Chapter 17: "Intrinsic Radiance" Summary

Sogyal begins by noting that when one fails to recognize the Ground Luminosity, one enters the bardo of dharmata. This bardo has four phases, each of which presents another opportunity for liberation. The first phase is the Landscape of Light, where one takes on a body of pure light. One is aware of sound, light, and color, and of a clear and radiant landscape of Rigpa. If one fails to recognize this moment of liberation, the second phase, that of the Union of Deities, begins. This phase consists of the rays of light changing to balls of light of various sizes, known as tikli. The hundred deities of the Tibetan Book of the Dead exist within these balls of light, and as one's own light shines on them, their light dissolves, resulting in a merging of hearts...