Following death, according to Buddhism, the spirit of the departed goes through a process lasting forty-nine days that is divided into three stages called "bardos." At the conclusion of the "bardo", the person either enters nirvana or returns to earth for rebirth. It is imperative that the dying individual remain fully aware for as long as possible because the thoughts one has while passing over into death heavily influence the nature of both the after-death experience and, if one fails to achieve nirvana, the state of one's next incarnation.
             Stage one of the 'Bardo' (called the "Chikai" Bardo), the" bardo" of dying, begins at death and extends from half a day to four days. This is the period of time necessary for the departed to realize that they have dropped the body. The consciousness of the departed has an ecstatic experience of the primary "Clear White Light" at the death moment. The more spiritually developed see it longer, and are able to go beyond it to a higher level of reality. In stage two (called the "Chonyid" Bardo), the "bardo" of Luminous Mind, the departed encounters the hallucinations resulting from the karma created during life. Unless highly developed, the individual will feel that they are still in the body. Only the most evolved individuals can skip the "bardo" experience altogether and transit directly into a paradise realm. Stage three (called the "Sidpa" Bardo), the "bardo" of rebirth, is the process of reincarnation.
             The early Buddhists followed the Indian custom of burning the body at death. The Buddha's body was cremated and this set the example for many Buddhists, even in the West. When someone is dying in a Buddhist home, monks come to comfort them by chanting verses to them, such as: "Even the gorgeous royal chariots wear out; and indeed this body too wears out. But the teaching of goodness does not age; and so Goodness makes ...