The Mirror of Mindfulness

I found this book to be one of the very few really advanced teachings on the Bardo. The advice is short and to the point. Many sentences are designed to bring the level of understanding of the meditator to a new place when he or she is ready. I do not think it is the best book to introduce the bardo teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. There are many books that do this better. A lot of this book will make more sense after having become familiar with the basic ideas from another book and after having some experience with meditation. A few of the sentences indicate how one person resting in rigpa would navigate bardo space and I have not yet found these indicators in other books. FYI The Bardo is the space between death and rebirth that a sentient being passes through on the way to reincarnation. The Bardo is also the place where the mind projects its contents and can become entangled within itself or where the mind can rest in awareness space and let everything unfold. Looked from this view point, the Bardo teachings are about how to meet any experience without getting karmaically entangled.

This concise guide for training in what George Harrison called the Art of Dying includes only those instructions that agree with the 'old' and the 'new' traditions of Tibetan Vajrayana. So, the reader gets the distilled honey of many a-yogin's hard work, without the beestings of sectarian sniping. Erik Pema Kunsang's translation of Tsele Natsok Rangdrol's text is lucid and precise; his owrk bears the support and influence of many great masters, including H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Ven. Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, and Ven. Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. As the reviewers below suggest, you can trust this one. "There comes a time when most of us return here." Why not be prepared for travel? May beings benefit!

According to Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche's Introductory Discourse, "The author of this text, Tsele Natsok Rangdröl, was an extremely learned and accomplished master of Tibet, rivaling the fame of Longchen Rabjam and Mipham Rinpoche." This is evidenced by the high quality of this text (as well as the author's other book "Lamp of Mahamudra"). "The Mirror of Mindfulness" addresses the various bardos and, thus, relates to the "Tibetan Book of the Dead" and Sogyal Rinpoche's recent "Tibetan Book of Living and Dying." The text is translated without commentary or notes, but includes a list of Dzogchen Tantras and an extensive (pp. 93-128) Glossary. It also includes references to different Tibetan perspectives--the 8 practice lineages (i.e. "independent schools of Buddhism that flourished in Tibet: Nyingma, Kadampa, Marpa Kagyü, Shangpa, Kagyü, Sakya, Jordruk, Shije, and Chöd" per p. 100) and types (pp. 47-9 Sarma and Nyingma). It quotes from many other texts (e.g. pp. 49-50 Tantra & Union of Sun & Moon Tantra). The author is succinct but quite understandable, despite the advanced nature of his text, and provides very pithy advice: pp. 56-7 "it is essential to trust that whatever appears, such as sounds, colors, and lights, the peaceful and wrathful deities, the bindus, light rays, light paths, and pure realms-all are nothing other than one's natural manifestation." His down-to-earth manner facilitates comprehension: p. 62 "Although sinful people may perceive the workmen of the Lord of Death, these are in fact nothing more than their own karmic experiences. In reality, no matter what appears or how it appears, the crucial point is recognizing it to be nothing but personal experiences." He provides some surprising information: p. 70: the bardo of becoming (which sounds like a karma-based purgatory) where "one's innate god and demon separate one's acts of virtue and evil by dividing up white and black pebbles." His "Concluding Verses" on pp. 79-81 are somewhat similar to Geshe Dhargyey's "The Wheel of Sharp Weapons": "The death experience is only your own conceptual thinking. Without constructing thoughts, abandon them in the space of self-cognizance. This is the essential practice of the bardo of dying. The fixation on appearance or disappearance, as being good or bad, is your mind. This mind is the self-expression of Dharmakaya perceiving whatever there is. Not to think, make concepts, accept, or reject what is perceived. That is the essential practice of the bardo of dharmata." The Glossary is quite helpful: p. 97: "COEMERGENT IGNORANCE (lhan cig skyes pa'I ma rig pa) `Co-emergent' means arising together with or coexistent with one's mind, like sandalwood and its fragrance. `Ignorance' here means lack of knowledge of the nature of mind," p. 111: LORD OF DEATH (gshin rje) A personification of impermanence and the unfailing law of cause and effect," and p. 116: PERSONAL EXPERIENCE (rang snang) The example for this is the dream experience.

This is quite a nice book on the cycle of bardo states, or intermediary states of living and dying, in Tibetan Buddhism. Usualy six (or seven) bardos are recognized, but in this book they are condensed into the following four: the natural bardo of this life, the painful bardo of dying, the luminous bardo of dharmata, and the karmic bardo of becoming. This is therefore a practical guidebook on how to face all events during life and death. Tsele Natsok Rangdrol gives the key points of the Practice lineage on dealing with the situation in each of these four bardos. In the Dzogchen system, bardo training is indispensible. From the foreword by HH Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche: "Among the five volumes of his collected works, I considered that this explanation of the bardos would benefit everyone interested in the dharma. The words are clear and easy to understand, and lengthy scholarly expositions are not emphasized." Tsele Natsok Rangdrol (born 1608) was an extremely learned and accomplished master of Tibet, rivaling the fame of Longchen Rabjam and Mipham Rinpoche. He was also known as Gotsangpa ("Vulture Nest Dweller") because he spent long periods of time in the retreat places, caves and mountain hermitages of the great Drukpa Kagyu master, Gotsang Gonpo Dorje. There he attained accomplishment. Tsele Natsok Rangdrol is counted among the succession of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye's past incarnations. From the back-cover: "This book is the foundation for the commentary "Bardo Guidebook" (ISBN 9627341118) by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and is indispensable for the study of living and dying." In the Appendix there is a list of all Dzogchen Tantras. Other books by Tsele Natsok Rangdrol: "Empowerment and the Path of Liberation" (ISBN 9627341150) "Lamp of Mahamudra" (ISBN 9627341312) "The Heart of the Matter" (ISBN 9627341266) There's another book of his, "Circle of the Sun", which is restricted to dharma students who have already received particular instructions (see: www.rangjung.com). From the translators preface: "This work on the bardo states, together with Tsele Natsok Rangdrol's works on the Mahamudra and Dzogchen systems, forms a trilogy that encompasses the most subtle oral instructions of vajrayana practice."