Bardo of dharmata

Bardo of dharmata (T. ཆོས་ཉིད་བར་དོ་). The intermediate state following death in which one experiences the nature of phenomena. According to the Dzogchen tradition, this is one of the four or six bardo states.

Erik Pema Kunsang states:

The basis for consciousness is not compounded by material particles and therefore not subject to their change or transformation. Nonetheless, unlike physical space, it has a cognitive capacity which gives rise to manifestation. During the third intermediate state, the luminous bardo of dharmata, one is disembodied, that is, without any physical support whatsoever. The mind is utterly bare and naked; there is only dharmata, "what naturally is." In this state, it is said, perception and experience or seven times more vivid than usual. Consequently, the opportunity for either confusion or clarity is intensified seven times. The manifestations of one's basic nature, dharmata, can be experienced either as a nightmare of haunting demons or as a pure realm of divine beings.

For realized yogis, the bardo of dharmata is an opportunity for liberation. Most ordinary people, however, will not recognize the luminous nature of phenomena at this stage, and will pass through to the bardo of becoming.

Sources

• Fremantle, Francesca (2001), Luminous Emptiness: Understanding the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Shambala Publications 
• Tsele Natsok Rangdrol (1987), The Mirror of Mindfulness, translated by Pema Kunsang, Erik, Rangjung Yeshe Publications