I was hanging out with Rinpoche on the library porch when the call came. He looked mildly surprised, hung up, and said, “Somebody died! I must go do po-wa.”

Rinpoche and attendant monks preparing offerings and prayers in the home of the deceased

I tried not to sound too eager when I asked if I could come along.

“Yes, you must see this,” he said.

In the Tibetan tradition, a recently deceased being spends up to 49 days in the “bardo,” a state very roughly akin to purgatory. One of the main differences is that the end of the tunnel for the vast majority of beings is reincarnation.

Time in the bardo is generally a harrowing experience — with lots of terrifying and confusing images — so having a high lama on hand to guide you is a very good thing indeed. He and the attendant monks create effigies to ransom demons away from preying on your soul, guide you step-by-step through this between-life, and scold your family when they cry so as not to increase your suffering.

Relaying consecrated letters of the Tibetan alphabet to be placed on the dead body, which is on the ground behind the tarp

One hour of this service costs 700 rupees ($14) — a considerable amount by Indian standards — so most families cannot afford more than a couple of hours. Rich families may pay to have a lama on hand throughout the entire bardo period.

After offerings are made and the body washed and purified with blessed water, the corpse is covered with small round pieces of paper, on which have been written letters from the Tibetan language. Each one represents a deity and, upon being placed on the various defiled parts of the body, complete the purification process.

Gathering soil to cover the body with after it goes in the box (not a coffin -- more like a trunk)

The corpse is then covered with soil, partially wrapped in cloth, put into a box, and carried inside for last rites. The box remains by the family house for three days and is then burned as an offering to the fire deities, who are actually just symbolic embodiments of wisdom.

An astrologer (one of my teachers) then assesses the situation. It turns out that this man died 10 years earlier than he was supposed to and will be reborn either as a rich boy in “the East” or as a beggar. What will decide his fate? The decision is the family’s to make. If they build two excellent statues of two prominent Bön deities within 49 days, the former scenario will come to fruition. If they do not, the latter.

As one geshé said, “It’s a lot of work when someone dies!”

This is just barely scratching the surface of this fascinating ritual and cultural phenomenon. Post a comment or email me if you want to hear more.