For a Lankavatarian, of all the Bardo (in-between stages of transition from one stage of awareness to another) Stages we’ve encountered in this series, Bardo Three—the realm of meditation and Deep Samadhis—holds the highest significance. The longest of our investigation, it needs to be turned to again and again and its components need to be studied and practiced with the utmost faith and diligence. Why? Because all these Bardo stages are really a Mind Voyage—Mind coming to the full self-realization of Recollecting and returning to its true, Unborn home. There is no other alternative. Trying to maneuver through these dense samsaric planes in any other way is really just a fool’s attempt of running through the mad maze of sentient being-ness that never, ever escapes the karmic wheel. Bardo Realm Three thus strengthens the awareness principle to be able to make the transcendent leap into Dharmakayic ecstasy (at the end of Bardo stage 4) that marks the final end of the long and weary samsaric journeying through lesser mind-fields. As we have seen, it is a full transition from the samsaric-human family to the transcendent Tathatic Family. It is not a game of chance or a lame attempt to “hope one’s way through” the long and dark tunnel that leads to the other side of Deathless Suchness. Such an opportunity may not come again for millions of existences. It is a hard won battle of conquering Mara and his evil henchman, the body consciousness; indeed, this evil Lord of all the six samsaric realms of transitory existence is VERY REAL and he will stop at nothing to keep the awareness principle perpetually entrapped and away from its True and rightful inheritance.
This is not to say that the other Bardo Realms are of lesser import. Correctly navigating through Bardo Realm One—that ordinary day by day progress through samsara—needs to occur for that proper “balance” between Spirit-Mind-Body; if this progress is not adhered to through proper and daily maintenance of the awareness mechanism (Rūpakaya), then those channels (meridians) through which the life-force (Qi) flows will be clogged and eventually irrevocably damaged thus prohibiting the means to Mind Development in Bardo 3. Bardo Realm Two is also of salient significance since it is in the dream-realm (first layer, Sambhogakayic-field ) that the development of the Manomayakaya is first encountered—a prelude to its final breakthrough and union with the Tathatic-Spirit Mind in Bardo 3 as Diamond Mind-Body. Thus, the first three Bardo Realms concurrently co-exist with each other and are inextricably bonded. All in all, in terms of Bardo-significance, these realms are all about properly nurturing the mature development of the Diamond Mind-Body that will be empowered to undertake and resiliently navigate through the forthcoming Bardo Realms.