Death,
sometimes called the intermediate stage, is the plane of existence
that occupies the space between lives. We have all had thousands
and millions of lives on Earth and off. According to the Tibetan
Book of the Dead, when we die we go to a quasi-life state referred
to as the Bardo.
It is in this place after death experiences and past karmas influence
where (and if) we incarnate next. It is widely held that
Enlightened beings can elect whether to incarnate or to forever
merge with infinity -though this writer recalls Rama saying that
it is the universe that does the choosing even at this stage.
Assuming you incarnate, you have six possible destinations. This
is a way of speaking and understanding, not neccessarily Rand McNaley.
The six worlds where you can incarnate are:
Sura, the Deva or God world
Asura, the Titan world
Na, the human world
Tri, brute animal world
Pre, preta - the unhappy & hungry
ghost world
Hung, the fallen world - hell
"The only hope for the ordinary person of reaching Buddhahood
lies in being reborn as a human being ; for birth in any other than
the human world causes delay for one desirous of reaching the Final
Goal."
pg 30, Tibetan Book Of The Dead, Evans-Wentz
