The Encyclopedia of World Religions

48 S bar/bat mitzvah

immediately after death, known as Chikhai Bardo. Then comes a transitional state known as Chonyid Bardo. The final state is the state of being reborn, known as Sidpa Bardo. In between each state a period of unconsciousness intervenes. People who are so enlightened that they have no karma do not experience these stages. At the beginning of the first stage, deceased persons are unconscious and unaware that they have died. This condition lasts perhaps three and a half to four days. The first stage culminates in a vision of clear light. At first the light is pure. Eventually it becomes obscured by the reflexes of karma. During the second stage the deceased see VISIONS . These visions result from the karma that was acquired during life on Earth and must now work itself out. During the first seven days the deceased see visions of peaceful deities, among them the B UDDHAS associated with the center and the four cardinal directions: Vairocana, Vajrasat tva, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, and Amoghasid dhi. They see these Buddhas in both their mas culine and feminine aspects. During the second seven days the deceased see visions of wrathful deities, or rather, of the same Buddhas, but now under their wrathful aspects. During the second stage people believe that they actually have physical bodies. The third stage begins when they realize that their bodies are only illusory. They begin to desire bodies, and this desire leads to rebirth. As desire arises, the deceased begin to see the world into which they will be reborn, whether it be the world of devas, asuras, human beings, animals, pretas, or hell. (Devas, asuras, and pretas are mythological beings.) Each of these worlds is associated with a particular colored light: dull white, green, yel low, blue, red, and smoke-colored, respectively. The third stage concludes when the deceased are actually reborn. Only those who are reborn in the world of human beings advance along the way to ultimate release ( see NIRVANA ). Many Tibetans believe that one’s final thoughts determine one’s existence after death. As a result, they read the Bardo Thodol to a dying person or

bar/bat mitzvah Hebrew meaning “son/daugh ter of the commandment.” The term refers to a person of adult status in the Jewish community. It also refers more commonly to the RITE OF PASSAGE that marks the beginning of adulthood. A Jewish boy is considered to reach religious adulthood at age 13, a girl at age 12. All forms of J UDAISM hold bar mitzvahs for boys. In the 20th century Reform and then Conservative and Recon structionist Judaism developed a corresponding ritual for girls called bat mitzvah. The bar mitzvah is typically celebrated during a Sabbath SYNAGOGUE service. The heart of the cel ebration consists of reading in Hebrew the T ORAH and Haftarah portions assigned for the day. These are portions selected from the first and second part of the Hebrew B IBLE , respectively. It is also com mon for the bar mitzvah to comment on the pas sages read. Because it is newer, the ritual for the bat mitz vah varies. It tends, however, to be observed with the same procedures as a bar mitzvah. A bar/bat mitzvah is a festive occasion. The celebration includes a meal with family and friends and generally the receiving of gifts. It is also a major step in one’s religious life. During the ser vice one wears a prayer shawl for the first time in a synagogue. Afterward, a male and, in more liberal congregations, a female can be counted in the min yan or quota needed to hold prayer services. Bardo Thodol (Tibetan “Book of the Dead”) Properly, Bar do thos grol; a group of writings in Tibetan B UDDHISM that describe the passage between death and rebirth. Tibetan Buddhism envisions an intermediary period between death and rebirth known as bardo, the time “between ( bar ) the two ( do ).” Ideally the period lasts 49 days. (Forty-nine is the square of seven, which is considered a sacred number.) In actuality the length of the bardo may vary with the amount of KARMA a person has. The writings of the Bardo Thodol describe what hap pens during this period. The Bardo Thodol identifies three stages between death and rebirth. First comes the state