O, Child of Buddha Nature, if, even after having engaged in the above [meditation], the womb entrances have still not been obstructed, now, according to the fifth [profound oral instruction], you must obstruct the womb entrances by meditating on inner radiance.32 The method of meditation is as follows: ‘Alas! All [seemingly] substantial phenomena are [expressions of] my own mind. Yet, [in reality], this mind is of the nature of emptiness, it is beyond creation and beyond cessation.’ By focusing your thought in this way, your mind should [naturally] return to an uncontrived and stainless state. Let the mind rest in this, its natural state, directly in itself, in the same way, for example, as water is poured into water. Let [the mind] rest in its natural flow, clear, unconstricted, uncontrived and relaxed.33 [By following this method] you can be sure that the womb entrances to the four modes of birth will certainly be obstructed. Meditate again and again in this way, until the womb entrances are closed.
Set down above are several profound and genuine instructions for effecting the obstruction of the womb entrances. For those with high, average or low ability, it is impossible not to be liberated by these [instructions]. This is because: first, consciousness in the intermediate state is endowed with an, albeit corrupt, supernormal cognitive ability. Therefore, whatever one says [to the deceased] is heard by the deceased. Second, even if the deceased was deaf or blind [while in the human world], now, [in the intermediate state], all the sensory faculties will be complete and therefore whatever is said will be apprehended. Third, since the deceased is continuously being overwhelmed by fear and terror, there is an undistracted concentration on what to do; therefore, what is said will be listened to. Fourth, since the consciousness has no [physical] support, it is easy to guide and it can penetrate to the essence of whatever is focused upon. [Additionally], since the power of retention is now many times clearer, even the mentally weak will have, in the intermediate state, a lucid awareness, by virtue of their past actions. Hence, they will have the gift of knowing how to meditate on that which is taught and the gift [to assimilate] such points [of instruction]. These are the reasons why the performance of rituals on behalf of the dead is beneficial. Indeed, it is extremely important to persevere in the reading aloud of this Great Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States for the entire forty-nine days. For if liberation is not achieved at one introduction, it can be achieved at another. This is the reason why, not just one, but many introductions should be given.
[CHOOSING A WOMB ENTRANCE]
Then again, there are several kinds [of persons] who do not achieve liberation, despite having received the above introductions and having been taught the above visualisation techniques. This [lack of ability] comes about through limited familiarity with virtuous past actions, extensive primal familiarity with non-virtuous past actions, and the potency and great force of negative obscurations.
So, at this stage, if the womb entrances have still not been [successfully] obstructed [as described] above, there is a profound oral instruction for choosing an [appropriate] womb entrance,34 which should now be presented. Again, one should request the assistance of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, take refuge in [the Three Precious Jewels] and cultivate an altruistic intention. Then, as before, calling to the deceased by name, three times, one should say the following words:
O, Child of Buddha Nature, (repeat the name of the deceased), listen [carefully]. Even though many [authentic] introductions to the instructions have previously been given to you, up until this stage, you have not taken these to heart. Now, if you have been unable to obstruct the womb entrances, the time has actually come for you to assume a body. There are [not just one, but] several different kinds of profound [and genuine] instructions which relate to your choice of an appropriate womb entrance. So comprehend these well. Do not be distracted. [Listen] without distraction! Understand, and maintain a firm intention!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, now, [if you are to be born as a human] the indications and signs which relate to the environment into which you may be born, on one amongst the [four] continents, will arise. You must recognise these [indications]! Indeed, you must choose the continent based on [a careful examination of these] indications of the environment into which you may be born.
If you are to take birth on the Eastern Continent, Videha, you will see a lake, adorned by male and female swans. Do not be drawn towards this [place]! Call to mind the methods of reversal [and apply these]! For were you to go there, even though it is a happy and tranquil place, it is an environment where the [sacred] teachings do not flourish. So do not enter [this continent]!
If you are to take birth on the Southern Continent, Jambudvῑpa, you will see grand and delightful mansions. If indeed you can enter here, do so!
If you are to take birth on the Western Continent, Aparagodanῑya, you will see a lake adorned [around its shores] by male and female horses. Do not be drawn towards this place! Call to mind the methods of reversal [and apply these]! For even though it is a place of great wealth and [abundant] resources, it is an environment where the [sacred] teachings do not flourish. So do not enter [this continent]!
If you are to take birth on the Northern Continent, Uttarakuru, you will see a lake adorned [around its shores] by cattle or a lake adorned by trees. Recognise these appearances as indications of the birth that you are about to assume! Do not enter there! For even though this is a place where there is longevity and which has merit, it is an environment where the [sacred] teachings do not flourish. So do not enter [this continent]!
If you are to take birth as a god you will see delightful celestial palaces, many-storeyed and composed of diverse jewels. If indeed you can, you should enter here!
If you are to take birth as an antigod, you will see exquisite groves and spinning wooden torches [creating] wheels of fire. Do not enter there, under any circumstances! Call to mind the methods of reversal [and apply these]!
If you are to take birth as an animal, you will see rocky caverns, empty hollows and straw sheds, shrouded by mist. Do not enter there!
If you are to take birth as an anguished spirit, you will see tree-stumps, black protruding silhouettes, blind desolate gorges, or total darkness. Were you to go there, you would be born as an anguished spirit and experience the manifold sufferings of [insatiable] hunger and thirst. Do not enter there! Call to mind the methods of reversal [and apply these]! Be courageous and strong!
If you are to take birth as a hell being, you will hear the songs of those of negative past actions. Or, quite simply, you will feel powerless and compelled to enter. Whereupon, the perception will arise that you are moving into a land of darkness, where there are black and reddened houses, black earth-pits and black roads. Were you to be drawn to this place, you would enter the hells, and experience the [searing] unbearable sufferings of heat and cold. Be careful! Do not enter into the midst of this, for there will be no opportunity to turn back. Do not enter there, under any circumstances! As it is said [in the root verses]: ‘You must obstruct the womb entrances and call to mind the methods of reversal.’ These are [wholly] necessary now!
O, Child of Buddha Nature, although you do not wish to move forward, you are powerless not to do so. The avenging forces, who are the executors of the unfailing laws of cause and effect, will be pursuing you. You will have no choice but to move forward. Before you, the avengers and executors will be leading the way. The experience will arise of trying to flee from these forces, of trying to flee from the darkness, from the most violent windstorms, from the [thunderous] tumult, the snow, the rain, the hail and the turbulent blizzards, which swirl around you. [Frightened], you will set off to seek a refuge and you will find protection inside an enclosed space, such as within the mansions, just described, or in rock-shelters, or holes in the ground, or amongst trees, or within the bud of a lotus flower. Hiding here, you will be very hesitant to come out, and you will think: ‘I should not leave here now.’ You will be very reluctant to be separated from this protected place and you will become ut
terly attached to it. Then, because you are so very hesitant to go outside, where you would be confronted by the fears and terrors of the intermediate state, you will, because of this fear and awe, continue to hide away. Thus, you will assume a body, however utterly bad that may be, and you will, [in time], come to experience all manner of sufferings. This [experience of wanting to hide] is a sign that you are being obstructed by malignant forces and carnivorous ogres. Particularly related to this stage, there is a profound oral instruction. Listen, therefore, and understand!
At this time, when you are being pursued by avenging forces and you feel powerless [to escape] and you are terrified and frightened, you must, in an instant and with perfect recall, visualise the Transcendent Lord Mahottara Heruka, or Hayagrῑva, or Vajrapāṇi, or else, if you have one, your personal meditational deity. [Visualise the deity] as having a huge buddha-body, with thick limbs, standing upright, in a terrifying wrathful manifestation, which pulverises every form of obstructing force. [By virtue of this practice], insulated from the avengers by the blessing and compassion [of the meditational deity], you will secure the ability to choose a womb entrance. This is a profound and genuine crucial point of the oral instructions. So, understand this now!
Moreover, O, Child of Buddha Nature, the gods [inhabiting the form realms] of meditative concentration, and similar beings [of the higher realms], take birth through the potency of their meditative stability.35 Also, certain classes of malevolent forces, including the anguished spirits, arise on the basis of the transformation of their mental body itself during this very [intermediate state], through a shift in their mode of perception. [In this way], they assume the forms of an anguished spirit, malign force or carnivorous ogre, capable of displaying diverse miraculous acts. The anguished spirits who reside in the ocean depths, the anguished spirits who move through space, the eighty thousand classes of obstructing forces, and so forth, all come into existence consequent on such a shift in their mode of perception, while [still] in the mental body.
At this time, therefore, [while visualising the wrathful deity] it is essential that you hold in mind the meaning of emptiness, [the essence of] the Great Seal. If you are not able to practise in this way, you must cultivate your experience of the illusion-like natural expressive power [of actual reality]. If you are unable even to practise in that way, you should meditate on the meditational deity Mahākāruṇika, without allowing your mind to experience attachment, in any respect whatsoever. Through [practising this effectively], buddhahood will be attained in the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource, during this intermediate state.
O, Child of Buddha Nature, if, due to the potency of your past actions, you must at this stage enter a womb, a further teaching on the methods of choosing a womb entrance is now to be taught. Listen, [carefully], therefore! Do not just move towards whatever womb entrance appears to you. If, whilst being pursued by the avenging forces [of the laws of cause and effect], you are powerless [and unable to resist] the process of entering [a womb], then you must, at this time, meditate on Hayagrῑva. Since you now possess a subtle supernormal cognitive ability, you will [clearly] apprehend all the [potential] birthplaces as they arise, in sequence. Therefore, make your choice, [based on the examination of the indications and based on the instructions]! There are two kinds of oral instruction [which can now be applied]: [first], the oral instructions for transferring the consciousness to the pure buddha fields36 and [second], the instructions for choosing a womb entrance within impure cyclic existence. Therefore, [listen carefully and] do as follows:
First, the transference of consciousness to the utterly pure realms of the sky-farers is effected by those of highest ability, by directing their intention as follows. ‘Alas! I am deeply sad that even after an infinite “incalculable aeon”, I am still left behind in this swamp of cyclic existence. How dreadful it is, that while so many have attained buddhahood in the past, I have still not achieved liberation. Now, this cycle of existence disgusts me! It horrifies me! I have long been led astray by it! Now, the moment approaches for me to move forward! Now, I must take birth, miraculously, in the bud of a lotus flower, in the presence of the Buddha Amitābha, in the western Buddha field of the Blissful (Sukhāvatῑ)!’ Focus your intention, concentratedly, on this thought! [It is essential that you make this effort!] Alternatively, you can focus your intention on whichever buddha field you wish. On Manifest Joy (Abhirati), on Dense Array (Ghanavyūha), on Alakāvatῑ, on Mount Potālaka, or [you may wish to focus] on coming into the presence of [Padmasambhava of] Oḍḍiyāna, in the celestial palace of Lotus Light, or indeed on whichever buddha field you wish to enter. Be single-minded! Do not be distracted! Immediately upon establishing [this intention], you will take birth in the [chosen] buddha field. Yet again, alternatively, if you wish to proceed into the presence of Maitreya in [the realm of] The Joyful (Tuṣita), think as follows: ‘At this juncture in the intermediate state, the moment has come for me to proceed into the presence of the king of the [sacred] teachings, Maitreya, in [the realm of] The Joyful. Therefore, it is there that I will go!’ If you focus your intention on this thought, you will take birth, miraculously, in the heart of a lotus, in the presence of Maitreya.
Alternatively, if you are unable to accomplish this [transference], or if you desire to enter a womb or you are obliged to enter one, then there are the following instructions on choosing a womb entrance within impure cyclic existence. Therefore, listen [carefully]. Utilising the supernormal cognitive ability which you now possess, examine the continents once again, as just described, and make your choice. You must enter a land where the [sacred] teachings flourish!
[Be warned, however!] It could be that, [in reality], you are about to take birth, by entering into a substance which is fetid and polluted, and yet that filthy mass will be perceived by you as sweet-smelling and you will be drawn towards it and take birth within it. Therefore, whatever such [attractive] appearances may arise, do not grasp at them as substantially real! Ensure that you remain utterly free from the symptoms of attachment and aversion, and on that basis choose an excellent womb entrance.
It is extremely important that your motivation is firmly concentrated [as you approach the womb entrance]. Therefore think as follows: ‘Ah! For the sake of all sentient beings, I shall be born as a universal monarch, or [acting purely] like a great [dignified] sal tree, I shall be born into the brāhman class, or as the child of an accomplished master, or into a family which maintains an immaculate lineage of the [sacred] teachings, or into a family where the mother and father are deeply devout. Then, once I have taken on a body which is blessed with the merit of being able to act on behalf of all sentient beings, I shall [dedicate myself to] acting on their behalf!’ You must concentrate your motivation on this thought and [thus] enter the womb.
As you enter the womb, consecrate it [by perceiving it] as a celestial palace of the deities.37 Be full of devotion. Ensure that you enter whilst praying to and imagining that you are receiving empowerments from the conquerors of the ten directions and from their sons, as well as from the meditational deities and, in particular, from Mahākāruṇika.
[However be warned], for as you make this choice of a womb entrance, there is a risk of error. There is the risk of error when, through the potency of past actions, an excellent womb entrance is perceived as a bad one, and when a bad womb entrance is perceived as a good one. At this time, the essential points of the teaching are crucial. Therefore, once again, you should act as follows. Even though perceptions of an excellent [womb entrance] may occur, do not become attached to these. And [conversely] even though perceptions of a poor [womb entrance] may occur, do not feel aversion. The essential point of the profound and genuine [instructions] is that you enter the womb in a state of great equanimity, utterly free from [the dichotomies of] good and bad, acceptance and rejection, or attachment and aversion.
Nevertheless, with the exception of certain persons who have experience of this [equanimity] it is difficult [for beings] to se
ver themselves from the deep-seated and long-lasting disease of negative habitual tendencies. Therefore, if [the deceased] remains unable to be free from attachment and aversion, in the above manner, such negative beings who are of the lowest capacity may seek refuge in the animal realms or similar [kinds of inferior existences]. In order to counteract this, again calling to the deceased by name, you should speak as follows:
O, Child of Buddha Nature, if you do not know how to choose a womb entrance and you are unable to give up your attachment and your aversion, then, regardless of which of the above appearances arise, you must call out, by name, to the Three Precious Jewels. Take refuge in them! Pray to Mahākāruṇika! Go forward with your head held high. Recognise that this is the intermediate state! Give up your attachment and your clinging to the friends, sons, daughters and relatives that you have left behind. These [attachments] are not helpful [to you now]. Enter into the blue light of the human realm. Enter into the white light of the realm of the gods. Enter into the mansions of precious jewels and the gardens of delight.
This [introduction] should be enunciated up to seven times. Then one should pray to the buddhas and bodhisattvas, [reciting the Aspirational Prayer Calling to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for Assistance].38 Then one should read aloud, up to seven times, the Aspirational Prayer which Protects from Fear of the Intermediate States, the Root Verses of the [Six] Intermediate States, and the Aspirational Prayer which Rescues from the Dangerous Pathways of the Intermediate States.39 Then, one should also read aloud, clearly and with correct pronunciation, the Liberation by Wearing: Natural Liberation of the Psycho-physical Aggregates. And you should also read aloud the Spiritual Practice: Natural Liberation of Habitual Tendencies.40
The Tibetan Book of the Dead Page 33