What does bardo mean?
Bardo is a noun borrowed from Tibetan Buddhism that denotes the intermediate state between death and rebirth, a period during which the consciousness of the deceased is believed to wander through vivid visions before taking on a new life. The concept is central to the Bardo Thodol, popularly known in the West as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which offers ritual guidance for navigating this passage. In modern English usage, the word has also acquired a broader, figurative meaning: any transitional, in-between phase of life, such as the uncertain interval between jobs, relationships, or major decisions. This extended sense gives the word literary appeal, allowing writers to evoke liminality and suspension with a single evocative term. Whether used in its strict doctrinal sense or as a metaphor for transition, bardo conveys a state of being unmoored — neither one thing nor yet the next — and rewards readers with a window into one of Buddhism's most distinctive teachings on death and consciousness.
nounIn Tibetan Buddhism, the intermediate state between death and rebirth, during which the consciousness of the deceased undergoes a series of visionary experiences. More broadly, any transitional or in-between state or period.
- The intermediate state between death and rebirth in Tibetan Buddhist belief.
- Any transitional or in-between phase in a broader, often metaphorical sense.
"According to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the soul wanders the bardo for forty-nine days before taking rebirth."
"Ritual readings guide the deceased through the bardo toward a favorable rebirth."
"After leaving her job, she described the following months as her own personal bardo."
Tibetan tradition distinguishes several bardos, including those of living, dreaming, meditation, dying, and becoming, so the plural appears naturally in doctrinal discussion.
"The text describes six distinct bardos through which consciousness may pass."
Tibetan monks believe the dead spend up to forty-nine days in the bardo — a state so vivid that the mind mistakes its own visions for reality.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bardo
Bardo comes from the Tibetan term bar-do, literally 'intermediate state', formed from bar ('between') and do ('gap' or 'island'). It entered Western languages through translations of Tibetan Buddhist texts in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, most influentially the Bardo Thodol, rendered into English as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Its figurative use for any transitional period developed later in English-language writing.
How bardo is actually used
The word carries strong associations with Tibetan Buddhism and is typically used in religious, spiritual, or literary contexts. The extended metaphorical sense ('a transitional period') has grown more common in contemporary writing and should be understood as figurative rather than doctrinal.
Easily confused with bardo
A 'bard' is a poet or storyteller, while 'bardo' is the Tibetan Buddhist term for the intermediate state between death and rebirth.