22. “The Bodhisattva’s mind is like the void, for he relinquishes everything and does not even desire to accumulate merits. There are three kinds of relinquishment. When everything inside and outside, bodily and mental, has been relinquished; when, as in the Void, no attachments are left; when all action is dictated purely by place and circumstance; when subjectivity and objectivity are forgotten–that is the highest form of relinquishment. When, on the one hand, the Way is followed by the performance of virtuous acts; while, on the other, relinquishment of merit takes place and no hope of reward is entertained–that is the medium form of relinquishment. When all sorts of virtuous actions are performed in the hope of reward by those who, nevertheless, know of the Void by hearing the Dharma and who are therefore unattached-that is the lowest form of relinquishment. The first is like a blazing torch held to the front which makes it impossible to mistake the path; the second is like a blazing torch held to one side, so that it is sometimes light and sometimes dark; the third is like a blazing torch held behind, so that pitfalls in front are not seen.1”  

1 These three types of relinquishment probably refer obliquely to Zen, Mahayana and Hinayana respectively

23. “Thus, the mind of the Bodhisattva is like the Void and everything is relinquished by it. When thoughts of the past cannot be taken hold of, that is relinquishment of the past. When thoughts of the present cannot be taken hold of, that is relinquishment of the present. When thoughts of the future cannot be taken hold of, that is relinquishment of the future. This is called utter relinquishment of Triple Time. Since the Tathagata entrusted Kasyapa with the Dharma until now, Mind has been transmitted with Mind, and these Minds have been identical. A transmission of Void cannot be made through words. A transmission in concrete terms cannot be the Dharma. Thus Mind is transmitted with Mind and these Minds do not differ. Transmitting and receiving transmission are both a most difficult kind of mysterious understanding, so that few indeed have been able to receive it. In fact, however, Mind is not Mind and transmission is not really transmission.1”  

1 This is a reminder that ALL terms used in Zen are mere makeshifts.

Numerologists and New Agers are having a field-day with today’s calendar falling as 12-12-12. Sources indicate that today is “the last major numerical date using the Gregorian or Christian calendar for almost another century. The next time three numbers will align as they did on 9-9-09, 10-10-10 and 11-11-11 will be on Jan. 1, 3001, or 1-1-1.” Due to this numerological wonder, many assert that today is a most auspicious occasion—something quite extraordinary should sprout-afoot! New Agers go even one step further and predict that today some form of “energy-portals” will miraculously appear from somewhere “other” to further the evolution of man’s consciousness, something they refer to as the Ascension. They may have had a point, but for one thing…whatever kind of new-energy-associations that manifest in the created order have very little to do with the far greater inner-transformation on the spiritual plane that needs to occur for true transformational stuff to occur. The two above “twin” sections of Huang Po can help to steer us in an authentic spiritual-direction. The Bodhisattva’s mind is One with Mind and is therefore void of any kind of phenomenal manifestations, along with any “accumulated merit” that is somehow associated with furthering the evolution of the quest for spiritual emancipation. This serves as a striking reminder that any mark of merited advancement alone does not serve the true path to awakening in the One Mind—a Self-Realization that is in fact hindered if any form of meritorization is instituted in place of THAT Self-Alone relinquishment of “any-thing inside and outside” that attempts to usurp Its rightful Mind-Inheritance in the Unborn. All other forms of relinquishment, says Huang Po, are just wishy-washy attempts that hinder one’s advancement along the path to this True Self-Mind Recollection. In this sense, the Mind of the Maha-Bodhisattva is the Void that relinquishes any “other” attempts of luke-warm emancipation. This includes, says the Master, the Three-Times (past, present, future)—in fact ALL time representations (12-12-12 as well). He sums up these twin-sections by indicating once again that this is no form of mind-thing transmission; thus any-thing that apparently is “transmitted” (this would include those new age revelations of some kind of Super-Energy-Transmission) cannot be called the Buddhadharma—THAT is, indeed, a Wordless (which includes any form of thingness in the created order) Transmission bearing no karmic-seed associations of any form and non-form. He even goes so far as to throw a monkey-wrench into the minds of the lesser-able who attempt to perceive some kind of Mind-thing that gets transmitted.  Hence, there is no-form of transmission that transmits any-thing, including Mind as representative of an objective-subjective thing. All is Mind AS IT IS and No-thing else need apply that attempts to claim any resume of emancipatory know-how.

If I were ever forced to evacuate my residence due to some cataclysmic-event and I could only take with me one item, it would without question be “The Zen Teaching of Huang Po.” Others have used the analogy of being stuck alone on a desert island and having this as their sole possession would surely suffice their intellectual needs. Huang Po is the old Grand Master and quintessential Zen Buddhist  teacher of the Tang Dynasty (died circa 850).  Huang Po’s teaching encompasses and encapsulates so many angles of the Buddhadharma and Mind-Only school that his work is simply an indispensable Mind-tool. Like the above image for this blog-post, I have many copies of Blofeld’s translation but my favorite by far is the 1994 Shambhala Pocket Classic; unfortunately, the Shambhala editions of Zen classics have dispensed with many of the “pocket-series”–Blofeld’s marvelous work among them.  Copies of the out of print pocket-book edition are going for triple-digit figures! I routinely carry mine with me when dining-out, it’s like an old and faithful companion.

So as winter fast approaches and the dark shadows of December descend like a chilling shroud, what a joy it will be to spend time in solitude with a series on the ever faithful teaching of Huang Po, to lighten the samsaric load and enlighten the spirit with Luminous Unborn Light.

The following is another gift from Tozen; a Dharani that protects the adept from all evil proclivities and assures proper spiritual refuge:

—————————————————————
To the adept of the Mahayana Light;
Light up some good incense. Bow five times towards your shrine buddha/s at home, if you lack any external buddha statues, arise the Five Dhyani Buddhas in your Minds eye standing radiantly before you. If you see them make various mudras (spiritual sign language) memorize them and look them up here (http://www.buddhas-online.com/mudras.html) as to understand the conveyed.
:
The Unborn Mind Dharani.
—————————————————————————
Buddham Saranam Gachami [1]
I go to the Buddha for refuge.
I go to the Dharma for refuge.
I go to the Sangha for refuge.
Having gone to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha for refuge,
I see with right view , through the light of the Unborn Mind,
the four noble truths shine in my heart[4].
I see the truth of distress and Ignorance,
I see the truth of the origin and cause of distress and Ignorance,
I see the truth of the cessation of distress and Ignorance
I see the path leading to the Unborn Mind transcending all distress and Ignorance.

Dhammam saranam gacchami [2]
It is the noble eightfold path, that grantis my spirit
supreme knowledge of the way
as to the transcending of distress and Ignorance
through Supreme release and
no more rebirths in samsara.
Thus I have come to know and accept;
The undivided Light of the Unborn Mind is the imageless refuge,
The undivided Light of the Unborn Mind is the eternal refuge,
The undivided Light of the Unborn Mind is the supreme refuge.

My true nature is this light, and this light is the true me.
Facing it directly and bringing it forth
I gain release from all distress and Ignorance.
Sangham saranam gacchami[3]
———————————————————————
Dharani Commentary;
[1] I go to the Buddha for refuge.
[2] I go to the Dharma for refuge.
[3] I go to the Sangha for refuge.
[2] Spirit
The Buddha is the Unborn (pure) Mind of the Undivided Light, shining effortlessly in all ten directions. It is there for you as you breath and read these very words. It is always with you at your instant disposal.
It even helps you to act in error and disbelief.
That is its foremost proof of undifferentiated unmeasurable compassion. Where else would it be? Why don´t you see it?
The Dharma is the undivided light itself. The undivided light is TRUTH ABSOLUTE. There is no truth beyond IT. Thus you know evil when it comes disguised as good. It grants anyone who takes refuge in it the taste of noble wisdom as to break free from spiritual slavery under Mara.
The sangha is the unified spiritual consciousness of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. It is the vultures peak, where arya-sravakas and arhats go, and bodhisattvas wake up, from the nightmares of samsara.

In dharma,

Tozen

*Tozen also suggests the following dharani, suitable for those linked to the darkness of despair and uncertainty:

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a famous story by Ambrose Bierce. It was wonderfully adapted for film in the early 1960’s by Robert Enrico as part of a trilogy of short films. It appeared as an episode for the Twilight Zone series by Rod Serling. This story is a vivid and apt image for the samsaric journey. The skandhic-mind is forever groping, running, trying in vain to escape from the final outcome of what awaits all sentient beings in samsaric realms—but the end is always the same. Along the way there are momentary glimpses of freedom, yet viewed exclusively through skandhic-lens these efforts will always be in vain. Quite a fool’s paradise indeed; a marvelous metaphor here as we begin to explore quite a different avenue of transcending the mind games that plague us all. It is a masterful brief film to watch here in its entirety; the brilliant black and white cinematography lends itself wonderfully for this particular season of the year and serves our purposes well. The following is the best print of the film available on YouTube.

Accompanying the Five-Dhyani Buddhas, actually complimenting them as Spiritual Cohorts are various Bodhisattvas. Maitrya is the MahaBodhisattva who compliments Akshobhya and both Avalokitesvara and Mañjuśrī compliment Amitābha. Avalokitesvara is androgynous in that both masculine and feminine energies are manifested. In the later Bardo-stages the feminine, or Yin Energies, manifest at regular intervals as female bodhisattvas and dākinīs. This feminine-yin principle is like a black thread of dark-spiritual energy that runs parallel and provides the striking fertile element that completes all the manifestations of the Tathāgatas. This can be singularly portrayed as Our Lady of the Void. She is the dark principle that freely animates all phenomena in fertile fashion, yet also the void into which they all eventually return—like decaying elements drawn back into a uterine womb. I’m reminded of the Black Dragon, Teresa of Avila, who once wrote that within this Great Deathless Void there is no-thing to see, no-thing to perceive, no-thing to grasp or cling to—just Total Unequivocal Relinquishment of all that is not the Unborn Absolute. Our Lady of the Void reflects the Great Deathless Void of the Unborn Mind—the Mahasunya. Huang Po once wrote of her that many “people are afraid of emptying their mind lest they plunge into the void. They do not know that their own Mind IS the void—the Void where no attachments are left, when subjectivity and objectivity are forgotten…that is the highest form of relinquishment.” Our Lady of the Void is like a Mystical Mother, who at the end of every karmic cycle—Yuga—calls all of her children back home via the dark principle from which they sprang. She is the Via Negativa, or undercurrent, from which the Via Positiva flows; the animating principle that sustains the Cosmic ebb and flow. The following is a Tozen Teaching that articulates the very nature behind this Dark-Yin Zen Principle.

Entering Bardo Realm Three, we discover that the Sambhogakayic-field we encountered in Bardo Two also encompasses what is to be revealed in this present Bardo of Meditation and Deep Samadhis, although the emphasis now is on the Pure Sambhogakayic Continuum—the Enjoyment (Transcendent) Realm wherein Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other advanced Spiritual Beings truly enjoy pure bliss on the ten planes of Perfected Spiritual Perfection. Amongst this most auspicious Sambhogakayic body reside “The Five Tathagatas”, or the Five Buddhas. They are also known as the Meditation-Buddhas. These Five-Tathagatas are emanations from the Primordial-Buddha Samantabhadra—or the Absolute Shining Dharmakaya. They represent basic rudiments of Holy Wisdom, that for our preliminary purposes in this Bardo-Realm are to counteract and neutralize the influence of the corresponding Five Skandhas. They also comprise the great Mandala of Transformation that is part and parcel of this Sambhogakayic Continuum. At this junction, a general breakdown, a snapshot if you will, of their significance is as follows:

THE BUDDHA VAIROCANA

Perhaps the most radiant of the five since this Buddha is the Total Revealed Wisdom-Truth of the Dharmadhatu. He essentially overcomes the poison of ignorance (avidya) and illusion and is associated with the corresponding Skandha of Form; his all-pervasive Wisdom Plane transmutes this Skandha into the Absolute Buddha Body—Buddhakaya. He resides in the Center of the Transformation-Mandala; his color is White—symbolizing Pure Unadulterated Consciousness. His centralized-Tathagatahood position within the Transformation-Mandala also signifies his family=Buddha. Vairocana’s Symbol is the Dharmachakra—or the Turning Eight-Spoked Wheel of the Buddhadharma; his mudra is the gesture of teaching, or Dharmachakra Mudra. The Mantra associated with Buddha Vairocana is Om Vairochana Om.

THE BUDDHA AKSHOBHYA

The name means the “Immovable” or “Unshakable” One. He is forever known as having a Mirrorlike Wisdom that can transmute the darkest of images into the Clear Light of the Dharmakaya Itself. He essentially overcomes the poisons of hatred and anger and is associated with the corresponding Skandha of Consciousness (vijnana); indeed, his mirror-like Wisdom transmutes any volatile and misshapen imagery of the Alaya-receptacle into Translucent Unborn Light. He resides in the Eastern quadrant of the Transformation-Mandala; his color is blue, reflective of the Luminosity of the Dharmakaya Itself. Akshobhya is the Ruler of the Vajra Family and his corresponding symbol is that of the Vajra itself—signifying its indestructible diamond-like resiliency in the face of all evils. His mudra is the Bhumisparsa Mudra, or the earth-touching gesture that bespeaks the resilient groundedness of the Amala Consciousness. The Mantra associated with Buddha Akshobhya is Om Akshobhya Hūm.

THE BUDDHA RATNASAMBHAVA

Ratnasambhava’s name means “the jewel-born, wish-fulfilling one” or the Source of all precious-things. Ratnasambhava is especially known for transmuting the poison of all forms (spiritual, intellectual, and material) of hatred into the Absolute Wisdom of equality and equanimity; in this sense his corresponding Skandha is that of feeling or sensation—wherein the rabidness of hatred can be transmuted and quelled into a semblance of quietude and Absolute Peacefulness. He resides in the Southern Hemisphere of the Transformational-Mandala and his symbol of course is the radiant jewel; his color is that of a Golden-Yellow, signifying the shining sun of Absolute Satisfaction in the Sugata-garbha, or the Supreme Womb of Buddhaic Light. Ratnasambhava is the ruler of the Ratna Family and his corresponding symbol is the Chintamani—or the Shining Jewel manifesting the Liberated Mind. His mudra is the Varada Mudra, or the palm-opening gesture that reflects an open and Self-giving display of equanimous compassion. The Mantra associated with Buddha Ratnasambhava is Om Ratnasambhava Tram.

THE BUDDHA AMITABHA

Amitabha is known as the Buddha of Infinite Light. His Discriminating Wisdom is said to overcome and transmute the poisons that accompanies all forms of passions and inordinate desires; his corresponding Skandha is Perception (all cognitive associations that result in “conceptualizations” about perceived phenomena). His wisdom hence pierces through all phenomena and renders it null and void in the Clear Light of the Dharmakaya. He resides in the Western-half of the Transformation Mandala, a location that bears special significance as the “Western Paradise” for followers of Amidism. His color is a beautiful rose—reflective of a magnificent setting-sun. Amitabha is the ruler of the Padma family—or the wondrous unfolding Lotus, which is his symbol. His mudra is the classic Dhyana Mudra, or the palms-up, right hand on top of left meditation pose. The Mantra associated with Buddha Amitabha is Om Amitabha Hrih—although there are numerous variables associated with Amida followers, such as Namu Amida Butsu.

THE BUDDHA AMOGHASIDDHI

The name bespeaks the “Almighty Conqueror” and also the Lord of Karma. His is an All-Accomplishing Wisdom that transmutes the poisons of envy and jealousy into the perseverance of the Recollective Resolve. His corresponding Skandha is Volition, or Motion—signifying that Karmic “Action”. Amosghasiddhi bears salient significance in the bardo of the later stages as future-karma becomes solidified and determines the wayfarer’s next incarnation. His color is a radiant Turquoise Green. He resides in the Northern Hemisphere of the Transformation Mandala—which takes on special significance as the departing awareness principle exits the head via the crown, or Dharmamegha Chakra at death. His Symbol is the Dorje, or Double (thunderbolt) Vajra. His mudra is the Abhaya Mudra, or the raised gesture of Fearless-Protection. The Mantra associated with Buddha Amoghasiddhi is Om Amoghasiddhi āh hūm.

The dominate understanding today of Buddha-nature is that it’s innate and automatically operative in its human host. Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the early signs that this reverent seed of the Buddhas is taking root is that the host exhibits some lasting traits of civility, as enfleshed through the Six Paramitas; they are not something that is merely intellectually recognized and later disregarded and even discarded, but rather put into regular and consistent practice: by their fruits ye shall know them. Another naïve assumption is that the worldly notion of Buddha-nature is free-standing, somehow existent independent of any traits that something “other” may exist in close proximity to its development. These assumptions are dead-wrong. There is another. There is a Bad Seed; an evil-twin that, at a moment’s notice, can make its vile presence known. This Bad Seed makes a mockery out of the Six Paramitas and irreverently inverts them into an agent of Mara: Charity and love into selfishness and hate; discipline into a chaotic mind; alertness into careless stupidity; meditative and Recollective Resolve into ignorant sloth; patience into agitation and intolerance; wisdom into pure ignorance (avidya). None of us is automatically immune to the evil influence of this Bad Seed; if the Bodhi-seed is not nourished and fed daily with Recollective Resourcefulness (like through sutra-reading) and disciplined dhyana, then one will fall prey to the evil whims of the Bad Seed. There are many “triggers” extant in the cultural milieu that can jump-start the sharp decline into ethical and moral depravity; the most dominate trigger presently is the Radical-Islamic uprising.

Recently a dear friend posted the vilest, hate-filled and belligerent ranting I’ve encountered in quite some time. I was left feeling completely numb. Was this the same person I’ve come to know and admire? Someone who is usually level-headed and who can frame an argument in an articulate and reflective manner? Suddenly this friend degenerated into a grotesque caricature; a mumbling-moron who was riddled with hate and outright degradation. The trigger was the present Radical-Islamic uprising and the vile and violent “reaction” reduced my friend to the same level as those ignorant Radical-Islamists. I did not sense any “Buddha-nature” in my friend, but rather its evil-twin rising from the darkest corners of the Alaya-receptacle (the malignant seed-bed of the evil twin). Yes, the Bad Seed had totally possessed my friend. My friend, though, is far from alone. I sense that something world-wide has been unleashed. For example, witness the present and growing crisis between China and Japan—over some stupid tiny Island! These are indeed times that “try men’s souls” and the Bad Seed is gaining the upper-hand. Is Buddha-nature something innate and automatic in Homo sapiens? NOT!

Another splendid Greek myth is that of Narcissus. Renowned for his exquisite beauty and youthful charms, his was a mad quest of insatiable self-obsession—as exemplified by his just incessantly staring at himself in a reflective pool. He never allowed anyone to sway him from becoming totally immersed in the sordid mess that was his own “spoiled” reflection. Narcissus is not an alien figure in our own day and age. In fact, his face is everywhere—it is legion. He can even be found wandering around on the Noble Path leading to self-realization; yet, given his propensity of looking for himself (and not attuned to the Recollective Resolve to nurture the seed that would reveal his “true” face) literally in all things—passing it off as a “search” but in reality just meandering down a long maze that can only lead to the defiled-center of his own “image”. Within that maze there are indeed many twists and turns—epistemological, soteriological (like in Amidism), zenism, and even an intellectual curiosity into the deepest maze of them all, hermeneuticism…which is really just a nice cloaking term for cognitive, rational analysis that deconstructs everything under the sun and is linked to assorted disciplines like linguistic analysis, historical-critique methodologies, ethnocentric premises and other exclusively left-brained pedagogies. This is all poor Narcissus’ “head-trip” and like wandering through any maze it more often than not leads to a dead-end. He’s trying to find himself in all the wrong places. Yet, at each twist and turn Narcissus’ ol’ arrogance shines through; seeking to prove—above all to himself—that his latest “fad” must be the right turn that will finally break the mystique of the maze and land him at last—dead center. But as we know from the Greek Myth, Narcissus’ “image” finally does him in at the end. He just couldn’t get beyond himself; he was seeking a reflection in the illusory pool of Maya and not his True Self-Nature. He was truly an Icchantika—wherein the beloved bodhiseed never reaches potential but just withers away and dies; worse yet, incarnates again and again throughout eternity on the Wheel of Life and Death and, like a hungry-ghost, is never satisfied and cannot get enough of itself. A Dark Narcissus indeed.

Mystical experience is seldom verifiable within utilitarian parameters. It completely transcends all those feeble-minded analytical attempts to make some “cognitive-rational” sense about it when it’s NOT SOMETHING OF THE HEAD to begin with. Yet mystics, throughout the millennium, continue and will continue to defy the ken of academicians; it is the mystic alone who can breathe some new life into their dry bones. Indeed, it was within the Sambhogakayic-dimension—in a Lucid, intuitive-filled moment—that Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was revealed.

Einstein: “If I perceive a beam of light [italics mine] with the velocity c (velocity of light in a vacuum), I should observe such a beam of light as an electromagnetic field at rest though spatially oscillating.”

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.”

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”

In the Spring of 1985 I concluded my Master’s Thesis and its theme was an unusual one: An Approach Towards Transcendent Exposures, A Greater Ministerial Awareness of The Significance (or Non) of Visions and Apparitions. I coined the term “Transcendent Exposures” to represent all those occurrences wherein, throughout the Millennium, people have had actual or purported exposure to something manifesting itself from the Transcendent Plane of reality—like the Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje that were most pronounced at the time. I say unusual, because whereas the others in my class were exclusively focusing upon conventional concerns in the area of ministerial praxis, I went out on a limb to portray a “transcendental dimension” which at the time was not looked upon too favorably within the scholastic field. In this sense, I was forever The Rebel {grin} amongst my peers; from the earliest days of my seminary training, right from the start as we all shared together in the classroom what brought us to the calling of priesthood, when I described my “mystical encounters” with the writings of St. John of the Cross, there were “grave looks upon the faces of the priests” present in the room. Indeed, theirs was a world centered on “historical consciousness” framed methodologies as any reference to spiritualities that bespoke of apophatic mysticism had fallen on bad times.

The thesis was comprised of scriptural, sociological, spiritual, theological, psychological, psychoanalytic and phenomenological perspectives; it is the latter that concerns us here. The phenomenologist Alfred Schütz, primarily in his groundbreaking work “Structures of the Life-World”, expanded upon Edmund Husserl’s pioneering realization of the “Lebenswelt”, or “Life-World”. Breaking this down, Husserl [and afterwards, Schütz] “brackets” all “natural attitudes” that have inherent prejudicial tendencies towards a given phenomenon—Husserl’s “phenomenological epoche” [from the Greek Stoics referring to abstention from all belief, or disbelief) in order to observe the content of the phenomenon “in itself”, prior to any outside limiting agencies. Then, afterwards, to weigh and confirm conclusions based upon an inter-relational and disciplinary assessment of the phenomenon. Essentially, my thesis utilized this “Total-Life-World” methodology in studying the Transcendent Exposure Phenomenon. Before drawing any conclusions or making sweeping generalizations on a given apparent phenomenon, one must first enter into discernment considering “all” its accompanying vantage-points—i.e., experiential, mystical, dialogical, and all interrelated disciplines. The following is a basic symbolic snapshot of what constituted my thesis: (click-on)

Based on this Total-Life-World methodology and vantage-point, one can see its essential value since it’s an all-inclusive enterprise: all assimilating factors are thrown into the equation. Nothing is left to chance or seen through the lens of mere myopic tunnel vision—this goes the same for those tunnel-brained Priest-professors as well as ANY given philosophical, political, psychological, sociological, scientific, religious, or spiritual disciplines-traditions-schools and “exclusive belief-systems or expressions” that attempt to claim absolute knowledge-command and dominion over the Life-World; indeed, these intolerant expressions and experiences are not Total, but partial. The ancient Tibetans went even one step further and employed a “cosmic-inter-dimensional field” to the Total-Spiritual Life-World experience that transcended any limited and partial extrapolations that emanate from the limited experiences, meanderings and karmic predilections of the clouded-mind. Hence their development and expedient employment (in the Tibetan Book of the Dead) of the Six-Bardo-Realms, or formally referred in the old-books as the “Six Doctrines”: in essence, the Great Synthesis and Revealed-Path of Liberation as Self-Realized and enjoyed by the Arising Awareness Principle; a Cosmic En-Join-Ment of the Self-discovery realms within the uncreated Sphere of Suchness.

In like-fashion, the Lankavatarian Book of the Dead is an expedient method employing those Six-Bardo-Realms in preparation for the Awareness Principle’s Cosmic Reunion with the Unborn Spirit and Mind on the imageless-field of Clear-Light Luminosity. It is a Mind-Trek across all those inter-relational dimensions that constitute the Total-Life-World-Environment and panoramic-enjoyment of the developing gotra that is the vehicle through which Primordial En-join-ment (Full Recollective Recognition) is won at the climatic and Luminous Transfiguration of Tathatic-Union, when the wheel of samsaric re-birth is forever stilled and its diurnal movement annulled and purified in the perpetual-flame and Unborn Light of Tathagatahood. The journey through Bardo-Realm-One is now winding down as the sign-post up ahead indicates the arrival of Bardo-Realm-Two, or the Realm of Dreams. Bardo One, though, is not to be forgotten or neglected, for its essential power of “rootedness in lucidity” is an equanimous factor that can help prevent the awareness-mechanism from self-destructive destabilization; for as we shall see, “we ARE such stuff AS dreams are made of…and our little life IS rounded with the sleep…”