An ordinary person believes in the appearing world as real and the dream state as unreal, whereas the buddhas have seen this world to be illusory just like a dream. The Buddhas say that in the Bardo after death we will perceive delusive manifestations, that the three lower realms are an illusion, and so forth. So then one might think, “If it is just like an unreal dream, then it can’t be that bad.” That is a quite mistaken understanding. Although illusory by nature, a dream will be experienced as a reality for as long as the dream lasts. This lifetime is like a dream, but until the karma of this life comes to an end, we will perceive this lifetime as real; we will not awaken from the dream of this life. For instance, if you have a nightmare, you will experience it as a reality for as long as you dream; you will not just wake up at will. When we die we awaken from the dream of this life, and this life becomes a fading memory.

None of it is left behind, and soon we find ourselves grasping at a new reality, the bardo state. If you understand this life to be like a dream, you will understand that everything within it– happiness, wealth, and pleasure, pain, and suffering–is impermanent and will not last. You will thus not be so overwhelmed by different circumstances. You will stay focused and not be carried away by indulgence in pleasure, and you will not be much affected by difficult circumstances.

Our life is like an oil lamp. The oil is the karma and the fire is this life. As long as there is oil, there is fire. Our life lasts until the karma for this life comes to an end. Then we will move on, controlled by the karmic imprints stored in our mind continuum.

~ HE Garchen Rinpoche

Translation Ina Bieler

Excerpted from Rinpoche’s teachings on the Six Bardos in Virginia, April 27, 2011

(Posted by Drikung Dzogchen Community, Facebook, 13 January 2026)