 
demons and beasts of prey, a Westerner may see impersonal machinery 
grinding, or depersonalizing and controlling devices of different futuristic 
varieties. Visions of world destruction, dying in space-fiction modes, and 
hallucinations of being engulfed by destructive powers will likewise come; 
and sounds of the mind-controlling apparatus, of the "combine's fog 
machinery," of the gears which move the scenery of the puppet show, of 
angry overflowing seas, and of the roaring fire and of fierce winds springing 
up, and of mocking laughter.

When these sounds and visions come, the first impulse will be to flee from 
them in panic and terror, not caring where one goes, so long as one goes out. 
In psychedelic drug experiences, the person may at this time plead or 
demand to be brought "out of it" through antidotes and tranquillizers. The 
person may see himself as about to fall down deep, terrifying precipices. 
These symbolize the so-called evil passions which, like narcotic drugs, 
enslave and bind mankind to existence in game-networks (sangsara): anger, 
lust, stupidity, pride or egoism, jealousy, and control-power. Such 
experiences, just as the previous one of enhanced power, should be regarded 
as recognizing features of the Third Bardo. One should neither flee the pain 
nor pursue the pleasure. Recognition is all that is necessary - and 
recognition depends upon preparation.

A third sign is a kind of restless, unhappy wandering which may be purely 
mental or may involve actual physical movement. The person feels as if 
driven by winds (winds of karma) or shunted around mechanically. There 
may be brief respites at certain places or scenes in the "ordinary" human 
world. Like a person travelling alone at night along a highway, having his 
attention arrested by prominent landmarks, great isolated trees, houses, 
bridgeheads, temples, hot-dog stands, etc., the person in the re-entry period 
has similar experiences. He may demand to return to familiar haunts in the 
human world. But any such external placation is temporary and soon the 
restless wandering will recommence. There may come a desperate desire to 
phone or otherwise contact your family, your doctor, your friends and appeal 
to them to pull you out of the state. This desire should be resisted. The guide 
and the fellow voyagers can be of best assistance. One should not try to 
involve others in one's hallucinatory world. The attempt will fail anyway 
since outsiders are usually unable to understand what is happening. Again, 
merely to recognize these desires as Third Bardo manifestations is already 
the first step toward liberation.

A fourth, rather common experience is the following: the person may feel 
stupid and full of incoherent thoughts, whereas everyone else seems to be 
perfectly knowing and wise. This leads to feelings of guilt and inadequacy 
and in extreme from to the Judgment Vision, to be described below. This 
feeling of stupidity is merely the natural result of the limited perspective 
under which the consciousness is operating in this Bardo. Calm, relaxed 
acceptance and trust will enable the voyager to win liberation at this point

Another experience, the fifth recognizing feature, which is especially 
impressive when it occurs suddenly, is the feeling of being dead, cut off 
from surrounding life, and full of misery. The person may with a jolt awake 
from some trance-like swoon and experience himself and the others as 
lifeless robots, performing wooden meaningless gestures. He may feel that 
he will never come back and will lament his miserable state.

Again, such fantasies are to be recognized as the attempts of the ego to 
regain control. In the true state of ego-death, as it occurs in the First or 
Second Bardos, such complaints are never uttered.

Sixth, one may have the feeling of being oppressed or crushed or squeezed 
into cracks and crevices amidst rocks and boulders. Or the person may feel 
that a kind of metallic net or cage may encompass him. This symbolizes the 
attempt prematurely to enter an ego-robot which is unfitting or unequipped 
to deal with the expanded consciousness. Therefore one should relax the 
panicky desire to regain an ego.

A Seventh aspect is a kind of grey twilight-like light suffusing everything, 
which is in marked contrast to the brilliantly radiating lights and colors of 
the earlier stages of the voyage. Objects, instead of shining, glowing and 
vibrating, are now dully colored, shabby and angular.

The passages ==|==>> THIRD BARDO:  PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTIONS contain 
general instructions for the Third Bardo state and its recognizable features. 
Any or all of the passages may be read when the guide senses that the 
voyager is beginning to return to the ego.


                                         II.  Re-entry Visions

In the preceding section the symptoms of re-entry were described, the signs 
that the voyager is tryihng to regain his ego. In this section are described 
visions of the types of re-entry one can make.

The Tibetan manual conceives of the voyager as returning eventually to one 
of six worlds of game existence (sangsara). That is, the re-entry to the ego 
can take place on one of six levels, or as one of six personality types. Two of 
these are higher than the normal human, three are lower. The highest, most 
illuminated, level is that of the devas, who are what Westerners would call 
saints, sages or divine teachers. They are the most enlightened people 
walking the earth. Gautama Buddha, Lao Tse, Christ. The second level is that 
of the asuras, who may be called titans or heroes, people with a more than 
human degree of power and vision. The third level is that of most normal 
human beings, struggling through game-networks, occasionally breaking 
free. The fourth level is that of primitive and animalistic incarnations. In 
this category we have the dog and the cock, symbolic of hyper-sexuality 
concomitant with jealousy; the pig, symbolizing lustful stupidity and 
uncleanliness; the industrious, hoarding ant; the insect or worm signifying 
an earthy or grovelling disposition; the snake, flashing in anger; the ape, full 
of rampaging primitive power; the snarling "wolf of the steppes;" the bird, 
soaring freely. Many more could be enumerated. In all cultures of the world 
people have adopted identities in the image of animals. In childhood and in 
dreams it is a process familiar to all. The fifth level is that of neurotics, 
frustrated lifeless spirits forever pursuing unsatisfied desires; the sixth 
and lowest level is hell or psychosis. Less than one percent of ego-
transcendent experiences end in sainthood or psychosis. Most persons return 
to the normal human level.

According to The Tibetan Book of the Dead, each of the six game worlds or 
levels of existence is associated with a characteristic sort of thraldom, 
from which non-game experiences give temporary freedom: (1) existence as 
a deva, or saint, although more desirable than the others, is concomitant 
with an ever-recurring round of pleasure, free game ecstasy; (2) existence 
as an asura, or titan, is concomitant with incessant heroic warfare; (3) 
helplessness and slavery are characteristic of animal existence; (4) 
torments of unsatisfied needs and wants are characteristic of the existence 
of pretas, or unhappy spirits; (5) the characteristic impediments of human 
existence are inertia, smug ignorance, physical or psychological handicaps 
or various sorts.

According to the Bardo Thodol, the level one is detined for is determined by 
one's karma. During the period of the Third Bardo premonitory signs and 
visions of the different levels appear, that for which one is heading 
appearing most clearly. For example, the voyager may feel full of godlike 
power (asuras), or he may feel himself stirred by primitive or bestial 
impulses, or he may experience that all-pervasive frustration of the 
unhappy neurotics, or shudder at the tortures of a self-created hell.

The chances of making a favorable re-entry are increased if the process is 
allowed to take its own natural course, without effort or struggle. One 
should avoid pursuing or fleeing any of the visions, but meditate calmly on 
the knowledge that all levels exist in the Buddha also.

One can recognize and examine the signs as they appear and learn a great 
deal about oneself in a very short time. Although it is unwise to struggle 
against or flee the visions that come in this period, the ==|==>> 
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RE-ENTRY VISIONS  are designed to help the voyager 
regain First Bardo transcendence. In this way, if the person finds himself 
about to return to a personality or ego which he finds inappropriate to his 
new knowledge about himself, he can, by following the instructions, prevent 
this and make a fresh re-entry.


                      III. The All-Determining Influence of Thought

Liberation may be obtained, by such confrontation, even though previously 
it was not. If, however, liberation is not obtained even after these 
confrontations, further earnest and continued application is essential.

Should you feel attachment to material possessions, to old games and 
activities, or if you get any because other people are still involved in 
pursuits that you have renounced, this will affect the psychological balance 
in such a way that even if destined to return at a higher level, you will 
actually re-enter on a lower level in the world of unsatisfied spirits 
(neurosis). On the other hand, even if you do feel attached to worldly games 
that you have renounced, you will not be able to play them, and they will be 
of no use to you. Therefore abandon weakness and attachment to them; cast 
them away wholly; renounce them from your heart. No matter who may be 
enjoying your possessions, or taking your role, have no feelings of 
miserliness or jealousy, but be prepared to renounce them willingly. Think 
that you are offering them to your internal freedom and to your expaned 
consciousness. Abide in the feeling of non-attachment, devoid of weakness 
and craving.

Again, when the activities of the other members of the session are wrong, 
careless, inattentive or distracting, when the agreement or contract is 
broken, and when purity of intention is lost by any participant, and frivolity 
and laxness take over (all of which can clearly be seen by the Bardo 
voyager) you may feel lack of faith and begin to doubt your beliefs. You will 
be able to perceive any anxiety or fear, any selfish actions, ego-centric 
conduct and manipulative behavior. You may think: "Alas! they are playing 
me false, they have cheated and deceived." If you think thus, you will 
become extremely depressed, and through great resentment you will acquire 
disbelief and loss of faith, instead of affection and humble trust. Since this 
affects the psychological balance, re-entry will certainly be made on an 
unpleasant level.

Such thinking will not only be of no use, but it will do great harm. However 
improper the behavior of other, think thus: "What? How can the words of a 
Buddha be inappropriate? It is like the reflection of blemishes on my own 
face which I see in a mirror; my own thoughts must be impure. As for these 
others, they are noble in body, holy in speech, and the Buddha is within 
them: their actions are lessons for me."

Thus thinking, put your trust in your companions and exercise sincere love 
towards them. Then whatever they do will be to your benefit. The exercise 
of that love is very important; do not forget this!

Again, even if you were destined to return to a lower level and are already 
going into that existence, yet through the good deeds of friends, relatives, 
participants, learned teachers who devote themselves wholeheartedly to the 
correct performance of beneficent rituals, the delight from your feeling 
greatly cheered at seeing them will, by its own virtue, so affect the 
psychological balance that even though heading downwards, you may yet 
rise to a higher and happier level. Therefore you should not create selfish 
thoughts, but exercise pure affection and humble faith towards all, 
impartially. This is highly important. Hence be extremely careful.

The ==|==>> INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ALL-DETERMING INFLUENCE OF 
THOUGHT are useful in any phase of the Third Bardo, but particularly if the 
voyager is reacting with suspicion or resentment to other members of the 
group, or to his own friends and relatives.


                                        IV.  Judgment Visions

The judgment vision may come: the Third Bardo blame game. "Your good 
genius will count up your good deeds with white pebbles, the evil genius the 
evil deeds with black pebbles." A judgment scene is a central part of many 
religious systems, and the vision can assume various forms. Westerners are 
most likely to see it in the well-known Christian version. The Tibetans give 
a psychological interpretation to thisas to all the other visions. The Judge, 
or Lord of Death, symbolizes conscience itself in its stern aspect of 
impartiality and love of righteousness. The "Mirror of Karma" (the Christian 
Judgment Book), consulted by the Judge, is memory. Different parts of the 
ego will come forward, some offering lame excuses to meet accusations, 
others ascribing baser motives to various deeds, counting apparently neutral 
deeds among the black ones; still others offering justifications or requests 
for pardon. The mirror of memory reflects clearly; lying and subterfuge will 
be of no avail. Be not frightened, tell no lies, face truch fearlessly.

No you may imagine yourself surrounded by figures who wish to torment, 
torture or ridicule you (the "Executive Furies of the Robot Lord of Death"). 
These merciless figures may be internal or they may involve the people 
around you, seen as pitiless, mocking, superior. Remember that fear and 
guilt and persecuting, mocking figures are your own hallucinations. Your own 
guilt machine. Your personality is a collection of thought-patterns and void. 
It cannot be harmed or injured. "Swords cannot pierce it, fire cannot burn it." 
Free yourself from your own hallucinations. In reality there is no such thing 
as the Lord of Death, or a justice-dispensing god or demon or spirit. Act so 
as to recognize this.

Recognize that you are in the Third Bardo. Meditate upon your ideal symbol. 
If you do not know how to meditate, then merely analyze with great care the 
real nature of that which is frightening you: "Reality" is nothing but a 
voidness (Dharma-Kaya). That voidness is not of the voidness of nothingness, 
but a voidness at the true nature of which you feel awed, and before which 
your consciousness shines more clearly and lucidly. [That is the state of 
mind known as "Sambhoga-Kaya." In that state, you experience, with 
unbearable intensity, Voidness and Brightness inseparable - the Voidness 
bright by nature and the Brightness inseparable from the Voidness - a state 
of the primordial or unmodified consciousness, which is the Adi-Kaya. And 
the power of this, shining unobstructedly, will radiate everywhere; it is the 
Nirmana-Kaya.

These refer to the fundamental Wisdom Teachings of the Bardo Thodol. In all 
Tibetan systems of yoga, realization of the Voidness is the one great aim. To 
realize it is to attain the unconditioned Dharma-Kaya, or "Divine Body of 
Truth," the primordial state of uncreatedness, of the supra-mundane All-
Consciousness. The Dharma-Kaya is the highest of the three bodies of the 
Buddha and of all Buddhas and beings who have perfect enlightenment. The 
other two bodies are the Sambhoga-Kaya or "Divine Body of Perfect 
Endowment" and the Nirmana-Kaya or "Divine Body of Incarnation." Adi-
Kaya is synonymous with Dharma-Kaya. The Dharma-Kaya is primordial, 
formless Essential Wisdom; it is true experience freed from all error or 
inherent or accidental obscuration. It includes both Nirvana and Sangsara, 
which are polar states of consciousness, but in the realm of pure 
consciousness identical. The Sambhoga-Kaya embodies, as in the five Dhyani 
Buddhas, Reflected or Modified Wisdom; and the Nirmana-Kaya embodies, as 
in the Human Buddhas, Practical or Incarnate Widom. All enlightened beings 
who are reborn in this or any other world with full consciousness, as 
workers for the betterment of their fellow creatures, are said to be 
Nirmana-Kaya incarnates. Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup, the translator of the 
Bardo Thodol, held that the Adi-Buddha, and all deities associated with the 
Dharma-Kaya, are not to be regarded as personal deities, but as 
personifications of primordial and universal forces, laws or spiritual 
influences. "In the boundless panorama of the existing and visible universe, 
whatever shapes appear, whatever sounds vibrate, whatever radiances 
illuminate, or whatever consciousnesses cognize, all are the play of 
manifestation in the Tri-Kaya, the Three-fold Principle of the Cause of All 
Causes, the Primordial Trinity. Impenetrating all, is the All-Pervading 
Essence of Spirit, which is Mind. It is uncreated, impersonal, self-existing, 
immaterial and indestructible." The Tri-Kaya is the esoteric trinity and 
corresponds to the exoteric trinity of Buddha, the Scriptures and the 
Priesthood (or your own divinity, this manual and your companions).

If the voyager is struggling with guilt and penance hallucinations, the 
==|==>> INSTRUCTIONS FOR JUDGMENT VISIONS may be read.


                                            V.  Sexual Visions

Sexual visions are extremely frequent during the Third Bardo. You may see 
or imagine males and females copulating. [According to Jung. ("Psychological 
Commentary" to The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Evans-Wentz edition, p. xiii), 
"Freud's theory is the first attempt made in the West to investigate, as if 
from below, from the animal sphere of instinct the psychic territory that 
corresponds in Tantric Lamaism to the Sidpa Bardo." The vision described 
here, in which the person sees mother and father in sexual intercourse, 
corresponds to the "primal scene" in psychoanalysis. At this level, then, we 
begin to see a remarkable convergence of Eastern and Western psychology. 
Note also the exact correspondence to the psychoanalytic theory of the 
Oedipus Complex.] This vision may be internal or it may involve the people 
around you. You may hallucinate multi-person orgies and experience both 
desire and shame, attraction and disgust. You may wonder what sexual 
performance is expected of you and have doubts about your ability to 
perform at this time.

When these visons occur, remember to withhod yourself from action or 
attachment. Have faith and float gently with the stream. Trust in the unity 
of life and in your companions.

If you attempt to enter into your old ego because you are attracted or 
repulsed, if you try to join or excape from the orgy you are hallucinating, 
you will re-enter on an animal or neurotic level. If you become conscious of 
"malness," hatred of the father together with jealousy and attraction 
towards the mother will be experienced; if you become conscious of 
"femaleness," hatred of the mother together with attraction and fondness 
for the father is experienced.

It is perhaps needless to say that this kind of self-centered sexuality has 
little in common with the sexuality of transpersonal experiences. Physical 
union can be one expression or manifestation of cosmic union.

Visions of sexual union may sometimes be followed by visions of conception 
- you may actually visualize the sperm uniting with the ovum - , of intra-
uterine life and birth through the womb. Some people claim to have re-lived 
their own physical birth in psychedelic sessions and occasionally confirming 
evidence for such claims has been put forward. Whether this is so or not may 
be left as a question to be decided by empirical evidence. Sometimes the 
birth visions will be clearly symbolic - e.g., emergence from a cocoon, 
breaking out of a shell, etc.

Whether the birth vision is constructed from memory or fantasy, the 
psychedelic voyager should try to recognize the signs indicating the type of 
personality that is being reborn.

The ==|==>> INSTRUCTIONS FOR SEXUAL VISIONS may be read to the voyager 
who is struggling with sexual hallucinations.


                          VI.  Methods for Preventing the Re-Entry

Although many confrontations and recognition points have been given, the 
person may be ill-prepared and still be wandering back to game reality. It is 
of advantage to postpone the return for as long as possible, thus maximizing 
the degree of enlightenment in the subsequent personality. For this reason 
four meditative methods are given for prolonging the ego-loss state. They 
are (1) meditation on the Buddha or guide; (2) concentration on good games; 
(3) meditation on illusion; and (4) meditation on the void. See the ==|==>> 
FOUR METHODS OF PREVENTING RE-ENTRY. Each one attempts to lead the 
voyager back to the First Bardo central stream of energy from which he has 
been separated by game involvements. One may ask how these meditative 
methods, which seem difficult for the ordinary person, can be effective. The 
answer given in the Tibetan Bardo Thodol is that due to the increased 
suggestibility and openness of the mind in the psychedelic state these 
methods can be used by anyone, regardless of intellectual capacity, or 
proficiency in meditation.


                VII.  Methods of Choosing the Post-Session Personality 

Choosing the post-session ego is an extremely profound art and should not 
be undertaken carelessly or hastily. One should not return fleeing from 
hallucinated tormentors. Such re-entry will tend to bring the person to one 
of the three lower levels. One should first banish the fear by visualizing 
one's protective figure or the Buddha; then choose calmly and impartially.

The limited foreknowledge available to the voyager should be used to make 
a wise choice. In the Tibetan tradition each of the levels of game-existence 
is associated with a particular color and also certain geographical symbols. 
These may be different for twentieth-century Westerners. Each person has 
to learn to decode his own internal road map. The Tibetan indicators may be 
used as a starting point. The purpose is clear: one should follow the signs of 
the three higher types and shun those of the three lower. One should follow 
light and pleasant visions and shun dark and dreary ones.

The world of saints (devas) is said to shine with a white light and to be 
preceded by visions of delightful temples and jewelled mansions. The world 
of heroes (asuras) has a green light and is signalled by magical forests and 
fire images. The ordinary human world has a yellow light. Animal existence 
is foreshadowed by a blue light and images of caves and deep holes in the 
earth. The world of neurotics or unsatisfied spirits has a red light and 
visions of desolate plains and forest wastes. The hell world emits a smoke-
colored light and is preceded by sounds of wailing, visions of gloomy lands, 
black and white houses and black roads along which you have to travel.

Use your foresight to choose a good post-session robot. Do not be attracted 
to your old ego. Whether you choose to pursue power, or status, or wisdom, 
or learning, or servitude, or whatever, choose impartially, without being 
attracted or repelled. Enter into game existence with good grace, voluntarily 
and freely. Visualize it as a celestial mansion, i.e., as an opportunity to 
exercise game-ecstasy. Have faith in the protection of the deities and 
choose. The mood of complete impartiality is important since you may be in 
error. A game that appears good may later turn out to be bad. Complete 
impartiality, freedom from want or fear, ensure that a maximally wise 
choice is made.

As you return you see spread out before you the world, your former life, a 
planet full of fascinating objects and events. Each aspect of the return trip 
can be a delightful discovery. Soon you will be descending to take your place 
in worldly events. The key to this return voyage is simply this: take it easy, 
slowly, naturally. Enjoy every second. Don't rush. Don't be attached to your 
old games. Recognize that you are in the re-entry period. Do not return with 
any emotional pressure. Everything you see and touch can glow with 
radiance. Each moment can be a joyous discovery.

                                        Here end the Third Bardo,
                                          The Period of Re-Entry

 
                                          GENERAL CONCLUSION

Well-prepared students with advanced spiritual understanding can use the 
"Transference" principle at the moment of ego-death and need not traverse 
subsequent Bardo states. They will rise to a state of illumination and 
remain there throughout the entire period. Others, who are a little less 
experienced in spiritual discipline, will recognize the Clear Light in the 
second stage of the First Bardo and will then win liberation. Others, at a 
still less advanced level, may be liberated while experiencing one of the 
positive or negative visions of the Second Bardo. Since there are several 
turning points, liberation can be obtained at one or the other through 
recognition at moments of confrontation. Those of very weak karmic 
connection, i.e., those who have been involved in heavy ego-dominated game-
playing, will have to wander downwards to the Third Bardo. Again, many 
points for liberation have been charted. The weakest persons will fall under 
the influence of guilt and terror. For weaker persons there are various 
graded teachings for preventing the return to routine-reality, or at least for 
choosing it wisely. Through applying the methods of visualization described, 
they should be able to experience the benefits of the session. Even those 
persons whose familiar routines are primitive and egocentric can be 
prevented from entering into misery. Once they have experienced, for 
however short a period, the great beauty and power of free awareness, they 
may, in the next period, meet with a guide or friend who will initiate them 
further into the way.

The way in which this teaching is effective, even for a voyager already in 
the Sidpa Bardo, is as follows: each person has some positive and some 
negative game-residues (karma). The continuity of consciousness has been 
broken by an ego-death for which the person was not prepared. The teachings 
are like a trough in a broken water drain, temporarily restoring the 
continuity with positive karma. As stated before, the extreme suggestibility 
or detached quality of consciousness in this state ensures the efficacy of 
listening to the doctrine. The teaching embedded in this Manual may be 
compared to a catapult which can direct the person towards the goal of 
liberation. Or like the moving of a big wooden beam, which is so heavy that a 
hundred men cannot carry it, but by being floated on water it can be easily 
moved. Or it is like controlling a horse's bit and course by the use of a 
bridle.

Therefore, these teachings should be vividly impressed on the voyager, again 
and again. This Manual may also be used more generally. It should be 
recited as often as possible and committed to memory as far as possible. 
When ego-death or final death comes, recognize the symptoms, recite the 
Manual to yourself, and reflect upon the meaning. If you cannot do it 
yourself, ask a friend to read it to you. There is no doubt as to its liberative 
power.

It liberates by being seen or heard, without need of ritual or complex 
meditation. This Profound Teaching liberates those of great evil karma 
through the Secret Pathway. One should not forget its meaning and the 
words, even though pursued by seven mastiffs. By this Select Teaching, one 
obtains Buddhahood at the moment of ego-loss. Were the Buddhas of past, 
present and future to seek, they could not find any doctrine transcending 
this.

                            Here ends the Bardo Thodol, known as
                                    The Tibetan Book of the Dead

 
                                                       III.

                                  SOME TECHNICAL COMMENTS
                                 ABOUT PSYCHEDELIC SESSIONS

                                        1. Use of This Manual
J
The most important use of this manual is for preparatory reading. Having 
read the Tibetan Manual, one can immediately recognize symptoms and 
experiences which might otherwise be terrifying, only because of lack of 
understanding as to what was happening. Recognition is the key word.

Secondly, this guidebook may be used to avoid paranoid traps or to regain 
the First Bardo transcendence if it has been lost. If the experience starts 
with light, peace, mystic unity, understanding, and if it continues along this 
path, then there is no need to remember this manual of have this manual re-
read to you. Like a road map, we consult it only when lost, or when we wish 
to change course. Usually, however, the ego clings to its old games. There 
may be momentary discomfort or confusion. If this happens, the others 
present should not be sympathetic or show alarm. They should be prepared to 
stay calm and restrain their "helping games." In particular, the "doctor" role 
should be avoided.

If at any time you find yourself struggling to get back to routine reality, you 
can (by pre-arrangement) have a more experienced person, a fellow-
voyager, or a trusted observer read parts of this manual to you.

Passages suitable for reading during the session are given in Part IV below. 
Each major descriptive section of the Tibetan Book has an appropriate 
instruction text. One may want to pre-record selected passages and simply 
flick on the recorder when desired. The aim of these instruction texts is 
always to lead the voyager back to the original First Bardo transcendence 
and to help maintain that as long as possible.

A third use would be to construct a "program" for a session using passages 
from the text. The aim would be to lead the voyager to one of the visions 
deliberately, or through a sequence of visions. The guide or friend could read 
the relevant passages, show slides or pictures or symbolic figures of 
processes, play carefully selected music, etc. One can envision a high art of 
programming psychedelic sessions, in which symbolic manipulations and 
presentations would lead the voyager through ecstatic visionary Bead 
Games.
 

                                         2. Planning a Session

In planning a session, the first question to be decided is "what is the goal?" 
Classic Hinduism suggest four possibilities:

(1) For increased personal power, intellectual understanding, sharpened 
insight into self and culture, improvement of life situation, accelerated 
learning, professional growth.

(2) For duty, help of others, providing care, rehabilitation, rebirth for fellow 
men.

(3) For fun, sensuous enjoyment, aesthetic pleasure, interpersonal 
closeness, 
pure experience.

(4) For transcendence, liberation from ego and space-time limits; 
attainment 
of mystical union.

This manual aims primarily at the latter goal - that of liberation-
enlightenment. This emphasis does not preclude attainment of the other 
goals - in fact, it guarantees their attainment because illumination requires 
that the person be able to step out beyond game problems of personality, 
role, and professional status. The initiate can decide beforehand to devote 
the psychedelic experience to any of the four goals. The manual will be of 
assistance in any event.

If there are several people having a session together they should either 
agree collaboratively on a goal, or at least be aware of each other's goals. If 
the session is to be "programmed" then the participants should either agree 
on or design a program collaboratively, or they should agree to let one 
member of the group do the programming. Unexpected or undesired 
manipulations by one of the participants can easily "trap the other voyagers 
into paranoid Third Bardo delusions.

The voyager, especially in an individual session, may also wish to have 
either an extroverted or an introverted experience. In the extroverted 
transcendent experience, the self is ecstatically fused with external 
objects (e.g. flowers, or other people). In the introverted state, the self is 
ecstatically fused with internal life processes (lights, energy-waves, bodily 
events, biological forms, etc.). Of course, either the extroverted or the 
introverted state may be negative rather than positive, depending on the 
attitude of the voyager. Also it may be primarily conceptual or primarily 
emotional. The eight types of experience thus derived (four positive and four 
negative) have been described more fully in Visions 2 to 5 of the Second 
Bardo.

For the extroverted mystic experience one would bring to the session 
objects or symbols to guide the awareness in the desired direction. Candles, 
pictures,books, incense, music or recorded passages. An introverted mystic 
experience requires the elimination of all stimulation; no light, no sound, no 
smell, no movement.

The mode of communication with the other participants should also be 
agreed on beforehand. You may agree on certain signals, silently indicating 
companionship. You may arrange for physical contact - clasping hands, 
embracing. These means of communication should be pre-arranged to avoid 
game-misinterpretations that may develop during the heightened sensitivity 
of ego-transcendence.


                                           3. Drugs and Dosages

A wide variety of chemicals and plants have psychedelic ("mind 
manifesting") effects. The most widely used substances are listed here 
together with dosages adequate for a normal adult of average size. The 
dosage to be taken depends, of course, on the goal of the session. Two 
figures are therefore given. The first column indicates a dosage which 
should be sufficient for an inexperienced person to enter the transcendental 
worlds described in this manual. The second column gives a smaller dosage 
figure, which may be used by more experienced persons or by participants in 
a group session.

LSD-25 (lysergic acid diethylamide) 200-500  micrograms 100-200 
micrograms
Mescaline                                         600-800 mg                 300-500 mg
Psilocybin                                            40-60  mg                    20-30  mg

The time of onset, when the drugs are taken orally on an empty stomach, is 
approximately 20-30 minutes for LSD and psilocybin, and one to two hours 
for mescaline. The duration of the session is usually eight to ten hours for 
LSD and mescaline, and five to six hours for psilocybin. DMT 
(dimethyltryptamine), when injected intramuscularly in dosages of 50-60 
mg, gives an experience approximately equivalent to 500 micrograms of LSD, 
but which lasts only 30 minutes.

Some person have found it useful to take other drugs before the session. A 
very anxious person, for example, may take 30 to 40 mg of Librium about on 
hour earlier, to calm and relax himself. Methedrine has also been used to 
induced a pleasant, euphoric mood prior to the session. Sometimes, with 
excessively nervous persons, it is advisable to stagger the drug 
administration: for example, 200 micrograms of LSD may be taken initially, 
and a "booster" of another 200 micrograms may be taken after the person 
has become familiar with some of the effects of the psychedelic state. 
Nausea may sometimes occur. Usually this is a mental symptom, indicating 
fear, and should be regarded as such. Sometimes, however, particularly with 
the use of morning-glory seeds and peyote, the nausea can have a 
physiological cause. Anti-nauseant drugs such as Marezine, Bonamine, 
Dramamine or Tigan, may be taken beforehand to prevent this.

If a person becomes trapped in a repetitive game-routine during a session, it 
is sometimes possible to "break the set" by administering 50 mg of DMT, or 
even 25 mg of Dexedrine or Methedrine. Such additional dosages, of course, 
should only be given with the person's own knowledge and consent.

Should external emergencies call for it, Thorazine (100-200 mg, i.m.) or 
other phenothiazine-type tranquilizers will terminate the effects of 
psychedelic drugs. Antidotes should not be used simply because the voyager 
or the guide is frightened. Instead, the appropriate sections of the Third 
Bardo should be read. [Further, more detailed suggestions concerning dosage 
may be found in a paper by Gary M. Fisher: "Some Comments Concerning 
Dosage Levels of Psychedelic Compounds for Psychotherapeutic 
Experiences." Psychedelic Review, I, no.2, pp. 208-218, 1963.]


                                                4. Preparation

Psychedelic chemicals are not drugs in the usual sense of the word. There is 
no specific reaction, no expected sequence of events, somatic or 
psychological.

The specific reaction has little to do with the chemical and is chiefly a 
function of set and setting; preparation and environment. The better the 
preparation, the more ecstatic and revelatory the session. In initial sessions 
and with unprepared persons, setting - particularly the actions of others - 
is most important. With persons who have prepared thoughtfully and 
seriously, the setting is less important.

There are two aspects of set: long-range and immediate.

Long-range set refers to the personal history, the enduring personality. The 
kind of person you are - your fears, desires, conflicts, guilts, secret 
passions - determines how you interpret and manage any situation you enter, 
including a psychedelic session. Perhaps more important are the reflex 
mechanisms used when dealing with anxiety - the defenses, the protective 
maneuvers typically employed. Flexibility, basic trust, religious faith, 
human openness, courage, interpersonal warmth, creativity, are 
characteristics which allow for fun and easy learning. Rigidity, desire to 
control, distrust, cynicism, narrowness, cowardice, coldness, are 
characteristics which make any new situation threatening. Most important 
is insight. No matter how many cracks in the record, the person who has 
some understanding of his own recording machinery, who can recognize when 
he is not functioning as he would wish, is better able to adapt to any 
challenge - even the sudden collapse of his ego.

The most careful preparation would include some discussion of the 
personality characteristics and some planning with the guide as to how to 
handle expected emotional reactions when they occur.

Immediate set refers to the expectations about the session itself. Session 
preparation is of critical importance in determining how the experience 
unfolds. People tend naturally to impose their personal and social game 
perspectives on any new situation. Careful thought should precede the 
session to prevent narrow sets being imposed.

Medical expectations.  Some ill-prepared subjects unconsciously impose a 
medical model on the experience. They look for symptoms, interpret each 
new sensation in terms of sickness/health, place the guide in a doctor-role, 
and, if anxiety develops, demand chemical rebirth - i.e., tranquilizers. 
Occasionally one hears of casual, ill-planned, non-guided sessions which end 
in the subject demanding to be hospitalized, etc. It is even more problem-
provoking if the guide employs a medical model, watches for symptoms, and 
keeps hospitalization in mind to fall back on, as protection for himself.

Rebellion against convention may be the motive of some people who take the 
drug. The idea of doing something "far out" or vaguely naughty is a naive set 
which can color the experience.

Intellectual expectations are appropriate when subjects have had much 
psychedelic experience. Indeed, LSD offers vast possibilities for accelerated 
learning and scientific-scholarly research. But for initial sessions, 
intellectual reactions can become traps. The Tibetan Manual never tires of 
warning about the dangers of rationalization. "Turn you mind off" is the best 
advice for novitiates. Control of your consciousness is like flight 
instruction. After you have learned how to move your consciousness around - 
into ego-loss and back, at will - then intellectual exercises can be 
incorporated into the psychedelic experience. The last stage of the session 
is the best time to examine concepts. The objective of this particular 
manual is to free you from you verbal mind for as long as possible.

Religious expectations invite the same advice as intellectual set. Again, the 
subject in early sessions is best advised to float with the stream, stay "up" 
as long as possible, and postpone theological interpretations until the end of 
the session, or to later sessions.

Recreational and aesthetic expectations are natural. The psychedelic 
experience, without question, provides ecstatic moments which dwarf any 
personal or cultural game. Pure sensation can capture awareness. 
Interpersonal intimacy reaches Himalayan heights. Aesthetic delights - 
musical, artistic, botanical, natural - are raised to the millionth power. But 
all these reactions can be Third Bardo ego games: "I am having this ecstasy. 
How lucky I am!" Such reactions can become tender traps, preventing the 
subject from reaching pure ego-loss (First Bardo) or the glories of Second 
Bardo creativity.

Planned expectations.  This manual prepares the person for a mystical 
experience according to the Tibetan model. The Sages of the Snowy Ranges 
have developed a most sophisticated and precise understanding of human 
psychology, and the student who studies this manual will become oriented 
for a voyage which is much richer in scope and meaning than any Western 
psychological theory. We remain aware, however, that the Bardo Thodol 
model of consciousness is a human artifact, a Second Bardo hallucination, 
however grand its scope.

Some practical recommendations. The subject should set aside at least 
three days for his experience; a day before, the session day, and a follow-up 
day. This scheduling guarantees a reduction in external pressure and a more 
sober commitment to the voyage.

Talking to others who have taken the voyage is excellent preparation, 
although the Second Bardo hallucinatory quality of all descriptions should be 
recognized. Observing a session is another valuable preliminary. The 
opportunity to see others during and after a session shapes expectations.

Reading books about mystical experience is a standard orientation 
procedure. Reading the accounts of others' experiences is another possibility 
(Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts, and Gordon Wasson have written powerful 
accounts).

Meditation is probably the best preparation for a psychedelic session. Those 
who have spent time in the solitary attempt to manage the mind, to 
eliminate thought and to reach higher stages of concentration, are the best 
candidates for a psychedelic session. When the ego-loss state occurs, they 
are ready. They recognize the process as an end eagerly awaited, rather than 
a strange event ill-understood.


                                              5. The Setting

The first and most important thing to remember, in the preparation for a 
psychedelic session, is to provide a setting which is removed from one's 
usual social and interpersonal games and which is as free as possible from 
unforeseen distractions and intrusions. The voyager should make sure that 
he will not be disturbed by visitors or telephone calls, since these will 
often jar him into hallucinatory activity. Trust in the surroundings and 
privacy are necessary.

A period of time (usually at least three days) should be set aside in which 
the experience will run its natural course and there will be sufficient time 
for reflections and meditation. It is important to keep schedules open for 
three days and to make these arrangements beforehand. A too-hasty return 
to game-involvements will blur the clarity of the vision and reduce the 
potential for learning. If the experience was with a group, it is very useful 
to stay together after the session in order to share and exchange 
experiences.

There are differences between night sessions and day sessions. Many people 
report that they are more comfortable in the evening and consequently that 
their experiences are deeper and richer. The person should choose the time 
of day that seems right according to his own temperament at first. Later, he 
may wish to experience the difference between night and day sessions.

Similarly, there are differences between sessions out-of-doors and indoors. 
Natural settings such as gardens, beaches, forests, and open country have 
specific influences which one may or may not wish to incur. The essential 
thing is to feel as comfortable as possible in the surroundings, whether in 
one's living room or under the night sky. A familiarity with the surroundings 
may help one to feel confident in hallucinatory periods. If the session is held 
indoors, one must consider the arrangement of the room and the specific 
objects one may wish to see and hear during the experience.

Music, lighting, the availability of food and drink, should be considered 
beforehand. Most people report no desire for food during the height of the 
experience, and then, later on, prefer to have simple, ancient foods like 
bread, cheese, wine, and fresh fruit. Hunger is usually not the issue. The 
senses are wide open, and the taste and smell of a fresh orange are 
unforgettable.

In group sessions, the arrangement of the room is quite important. People 
usually will not feel like walking or moving very much for a long period, and 
either beds or mattresses should be provided. The arrangement of the beds 
or mattresses can vary. One suggestion is to place the heads of the beds 
together to form a star pattern. Perhaps one may want to place a few beds 
together and keep one or two some distance apart for anyone who wishes to 
remain aside for some time. Often, the availability of an extra room is 
desirable for someone who wishes to be in seclusion for a period.

If it is desired to listen to music or to reflect on paintings or religious 
objects, one should arrange these so that everyone in the group feels 
comfortable with what they are hearing or seeing. In a group session, all 
decisions about goals, setting, etc. should be made with collaboration and 
openness.

                                  6. The Psychedelic Guide

For initial sessions, the attitude and behavior of the guide are critical 
factors. He possesses enormous power to shape the experience. With the 
cognitive mind suspended, the subject is in a heightened state of 
suggestibility. The guide can move consciousness with the slightest gesture 
or reaction.

The key issue here is the guide's ability to turn off his own ego and social 
games - in particular, to muffle his own power needs and his fears. To be 
there relaxed, solid, accepting, secure. The Tao wisdom of creative quietism. 
To sense all and do nothing except to let the subject know your wise 
presence.

A psychedelic session lasts up to twelve hours and produces moments of 
intense, intense, INTENSE reactivity. The guide must never be bored, 
talkative, intellectualizing. He must remain calm during the long periods of 
swirling mindlessness.

He is the ground control in the airport tower. Always there to receive 
messages and queries from high-flying aircraft. Always ready to help 
navigate their course, to help them reach their destination. An airport-
tower-operator who imposes his own personality, his own games upon the 
pilot is unheard of. The pilots have their own flight plan, their own goals, 
and ground control is there, ever waiting to be of service.

The pilot is reassured to know that an expert who has guided thousands of 
flights is down there, available for help. But suppose the flier has reason to 
suspect that ground control is harboring his own motives and might be 
manipulating the plane toward selfish goals. The bond of security and 
confidence would crumble.

It goes without saying, then, that the guide should have had considerable 
experience in psychedelic sessions himself and in guiding others. To 
administer psychedelics without personal experience is unethical and 
dangerous.

The greatest problem faced by human beings in general, and the psychedelic 
guide in particular, is fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of losing control. Fear 
of trusting the genetic process and your companions. From our own research 
studies and our investigations into sessions run by others - serious 
professionals or adventurous bohemians - we have been led to the 
conclusion that almost every negative LSD reaction has been caused by fear 
on the part of the guide which has augmented the transient fear of the 
subject. When the guide acts to protect himself, he communicates his 
concern to the subject.

The guide must remain passively sensitive and intuitively relaxed for 
several hours. This is a difficult assignment for most Westerners. For this 
reason, we have sought ways to assist the guide in maintaining a state of 
alert quietism in which he is poised with ready flexibility. The most certain 
way to achieve this state is for the guide to take a low dose of the 
psychedelic with the subject. Routine procedure is to have one trained 
person participate in the experience and one staff member present in ground 
control without psychedelic aid.

The knowledge that one experienced guide is "up" and keeping the subject 
company, is of inestimable value; intimacy and communication; cosmic 
companionship; the security of having a trained pilot flying at your wing tip; 
the scuba diver's security in the presence of an expert comrade in the deep.

It is not recommended that guides take large doses during sessions for new 
subjects. The less experienced he is, the more likely will the subject impose 
Second and Third Bardo hallucinations. These intense games affect the 
experienced guide, who is likely to be in a state of mindless void. The guide 
is then pulled into the hallucinatory field of the subject, and may have 
difficulty orienting himself. During the First Bardo there are no familiar 
fixed landmarks, no place to put your foot, no solid concept upon which to 
base your thinking. All is flux. Decisive Second Bardo action on the part of 
the subject can structure the guide's flow if he has taken a heavy dose.

The role of the psychedelic guide is perhaps the most exciting and inspiring 
role in society. He is literally a liberator, one who provides illumination, 
one who frees men from their life-long internal bondage. To be present at 
the moment of awakening, to share the ecstatic revelation when the voyager 
discovers the wonder and awe of the divine life-process, is for many the 
most gratifying part to play in the evolutionary drama. The role of the 
psychedelic guide has a built-in protection against professionalism and 
didactic oneupmanship. The psychedelic liberation is so powerful that it far 
outstrips earthly game ambitions. Awe and gratitude - rather than pride - 
are the rewards of this new profession.


                                   7. Composition of the Group

The most effective use of this manual will be for the experience of one 
person with a guide. However, the manual will be useful in a group also. 
When used in a group session, the following suggestions will be most helpful 
in planning.

The important thing to remember in organizing a group session is to have 
knowledge of and trust in the fellow voyagers. Trust in oneself and in one's 
companions is essential. If preparing for an experience with strangers, it is 
very important to share as much time and space as possible with them prior 
to the session. The participants should set collaborative goals and explore 
mutually their expectations and feelings and past experiences.

[End of part 3/4]
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